URI_Research_Magazine_2012-2013_Melissa-McCarthy

David Worthen, Ph.D., J.D., Assistant Professor, B iomedical & Pharmaceutical Sciences and Chemical Engineering (second from the right, with some of his graduate and undergraduate students)

The students energize himand since he has been at URI he hasmentored over two dozen undergraduates, several of whom have won research grants, presented at international research meetings, and published their findings in scientific journals. Several of his former students have since acquired jobs with Genzyme, Davol Bard, Glaxo Smith Kline, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and other large health care companies. “We have some very bright, dedicated students here at URI they are getting hired by industry, even in a down economy,” he said. State officials hope Rhode Island will develop a knowledge- based economy, where biomedicine, pharmaceutical sciences, and technology will all play major roles in creating new jobs for highly skilled workers.

As for his own research, Worthen focuses on developing new drugs and natural products and methods to deliver them for people suffering from nervous system disorders, cancer, infectious diseases, inflammation, and nutritional deficiencies. His research areas include new molecule development and the design of new and improved methods for targeting and delivering drugs and natural products to the body, as well as the development of biocompatible polymers and medical devices. Worthen has received support from several industry sources in the pharmaceutical, medical device and polymer industries, including BASF, Shin-Etsu, Nisso America, Novartis, and Foster Polymedex. “I’ve worked in industry large, small and start-up and I love bringing that experience into my teaching,” said Worthen. His prior career in industry was “awesome” because he was able to work very closely with the patients and people he served, Worthen said. But in academia, in addition to working with and mentoring students, he is able to more easily pursue his own areas of research interest, a freedom he finds very gratifying. “There are so many opportunities and so many challenges to be addressed. As long as you have funding and the right people, you can study anything you want.”

URI Research: Impacting Rhode Island Economic Development 5