{"id":123951,"date":"2025-07-30T02:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/?p=123951"},"modified":"2026-02-02T15:06:31","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T21:06:31","slug":"putting-structure-to-his-students-chemical-compounds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2025\/07\/30\/putting-structure-to-his-students-chemical-compounds\/","title":{"rendered":"Putting structure to his students&#8217; chemical compounds"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"panel panel--short story-intro\">\n\t<div class=\"panel__container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"panel__header\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"panel__intro panel__intro--alt\">\n\t\t\t\t<p class=\"text-lg\">\n\t\t\t\t\tUNMC&#039;s Corey Hopkins, PhD, is a pharmacy professor and, more informally, a medicinal chemist who designs and creates compounds to solve problems. And he&#039;s passing on this skill to his students and mentees.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<p class=\"text-md\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<strong><span class=\"first-character\">A<\/span>s<\/strong>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t his students prove their own skills through significant new creations, Dr. Hopkins is mapping the achievements onto his arm \u2013 with tattoos of the compounds&#039; makeup.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"panel__sidebar\">\n\t\t\t\t<p class=\"h5\">Share<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<hr \/>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"panel__social\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?text=Putting%20structure%20to%20his%20students%26%238217%3B%20chemical%20compounds&#038;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.unmc.edu%2Fnewsroom%2F2025%2F07%2F30%2Fputting-structure-to-his-students-chemical-compounds%2F\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"share on twitter, opens in a new window\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">twitter<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"svg svg--twitter 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xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m9 4v7h-2c-1.644531 0-3 1.355469-3 3v10h5v4h14v-4h5v-10c0-1.644531-1.355469-3-3-3h-2v-7zm2 2h10v5h-10zm-4 7h18c.566406 0 1 .433594 1 1v8h-3v-4h-14v4h-3v-8c0-.566406.433594-1 1-1zm1 1c-.550781 0-1 .449219-1 1s.449219 1 1 1 1-.449219 1-1-.449219-1-1-1zm3 6h10v6h-10z\"\/><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<script language=\"javascript\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tjQuery(function() {\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tjQuery('#print-friendly').click(function(e) {\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\te.preventDefault();\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tvar printWindow = window.open('https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2025\/07\/30\/putting-structure-to-his-students-chemical-compounds\/?print-friendly=1', 'printWindow');\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tprintWindow.addEventListener('unmc.windowPrinted', function() {\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tprintWindow.close();\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t});\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn false;\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t});\n\t\t\t\t\t\t});\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/script>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"panel panel--short image-group\">\n\t<div class=\"panel__container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"panel__img__group panel__img__group--fill\">\n\t\t\t\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CoreyHopkins2072225.jpg\" alt=\"The right arm of Corey Hopkins, PhD, showing his tattoos of the chemical compounds created by his students.\" \/>\n\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CoreyHopkins20072225.jpg\" alt=\"The right arm of Corey Hopkins, PhD, showing his tattoos of the chemical compounds created by his students.\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"panel__main panel__center\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"feature__caption feature__caption--line\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThe number of tattoos on Dr. Hopkins\u2019 right arm is a tribute to the impactful compounds he and his team have created together.\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t<div class=\"inset medium-text\">\n\t\t<div class=\"inset__container\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"text-md \">\n\t\t\t\t\n\n<p>Corey Hopkins, PhD, professor of pharmaceutical sciences in the UNMC College of Pharmacy and director of the UNMC Center for Drug Design and Innovation, has found a way to connect with the public, in one-on-one conversations, about science generally and his research specifically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In fact, people approach him to talk about it. They stop him on the street, in restaurants, wherever he is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve had more conversations with strangers in the last couple years than I ever had in the rest of my life,\u201d Dr. Hopkins said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt is not uncommon. My daughters will always joke or roll their eyes, because it invariably will happen, regardless of where I am.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Strangers ask him about chemistry. Compounds. Drug design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>His secret?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It isn\u2019t a secret. It\u2019s right there for everyone to see, up and down his arm.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n<div class=\"feature feature-video\">\n\t<div class=\"feature__container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"feature__media feature__media--full\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"feature__video\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/utTOKQyyUYo\" title=\"Dr. Hopkins&#039; tattoos commemorate students\u2019 successes\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"feature__caption feature__caption--line\">\n\t\t\t\t<p>For UNMC\u2019s Corey Hopkins, PhD, each chemical compound inked on his arm tells its own story. Hear the story of one of his newest tattoos from Dr. Hopkins and graduate research assistant Fahad Imtiaz Rahman.<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t<div class=\"inset medium-text\">\n\t\t<div class=\"inset__container\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"text-md \">\n\t\t\t\t\n\n<p>Dr. Hopkins, a medicinal chemist, designs and creates compounds to try to solve problems. So do his students and mentees who work and have worked with him in his lab. These last few years, he\u2019s taken on a new tradition: having the most significant and impactful compounds they\u2019ve created commemorated permanently upon his body as tattoos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He started in 2022. But it\u2019s already become such a tradition that around his lab, \u201cWe make the joke, if you\u2019re going to get your PhD, you need to have a compound on my arm,\u201d said Dr. Hopkins, who also is interim chair of the UNMC Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One mentee, when making a presentation of her work, instead of using a graphic of the compound she created, simply showed a photo of Dr. Hopkins\u2019 tattoo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After a recent session with artist Clint Thomsen of Ironwood Ink, he\u2019s up to 29 of them, though he said he remains stringent on the criteria. Chemists create hundreds, or even thousands of compounds. So, he has a rule: The only ones worthy of being immortalized permanently are ones worthy of being immortalized permanently. They must make a significant contribution.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n<div class=\"panel panel--short image-group\">\n\t<div class=\"panel__container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"panel__img__group panel__img__group--full\">\n\t\t\t\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CoreyHopkins5072225.jpg\" alt=\"Corey Hopkins, PhD, sitting on a chair at a tattoo parlor where a tattoo artist is at work\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"panel__main panel__center\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"feature__caption feature__caption--line\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAfter his recent tattoo parlor session, Dr. Hopkins is up to 29 chemical compound tattoos celebrating the work of his students and lab members.\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t<div class=\"inset medium-text\">\n\t\t<div class=\"inset__container\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"text-md \">\n\t\t\t\t\n\n<p>\u201cThe one I just got,\u201d he said, was the result of a large, team-oriented multi-institutional collaborative project, \u201cthat went into phase one clinical trials for cognition in Alzheimer&#8217;s. We just published that in January. So now that the compound has been disclosed, I can get it on my arm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI didn&#8217;t want to get that beforehand,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are embargoes on sharing scientific results in upcoming journal articles until official publication. Dr. Hopkins believes that includes sharing via tattoo, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/pubs.acs.org\/doi\/10.1021\/acschemneuro.4c00769\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"See this research publication from last December in the journal ACS Chemical Neuroscience that Dr. Hopkins contributed to on the discovery of VU0467319, an M1 positive allosteric modulator candidate., opens in a new window\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">See this research publication from last December in the journal ACS Chemical Neuroscience that Dr. Hopkins contributed to on the discovery of VU0467319, an M<sub>1<\/sub> positive allosteric modulator candidate.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Likewise, \u201cI have several on my arm that we have patents on,\u201d Dr. Hopkins said. And he must make sure all that\u2019s squared away before sharing them \u201cpublicly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He doesn\u2019t want to get in trouble with UNeMed, he said, joking, not joking.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n<div class=\"panel panel--short image-group\">\n\t<div class=\"panel__container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"panel__img__group panel__img__group--full\">\n\t\t\t\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CoreyHopkins22072225.jpg\" alt=\"Paper inscriptions of the chemical compounds that will be tattooed on Corey Hopkins&#039; arm\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"panel__main panel__center\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"feature__caption feature__caption--line\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tDr. Hopkins is careful to wait until the articles containing new compounds are published before getting tattoos of them, in order to preserve the journals\u2019 embargos on the scientific materials.\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t<div class=\"inset medium-text\">\n\t\t<div class=\"inset__container\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"text-md inset--last\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\n<p>Real estate on his right arm is getting scarce, a testament to the number of impactful compounds he and his team have created. What next? \u201cBecause I am a chicken, I have not gone to the inner arm yet,\u201d he said, \u201cI know those really hurt.\u201d Maybe he\u2019ll move to the left arm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He doesn\u2019t want to have to take off his shirt to show off a student\u2019s triumph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Conversely, he keeps them where they can be easily covered by long sleeves in professional settings. But these days, tattoos are no longer generally considered as rebellious as they once were. In person, Dr. Hopkins has received nothing but positive feedback, as his daughters can attest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Besides, a significant accomplishment should be celebrated. You may frame yours on the wall. He inks his (and his students\u2019) wins on his skin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The point is, doing something that\u2019s a big deal should be noted by doing something that\u2019s a big deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOne thing we\u2019ve learned throughout my career, and I tell my students,\u201d Dr. Hopkins said, \u201cyour ideas may look great on paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBut we just don&#8217;t understand a lot of biological processes that well, especially, we work a lot in brain diseases, and we don&#8217;t know. We don&#8217;t understand the brain hardly at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSo, when you can finally find (a solution), it really is a \u2026\u201d And he pauses for a few seconds. The search for words is worth a thousand of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThat&#8217;s why I put it on the arm,\u201d he said. \u201cIt&#8217;s worth permanence in my view. Because it&#8217;s taken that much time and effort and money. Research money.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Each one tells a story. A story of science and inspiration and determination and work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A story he never tires of telling, when strangers stop him on the street.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n<div class=\"panel panel--short image-group\">\n\t<div class=\"panel__container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"panel__img__group panel__img__group--full\">\n\t\t\t\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CoreyHopkins19072225.jpg\" alt=\"Dr. Hopkins looking at his tattooed arm in a mirror\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"panel__main panel__center\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"feature__caption feature__caption--line\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tWhat&#039;s next after the right arm is full? Maybe the inner arm, although Dr. Hopkins knows that those tattoos really hurt. Or maybe he\u2019ll move to the left arm.\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"panel panel--black panel--oh micro-feature \" data-parallax=\"fg\">\n\t<div class=\"panel__side panel__side--left panel__side--alt panel__side--fg\">\n\t\t<div class=\"panel__shape panel__shape--overlay\"><\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"panel__shape panel__shape--blue\"><\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"panel__side panel__side--right panel__side--alt panel__side--top panel__side--fg\">\n\t\t<div class=\"panel__shape panel__shape--overlay\"><\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"panel__shape panel__shape--green\"><\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"panel__container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"panel__main\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"feature__container feature__container--micro\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"feature__main\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"feature-micro__title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tChemists: science\u2019s locksmiths\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>When explaining chemistry, and the making of compounds, Corey Hopkins, PhD, likes to use the metaphor of making a specific key to fit a specific lock.\nWith billions of possible combinations, medicinal chemists must put pieces together to fit just right. Think of all the locks in the world, and making a key that is unique to that lock.\nWhen looking at diseases, Dr. Hopkins said, \u201cThat biology is the lock, and I&#039;m making a key, and I want to find that perfect fit.\u201d\nMany of us have had keys we\u2019ve had to jiggle until they work. That\u2019s not good enough, Dr. Hopkins said.\n\u201cWe&#039;re looking for that very unique combination of, it&#039;s basically carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, chlorine and maybe a couple others here and there. But those are the atoms we work with daily.\u201d\nAnd what\u2019s the feeling when you find that combination?\n\u201cOh, there&#039;s nothing better,\u201d Dr. Hopkins said. \u201cI mean \u2018cause, you fail so much, right?\n\u201cYou&#039;re making 40 to 400 compounds to find that one.\u201d<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"feature__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"feature__image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CoreyHopkins18072225.jpg\" alt=\"Dr. Hopkins looks&hellip;\" aria-describedby=\"unmc-feature-caption-c08f2a8f5a32ecf06f3bdb8d6f9582ca\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"unmc-feature-caption-c08f2a8f5a32ecf06f3bdb8d6f9582ca\" class=\"feature__caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Dr. Hopkins looks at his arm in a mirror while graduate research assistant Fahad Imtiaz Rahman stands back.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"scroll\" data-animate=\"\" data-animation=\"fade-in-bounce\">\n\t\t\t<button class=\"scroll__button\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"scroll__label\">Scroll down to leave a shout-out to Corey Hopkins and his students<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"scroll__icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"svg svg--arrow-down\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg viewBox=\"0 0 100 100\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M55.555 81.033l29.8-29.8a5.556 5.556 0 017.855 7.855L53.933 98.371a5.539 5.539 0 01-7.861 0L6.789 59.094a5.557 5.557 0 017.855-7.861l29.8 29.8V5.556a5.556 5.556 0 0111.111 0v75.477z\"\/><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UNMC&#8217;s Corey Hopkins, PhD, is mapping the achievements onto his arm \u2013 with tattoos of the compounds&#8217; makeup.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":123948,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"36609,48517,47711,38224,37207,47241","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-123951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","topic-inside-unmc","topic-research","department-college-of-pharmacy","department-multimedia-stories","department-unmc-today-todays-headlines","author_override-kalani-simpson-unmc-strategic-communications"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Putting structure to his students&#039; 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