Dr. chem. Jānis Veliks Leading researcher and Head of the Laboratory of Organic Synthesis, Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis.
Creativity has and should have no limits – the more creative a scientist is, the more likely they are to create something new, unique, unprecedented and more useful to society.
The main research focus of Jānis Veliks is the development of new – efficient, easy to use and stable – fluoromethylene group reagents for the simultaneous introduction of fluorine and carbon atoms into organic compounds. These reagents allow new fluorinated molecules to be formed more easily and their most important potential application is in the production of active pharmaceutical ingredients, as on average one in four of them contains at least one fluorine atom. The method studied by the scientist and his colleagues will make it easier and safer to work with fluorinated compounds and avoid direct fluorination, which requires fluorine gas – aggressive, difficult to use and with a low selectivity and safety profile. In 2019, the Latvian Academy of Sciences recognised this achievement as one of the ten most significant achievements in Latvian science. Jānis became interested in the chemistry of fluorine and its unique properties during his postdoctoral studies at the University of Oxford. He believes that medical science is the area where the most dizzying discoveries with a significant impact on the quality of human life can be expected in the future.
He received his PhD from the University of Zurich and then spent two years at the University of Oxford, thanks to a scholarship from the Swiss National Science Foundation. These studies have shaped him greatly as a person and a researcher, as the opportunity to be among eminent scientists, to see how science is “born” and how ideas are generated, has had a significant impact on his self-development, allowing him to crystallise future research directions and to gain a broader, more unorthodox perspective.
During his PhD at the University of Zurich, he worked in the field of supramolecular chemistry, which has potential applications in areas such as medicine and materials science. His research focused on weak interatomic chemical bonds and on the extraction of new topologically complex structures or “architectures” at the level of organic molecules. According to Jānis, this is the most exciting part of being a researcher – translating theoretical ideas into practical methods and substances.
He is convinced that Latvia needs to focus more consistently and pragmatically on its priorities – a knowledge-based economy and the creation of high added-value products. This means investing in science, human resources, including support for young scientists, and targeted promotion of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) education in primary schools. This is also important because it is scientists who are able to react more quickly to the current changing and unpredictable global developments and challenges, to find and offer.
Since childhood, Jānis has been interested in what the world is made of, driven by a desire to understand down to the smallest detail how everything is made. His love of Latvian nature as a boy not only encouraged him to study chemistry, but also motivated him to return home with his family after his studies in Western Europe, to contribute to the science of his homeland and to work with students.
He believes that everyone needs activities that exercise thinking and creativity. This is why music is also close to his heart, because, like chess, it is a great brain exerciser. Jānis jokes that if he hadn’t become a scientist, he would be a drummer. Incidentally, in his early youth he played drums in the popular Latgalian rock band “Dabasu Durovys”.
The project "Research Latvia 2024" is implemented within the framework of the ERDF project “Integrated National Level Measures to Strengthen the Representation of Latvian Research and Development Interests in the European Research Area”, No. 1.1.1.5/17/I/002.