Gettysburg College recently created the Cross-Disciplinary Science Institute at Gettysburg (X-SIG). A major objective of X-SIG is “to equip our students with the skills necessary for modern research, preparing them to integrate multiple disciplines in order to answer science’s most pressing questions.” One of the initiatives included developing a collection of cross-disciplinary laboratory courses (deemed X-Labs) co-taught by faculty from different departments and disciplines. We decided to create a course that emphasizes the connections between organic chemistry and cell biology. This X-Lab, titled “Drugs and Cells”, asks undergraduate students to explore how the structure of an organic molecule impacts its biological activity. Students propose structural modifications to resveratrol, synthesize their proposed derivative, and explore its impact on mitochondrial biology. A strong emphasis is placed on having students independently develop research hypotheses that are tested with experiments of their own design. Results are presented in the form of both written and oral presentations. One of our other goals is to foster an appreciation of the role chemistry plays in studying and understanding cellular biology. Details about the structure of the course, the assignments, assessment data, and our impressions after teaching it for the first time will be presented.

Drugs and cells: A cross-disciplinary, medicinal chemistry laboratory course

253rd National Meeting (2017)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.