April 24 –  Photopharmacology - How light can help improve medication

Time: 7:00-9:00 p.m., Wednesday, April 10th

Location: Pfizer Hall at Harvard University, 12 Oxford Street, Cambridge (link to directions)

Speakers: Michael Lerch

Graphics: Alyson Warr

Light is such a normal part of our everyday lives that we often fail to recognize that light can be a powerful tool. Over the last decades, scientists have increasingly used light to exert control. In chemistry, for example, light is used to steer reactions and to make new molecules. In biology, light can influence cells and even the behavior of animals. In this seminar we will first explore how light interacts with molecules. Subsequently, we will try to understand what molecular photoswitches are and how they work. Finally, we will look into a new field called photopharmacology and discuss how light control is used to switch ‘ON’ and ‘OFF’ pharmaceuticals and how that might change paradigms in health care.