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"I wanted to know why things were happening! That’s why I became scientist. I went to medical school in Istanbul because all good students were encouraged to go to medical school. I didn’t like it very much, but I liked biophysics, physiology and basic science, so later on I did a PhD in physiology. I wanted to know the underlying reasons for things and what could be done to treat large groups of people. I am more interested in clinically related research, so for the last 15 years I have been working on an antioxidant to treat disorders that have an oxydative stress or free radical component. Our antioxidant’s scientific name is N-Acetylcysteine amide – called "NACA" for short. We have successfully used NACA in animal models and published a lot of papers. Good results always make me so happy. I have received quite a bit of funding from the National Institutes of Health for our NACA research, but sometimes it bothers me when my best proposals do not get funded. Even so, I never give up !

I was blessed – or cursed – with tremendous energy, so I can manage a lot of things at once. As a very energetic person, I inspire students. I love to teach. I teach biochemistry, a very difficult topic because there is so much memorization. In biochemistry every single sentence is new to students. I would definitely encourage young women to go into science and to work in academia, at a university. We have flexible hours, and you are your own boss. I have the freedom to work at any time or any place. Another thing I love about academic life is getting to know a lot of international people when I go to conferences. I love everything about science; it is a never-ending job. Sometimes, when I need to release excess energy I run, bicycle or play tennis. Most of the time if I'm working hard, I inhibit my emotions so much that I don't even feel them, so I can get things done. During holidays, however, I love to read and write poetry. The words just come out by themselves!"

Nuren Ercan
Richard K. Vitek/FCR Endowed Chair in Biochemistry, chemistry department, Missouri S&T

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