Abstract
Highlights
•A hybrid undergraduate laboratory course combines laboratory skills and exposure to research.
•Students experience the nature of science first-hand by synthesising hit derivatives.
•A neglected disease drug discovery project is well suited as research topic.
•A daily interactive session fosters scientific discussion amongst students.
A hybrid practical course in synthetic medicinal chemistry was designed for second-year undergraduate students. The first half focused on techniques and skills, while the second half addressed a drug discovery setting in a research project on neglected diseases. A daily interactive plenary session allowed for thorough discussions among the students. Over four years, 187 students participated, and 68 pure compounds (many of which novel) were isolated and biologically tested. Evaluations by students and teachers were positive. The success of the hybrid practical course demonstrates how undergraduate students can be meaningfully engaged in the nature of science through a drug discovery project.
•A hybrid undergraduate laboratory course combines laboratory skills and exposure to research.
•Students experience the nature of science first-hand by synthesising hit derivatives.
•A neglected disease drug discovery project is well suited as research topic.
•A daily interactive session fosters scientific discussion amongst students.
A hybrid practical course in synthetic medicinal chemistry was designed for second-year undergraduate students. The first half focused on techniques and skills, while the second half addressed a drug discovery setting in a research project on neglected diseases. A daily interactive plenary session allowed for thorough discussions among the students. Over four years, 187 students participated, and 68 pure compounds (many of which novel) were isolated and biologically tested. Evaluations by students and teachers were positive. The success of the hybrid practical course demonstrates how undergraduate students can be meaningfully engaged in the nature of science through a drug discovery project.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1359-1368 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Drug Discovery Today |
| Volume | 26 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| Early online date | 18 Feb 2021 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jun 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:First and foremost, all 187 involved BSc students are acknowledged for their participation and hard work. The following teaching TAs are greatly acknowledged for their excellent daily supervision: Hans Custers, Andrea van de Stolpe, Razvan Cioc, Ken Lion, Marian Blom, Jasper Kraakman, Awital Bar-Barroeta, Art Kruithof, Xander Schaapkens, Micheal Laan, Erik de Heuvel, Barry Oppelaar, Mariska de Munnik, Jurri?n Collet, and Thomas de Waal. We thank Jasmina Elsayed, Lars Binkhorst, Loraine Cahn, Glenn Paardekooper, Fran?oise Dekker, and Iza Awad for their cooperation. We thank Stephanie Thee for the photography. Maarten Sijm, Erik de Heuvel, and Basilia Pires are acknowledged for assistance in the optimization of reaction conditions. We thank Geert Jan Sterk, Rob Leurs, and Iwan de Esch for support, Danny Scholten and Chris Slootweg for discussions, Sonja van Scheijen for assistance in the analysis of student evaluations, and Isabel Braadbaart for proofreading. This work was partially supported by the European Commission 7th Framework Program FP7-HEALTH-2013-INNOVATION-1 under project reference 602666 ?Parasite-specific cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase inhibitors to target Neglected Parasitic Diseases? (PDE4NPD). Y.Z. acknowledges the China Scholarship Council for funding (Grant No. 201506220185).
Funding Information:
First and foremost, all 187 involved BSc students are acknowledged for their participation and hard work. The following teaching TAs are greatly acknowledged for their excellent daily supervision: Hans Custers, Andrea van de Stolpe, Razvan Cioc, Ken Lion, Marian Blom, Jasper Kraakman, Awital Bar-Barroeta, Art Kruithof, Xander Schaapkens, Micheal Laan, Erik de Heuvel, Barry Oppelaar, Mariska de Munnik, Jurriën Collet, and Thomas de Waal. We thank Jasmina Elsayed, Lars Binkhorst, Loraine Cahn, Glenn Paardekooper, Françoise Dekker, and Iza Awad for their cooperation. We thank Stephanie Thee for the photography. Maarten Sijm, Erik de Heuvel, and Basilia Pires are acknowledged for assistance in the optimization of reaction conditions. We thank Geert Jan Sterk, Rob Leurs, and Iwan de Esch for support, Danny Scholten and Chris Slootweg for discussions, Sonja van Scheijen for assistance in the analysis of student evaluations, and Isabel Braadbaart for proofreading. This work was partially supported by the European Commission 7th Framework Program FP7-HEALTH-2013-INNOVATION-1 under project reference 602666 ‘Parasite-specific cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase inhibitors to target Neglected Parasitic Diseases’ (PDE4NPD). Y.Z. acknowledges the China Scholarship Council for funding (Grant No. 201506220185).
Copyright:
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