The University of Mississippi houses an ionic liquids lab that pushes the brink of scientific capabilities. In the Tanner Lab, students use ionic liquids, defined as a salt that is in the liquid state of matter at room temperature, to try and solve biomedical problems. Due to their compound composition, in which several atoms connect to form a larger structure, they have been used in biomedicine and found great success as treatments.
Eden Tanner, the professor behind the lab, details how ionic liquids help navigate blood transportation in the body, essentially putting medicine or drugs into the bloodstream through nanoparticles.
“We design these ionic liquids so that they attach to blood cells when you’ve injected the nanoparticles into the body,” Tanner said. “And those red blood cells can then navigate the human body pretty easily and deliver on nanoparticles.”
Ionic liquids have been around since the early 20th century, but safe applications have developed in the past 10 years, making them a relatively new technology. Conducting research in a largely unknown area of chemistry, Tanner’s students are eager to engage in the lab and participate in the ongoing development.
“We have a really dedicated and passionate student population,” Tanner said. “I’m really lucky to work with lots of students, particularly undergraduate students, who come in inspired often by a story from their own family of something they want to fix or change, and that’s something that’s really special.”
The extensive research and state of the art lab, while impressive, is not the only notable achievement. The diversity inside the laboratory sets it apart from labs in other states that work on similar developments.
“Mississippi is a really special place to do this science,” Tanner said. “I get such a great diversity of ideas here, specifically because of the composition of our population and the composition of our students. In my lab, 70% of people are women or non-binary and about half are people of color, with about one-third being African American scientists. I think that would be difficult to do in a state like Idaho.”
The Tanner Lab surfaced two years ago, but it has already established itself as a prominent example of a cutting edge and diverse research lab. With plans to host high schoolers in the lab in the future, Tanner and her students continue to build their reputation as a scientific department that views everyone as a scientist, regardless of their background or circumstances.
“If science is only done by white people, we are limited in what we can do,” Tanner said. “(People in Mississippi) can be leaders and create and invent things that nobody else can. Who knows these issues upfront better than we do as a state?”
