Professor Claudia Turro has always been interested in science.

Developing new drugs for treatment of deadly diseases involves multiple steps and years of research. Ohio State University Chemistry Professor Claudia Turro, an Argentinean native, is currently contributing to the process of developing effective responses to diseases. Prof. Turro explained that her research “has to do with finding new drugs for various diseases, such as cancer.” In addition to research, Prof. Turro has teaching responsibilities in the Department of Chemistry. “I enjoy the teaching aspect of being a faculty member. You could not do this in the private sector. There is also the aspect of doing and presenting the research, which is very rewarding,” said Prof. Turro.

Science has fascinated Prof. Claudia Turro since childhood, yet she did not know which branch of science interested her the most until her junior year of college at Michigan State University. Prof. Turro credits her career choice to her participation in the Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP). SROP is a research program geared towards minority undergraduate students which pays participants to do faculty-mentored research at a Big Ten University, including Ohio State. SROP provided Prof. Turro with her first opportunity to do research in the field of chemistry. She credits the two summers that she spent in SROP for helping her discover her love of both chemistry and research. “After that SROP summer, I knew that research is what I wanted to do in the future, and I took all the necessary steps to achieve it,” said Prof. Turro.

Prof. Turro went on to receive her doctoral degree in chemistry from Michigan State University. At Ohio State, she studies photochemistry, which is a science that uses light to start chemical reactions.

Though complicated, Prof. Turro described her research focus. She stated, “The idea of our research is that if you’ve administered a drug that is not toxic in the body, you can make it toxic [to tumor cells] by shining light on the tumor. Therefore, the drug will not harm the healthy cells — it will only kill the cells that were irradiated with light.” Her research will eventually contribute to medical applications. “Right now we are studying the molecules and cellular toxicity. In time, it will need to be tested with animals and humans, but we are not close to doing that yet,” explained Prof. Turro.

Prof. Turro has always been interested in research areas with potentially useful biological applications. She could have easily applied for a position in the chemical industry; however, she wanted to be able to choose her own research area. “I wanted to do what I found interesting — something that I found to be useful instead of being told the projects that I would need to do. I am basically applying my background in an area that I am interested in,” added Prof. Turro.

When asked for a message to the Latin@ community, Prof. Turro said, “Coming from a Latin@ background, one may have a different perspective on a given issue. I think that it is important for all of us to provide our opinion when the opportunity arises, since it may lead to new, different, and useful solutions and viewpoints.”

If you are interested in SROP at Ohio State, please contact the Enrichment Programs at the Graduate School at sumres@osu.edu or (614) 247-7286.

Professor Claudia Turro interacts with her students in the lab.