Nordic Life Science 1
ne of the biggest applications of organocatalysts
is in the development of pharmaceuticals. This is where the process of asymmetric organocatalysis comes in, creating molecules that are mirror images of each other. Frequently, scientists only want to use one of the molecules, since the two versions can have different properties, and asymmetric organocatalysis produces them efficiently. “When you make mirror images for medicines, you have to be able to make one and not the other,” explains MacMillan. “You have to use the right one.” MacMillan began working with catalysts in 1999 when he was doing a post-doctoral program at Harvard University. The story of how he came to the U.S. to study also is a bit quirky. MacMillan was inspired by his passion for the National Football League (NFL) in the U.S. “I was doing my undergraduate work in Scotland, and I loved the NFL, so I wrote to 19 universities in the U.S. about getting into their PhD programs,” he says. “The University of California at Irvine was the only one that accepted me.” Multiple people, both in and outside the science field, influenced MacMillan on his career path. Among them were Larry Overman, with whom he worked on his PhD, Dave Evans with whom he did his post-doctoral work at Harvard – “he thinks about chemistry in a different way” – and Scottish comedian Billy Connelly. “He came from working-class Scotland and was able to go off and see the work using his communication skills, having a great relationship with people,” says David. MacMillan also cites the importance of his early education in his home country. “When I was in elementary and high school in Scotland, there was a huge premium on education,” he says. “The teachers worked hard to make sure everyone had a high level of education. I would not have won a Nobel Prize without these teachers.” MacMillan also is well-known in the field of photoredox catalysis, which employs visible light to separate and reconnect atomic bonds. For ten years MacMillan says he worked with visible light, developing ways of mapping cells and devising ways for light to enter cells with the catalysts, enabling scientists to see inside cells while diseases are happening. “This technology tells you what cells are nearby and tells you how to go after new targets for different diseases,” says MacMillan. As he continues to pursue different problems in chemistry, MacMillan says he worries about how some of the current attitudes towards science will impact future research. 52 “A lot of people lost faith in science,” he says. “In the past, we had faith in science and it was apolitical. What every single person in society doesn’t realize is that we wouldn’t have the world we have without science. To jettison science, makes no sense. Without science we have nothing. We have to get back to trust and faith.” NLS