CHEMIST IS MAKING A DIFFERENCE AT 26
U of T student is only Canadian on Forbes’ ‘ Top 30 Under 30’ science list
Christine Le is talking about cooking. It isn’t long before the conversation collides with her other passion: molecules. She is describing a recent visit to Alinea, a renowned Chicago restaurant that uses a cooking style called molecular gastronomy to create new flavours and textures in food. The restaurant is known for using liquid nitrogen and helium in its dishes.
“I thought [the food] was great, but you definitely have to have an open mind to it,” she says.
It is her curious mind that has just earned the University of Toronto PhD candidate a place on Forbes’ “Top 30 Under 30” list for science. She is the only Canadian on the list, described by Forbes as the “greatest gathering of young game-changers, movers and makers.”
The 26-year-old organic chemist is being recognized for discovering an efficient way to recreate molecules found naturally in plants. Her discovery could fight cancer at its source by decreasing abnormal cell growth.
“One reaction she pioneered uses rhodium to speed the production of eight medicinal compounds, including an anti-cancer drug candidate,” Forbes notes.
Ms. Le, who worked on this synthesis during her year completing a master’s degree at U of T, says that while she and her team did not discover the molecule — named cytosporone B — they developed a way to create it that reduces the amount of hazardous waste generated in the production.
“You can’t get a large quantity of these molecules because nature only produces small amounts. In the lab we try to mimic the compound,” explains Ms. Le.
The molecule is a naturally occurring compound that is isolated from a Costa Rican fungus. Previous studies on cytosporone B have shown that it has the ability to activate a receptor that controls cell death in live mice.
“When you invent a new reaction you look for a way to shorten the number of steps it takes to make a molecule of interest. Ideally, you also want to reduce the amount of waste that you produce. So if you take fewer steps and use reaction conditions that produce less waste, then that is best of all,” says Mark Lautens, Ms. Le’s professor and an Order of Canada recipient for his contributions to organic chemistry.
The molecule can now be made in three steps, saving time, money and resources. In addition to reducing chemical waste in the manufacturing process, her method yields the most molecules. “The final step of our method to create cytosporone B, and related compounds, is completely ‘atom-economical,’ meaning that all the atoms in the starting materials are conserved in the product and no wasteful byproducts are produced,” says Ms. Le, who was named to Scientific American’s “30 under 30” list in 2013.
In October, Forbes is holding a summit in Philadelphia so the members of the “30 under 30” list can connect. “It will be great stepping out of this bubble and meeting people in diverse industries,” says Ms. Le, adding that she hopes to combine her scientific background with more business or technology-oriented people.
The daughter of a single mother who works as hairdresser, Ms. Le grew up in Richmond Hill with two older halfbrothers. She realized she had a passion for science at a young age, ironically through television. Her favourite shows were Popular Mechanics for Kids, Bill Nye the Science Guy and The Magic School Bus.
Ms. Le says she hopes to inspire the next generation of chemists, much like her teachers at Cardinal Carter Catholic High School in Aurora did for her, by tutoring. She is still driven by the same natural curiosity that her students have.
“I want to understand the world around me on a microscopic level,” she says. “Our motivation lies in what we can create, but our interest and our passion for chemistry stems from what we can discover and learn along the way.”