Intellectual Merit: Two major curricular goals are being achieved through this project. The first is the integration of molecular modeling into all levels of the biology and chemistry curricula at Birmingham-Southern College and the second is the linkage of biology and chemistry courses by making use of a common molecular thread that runs through introductory and upper-level coursework. Students use molecular modeling techniques to study a selected small, bioactive molecule in a variety of contexts. When possible, wet labs are paired with in silico (computer-based) experiments to test hypotheses students develop using a computational approach. Three biology courses, two chemistry courses, and an interdisciplinary biochemistry course are being revised. The inquiry-based pedagogy introduced is cultivating the students' critical thinking skills while at the same time, since they are applying chemical principles to experiments exploring biological phenomena, introducing them to the interdisciplinary nature of modern research and better preparing them for graduate and professional school. In addition, the infrastructure and training provided by these revisions are enabling students to collaborate with faculty on projects exploring polymer folding, cholinesterase evolution, and drug design.
Broader Impacts: All educational materials developed as part of this grant will be disseminated to a broad audience through presentations at regional and national meetings, peer-reviewed publications in appropriate journals, and development of a web-site to make the teaching modules freely available for other institutions to use.
