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Wayne Bowen's interest in chemistry started while he was in elementary school. He liked to raid the medicine cabinet, bringing a stash of pills, powders and syrups to his bedroom, where he would mix them to make new concoctions. This hobby landed him in some trouble, but he tells us that it is also how he got his first chemistry set.
Today he studies a complex field that combines chemistry, biology, pharmacology, and neuroscience. He is a nationally recognized leader in research on sigma receptors—proteins in the brain and in tissues like the liver and kidney that are believed to regulate cell survival and growth. His major areas of interest include biochemical mechanisms involved in the neuronal action of opiate drugs, and the biochemistry of sigma receptors in cancer cells and in the brain. Sigma receptors bind to antipsychotic drugs used in the treatment of common disorders such as schizophrenia and depression. Finding out how to block and stimulate these proteins could help scientists create safer, more effective psychotropic drugs. Sigma receptors have implications for cancer as well. Activating their cell-destroying powers may help stamp out cancer cells that are resistant to chemotherapy.
Bowen received his B.S. in chemistry from Morgan State College in 1974, and completed his Ph.D. in biochemistry and neurobiology at Cornell University in 1981. He then spent three years as a Postdoctoral Staff Fellow at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland, where he studied opiate receptor biochemistry. He initially came to Brown University in 1983 when he taught endocrinology, introductory biology, and biochemistry and founded the macromolecular biochemistry facility—a one-man lab that supplied synthetic peptides to scientists throughout the campus and affiliated hospitals.
In 1991, Bowen returned to the NIH to take a position at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, where he became chief of the Unit on Receptor Biochemistry and Pharmacology in the Drug Design and Synthesis Section of the Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry. He also served as president of the NIH Black Scientists Association in 2001.
However, Bowen never really left Brown University. During his time at NIH, he would return every fall to deliver neuroscience lectures to undergraduate students. In 2004, Bowen returned permanently to the Brown faculty as Professor of Biology in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Physiology, and Biotechnology in the Division of Biology and Medicine. He co-directs the Medical School's pharmacology course and teaches in the endocrinology and neuroscience courses to undergraduates. He plans to create a course on small-molecule drug design.
Bowen has confided that he is happy to get back to teaching and working with students in the laboratory. Teaching is not a solitary pursuit; it connects him with students who are excited and curious. This connection with his students keeps him close to the thrill of discovery—the beating heart of science.
(Modified from an article written by Wendy Lawton for the Brown News Service, August 15, 2004)
Download Wayne Bowen's Curriculum Vitae in PDF Format
