UNMC professor uses tattoos to honor students’ research
KETV
By Madison Perales
Click here for updates on this story
OMAHA (KETV) — Tattoos are more than body art for a University of Nebraska Medical Center professor — they’re a way to showcase his students’ accomplishments in pharmaceutical science.
Dr. Corey Hopkins, a professor in UNMC’s Center for Drug Design and Innovation, uses tattoos of chemical compounds to celebrate milestones in his students’ research.
“We have to change our key so that it fits the lock perfectly,” graduate student Fahad Rahman said, describing how compounds work as potential drugs. “The lock is the target of the cell that we are trying to reach, and keys are our compounds.”
Pharmaceutical science, Hopkins admits, isn’t everyone’s favorite subject. “To make a drug, you sometimes have to make 5 or 6,000 individual chemicals,” he said.
To honor that work, Hopkins began tattooing compounds developed by his students. “It really just kind of came about,” he said. “Took the plunge. And now it’s about every six months, probably get some new ones.”
The idea started more than two years ago with Hopkins’ family, but quickly expanded to include his students’ contributions. “I wanted something that was meaningful,” he said. “As we advance this, I think it’s a good way to capture these at least small milestones along the way.”
Hopkins only tattoos the compounds on his exposed arm. “It’s a good way to just kind of talk about science, but also, you know, give a perspective of why I do it, but also … to show the students’ hard work,” he said.
Graduate student Thomas Webster explained the process: “Once a year, compounds get into mouse models, then he tattoos it on your arm.”
Webster said his Alzheimer’s compound made it onto Hopkins’ arm while he was away. “I came back and he pretty much just showed up and I was like, oh, hey, that’s mine,” Webster said.
Rahman’s compound, which is meant to fight colon cancer, was Hopkins’ most recent addition. “It’s an absolute honor,” Rahman said.
Rahman described Hopkins as a constant source of encouragement. “He’s really good at motivating his students,” he said. “I always go to him, reach out to him, and he’s always very kind and helpful.”
Webster agreed. “We can sit down for half an hour and just go through everything,” he said.
Rahman, who came to the United States three years ago for UNMC’s program, said Hopkins’ guidance has been crucial. “Without him, it would have been so difficult for me,” he said. “Sometimes the greatest motivation is, you know, just making him proud.”
Rahman added that having his work permanently marked on his professor was deeply meaningful. “I felt really proud and honored, honestly, because like, with that, it’s something that I did in this lab. Left a mark with him forever.”
Hopkins said the tattoos also serve as a conversation starter outside the lab. “Sometimes you get the ‘I really didn’t like chemistry’ in either high school or college, so it’s a good way to kind of start that conversation again,” he said.
For Hopkins and his students, each tattoo represents more than science — it’s a permanent reminder of progress, one compound at a time.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
