10 PROFESSOR IN DRUG DISCOVERY DENNIS LÖWIK: “THE WHOLE OF THE NETHERLANDS SHOULD SOON KNOW HOW TO FIND US” As of 2024, Dennis Löwik (56) serves as Professor in Drug Discovery, leading one of the school’s 2 research groups. In the coming years, he aims to further expand the center’s activities, strengthen its visibility, and advance early-stage drug research. When Dennis Löwik looks ahead, he outlines a clear vision for the future. He foresees a research group to which companies from across the Netherlands can turn to for the design and development of pharmaceuticals and related bioactive compounds. A typical request might be: We aim to develop a substance that repels ticks, can you design one based on this particular odor profile? “My ambition”, Löwik explains, “is that we will be able to translate such questions rapidly into concrete molecular designs, enabling us to provide a scientifically grounded formulation for a substance that truly works.” The research center is still a few steps away from that scenario, however. Drug Discovery was established 4 years ago by Löwik’s predecessor, Pedro Hermkens. It currently employs 4 lecturer-researchers and 2 technicians. “I want to expand the team in the coming years so that more people can engage in drug research. Moreover, lecturer-researchers currently devote a substantial portion of their time to teaching. A better balance between teaching and research is needed. Securing additional grants will help create that balance by freeing up more time for research.” FIELD OF PEPTIDES Löwik has worked as a lecturer in organic chemistry at Radboud University for 24 years, where he is an associate professor. “Already as a student I wanted to work in drug research, but at first I ended up in the peptide field, at a time when peptides were not considered drug candidates but materials. Gradually I moved toward medicinal chemistry and worked on cell-penetrating peptides: small protein fragments that can enter a cell and carry substan- ces with them. For example, I conduct research on how to deliver substances to specific locations in the body. After all, you want to send anti-cancer drugs only to cancer cells. But that targeting is very difficult - as evidenced by the fact that people often lose their hair during chemotherapy.” Since last academic year, he has combined his university position with the professorship at HAN, working 2.5 days a week for each institution. PROCESS OF 15 YEARS His core mission within Drug Discovery is to improve the earliest stage of drug research. “The whole process now takes an average of 15 years and costs around 1 billion euros. If we can take smarter starting points for drug discovery, we can progress through the process more quickly. For example, it would save hundreds of millions if we could better predict in advance whether a drug will pass the clinical phase. If a drug fails at that stage, it is extremely costly.” In speeding up the process, artificial intelligence (AI) has an important role to play at various stages, Löwik believes. "A lot of drugs work like a key in a lock. Having found the right key, a process in your body turns on or off. Among other things, we can use AI to find the right molecules, the keys, more quickly. At the moment, that still requires a great deal of human effort."
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