One of the challenges at primarily undergraduate institutes is to afford meaningful research experiences to all students in the chemistry curriculum. As a professor at one such college I see many, though not all, students perform independent research with specific faculty. With an ever-changing population of students and those wishing to “test the waters” of research, our department has creatively increased inclusion of all students in research through several possible upper-level classes. I will describe how I incorporated research into my Advanced Topics Chemical Biology course. Early in the course, students randomly choose a peptide from a list of my designs. Throughout the semester, in the classroom and lab, they learn how peptides are made, synthesized and characterized, gaining experience at the bench. Near the conclusion of the course, they learn spectroscopic techniques to examine the secondary structure of their peptides. By this point they know the sequential and structural elements contributing to protein folding, what stabilizes natural and unnatural peptides, and can predict how their chosen peptide should behave. After testing the compounds, they describe the results in relation to their prediction, and compare across teams to determine the links between sequence and folding. Students write a communication-style final paper that encompasses their work. Through exams and in-class assignments, they design other potential peptides for the future, using what they learned and tested. Thus far I have taught this class twice, with different, novel peptides each time. In 2013 we determined some trends in class, my independent research students (one who joined after the class) completed the studies and we published a journal article. In 2015, we built off of the previous results and have submitted a follow-up paper. In this case, the work was completed by myself and the students in the class and several of the student authors had limited or no outside research experience. The lecture portion of the course has students applying the skills of chemical biology to novel problems. They prepare a final presentation on a unique area within epigenetics, teaching the class and writing a test question for their final. Overall, students enjoy the course and materials and several have continued to graduate school to study chemical biology. I hope to include some new areas of inquiry into future iterations of the course, continuing on this positive trajectory.

Peptidomimetics from the classroom to the lab: Successful research outcomes from an upper-level class at a primarily undergraduate institute

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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