Computer-Aided Drug Design Project for Introductory High School Students

• Published in: Journal of chemical education Vol. 100; no. 3; pp. 1179 - 1188
• Main Author: Kelley, Elizabeth W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Easton American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc 14.03.2023; American Chemical Society
• Subjects: CAD; Chemistry; Computational chemistry; Computer aided design; Curricula; Motivation; Occupations; Pharmaceutical industry; Pharmaceuticals; R&D; Research & development; Secondary education; Secondary school students; Software; STEM education; Students; Teaching methods; Applications of Chemistry; Molecular Modeling; Drug Design; High School/Introductory Chemistry; Curriculum; Internet/Web-Based Learning; Inquiry-Based/Discovery Learning; Public Understanding/Outreach; Organic Chemistry; Computational Chemistry; Pharmaceuticals
• ISSN: 0021-9584; 1938-1328
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c00989

The pharmaceutical industry has been a major player in improving life expectancies and driving chemistry employment. While computational chemistry tools increasingly guide pharmaceutical research decisions, high school and undergraduate chemistry curricula do not reflect the prevalence of such techniques. Incorporation of computational tools into chemistry education is warranted to support industry-relevant learning experiences, student motivation to pursue chemistry careers, and public understanding of STEM careers and medicines. Therefore, this paper outlines how a computer-aided drug design (CADD) tool was introduced to high school students as a classroom project in tandem with traditional course material. Materials are provided to assist instructors in replicating this project in their own courses.