Colleges and universities are learning to provide relevant virtual lab experiences for students due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Even schools attempting in-person instruction often need to utilize virtual experiences for students absent due to quarantine or illness. Much of biochemistry is amenable to molecular visualization and/or computational…

We present adaptable activities for models of drug movement in the human body -- pharmacokinetics -- that motivate the learning of ordinary differential equations with an interdisciplinary topic. Specifically, we model aspirin, caffeine, and digoxin. We discuss the pedagogy of guiding students to understand, develop, and analyze models,…

With the impactful nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, this manuscript describes a teaching case for COVID-19 vaccinations to develop students' knowledge of analytics and supply chain management. The experiential learning activity is developed in the context of an undergraduate upper-level course on descriptive analytics and data visualization. The…

Integrative, research-based experiences have shown tremendous potential as effective pedagogical approaches. Pharmaceutical development is an exciting field that draws heavily on organic chemistry and biochemistry techniques. A capstone drug synthesis/analysis laboratory is described where biochemistry students synthesize azo-stilbenoid compounds…

This interdisciplinary scientific inquiry lesson specifically utilizes the 5E learning cycle to engage high school students in an investigation on size-dependent properties of matter. In particular, this inquiry lesson focuses on a biologically relevant phenomenon, namely accessibility to a pharmaceutical drug with respect to the size of the pill.…

Cytochrome P450 enzymes are a family of heme-containing proteins located throughout the body with roles in metabolism of endogenous and exogenous compounds. Among exogenous compounds, clinically relevant pharmaceutical agents are nearly all metabolized by P450 enzymes. However, the activity of the different cytochrome P450 enzymes varies among…

Presents a case study on the story of Dr. Frances Kelsey and the drug thalidomide, which was widely used in Europe for its therapeutic effects in the 1960s and later identified as having multiple effects on the body during development by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Describes the drug approval process in the United States and…

An instructional activity designed to clarify pharmacological concepts related to drug use is described. The focus of the activity is a simulation, with student actors, of the effect of drugs and alcohol on the nervous system. (IAH)

Discusses the findings of a study that involves the testing of the pharmaceutical Ampakines on laboratory rats. Rats administered Ampakines learn remarkably quickly to navigate new mazes. The question now is does the drug make the rats alert or memory enhanced. Implications for treatment in humans is discussed. (ZWH)

An algorithm presenting questions allowing prediction of the major type of biological activity elicited by a steroid hormone structure is designed to help students organize their approach to the interpretation of the complex structures and permit independent application of logical thought processes in pharmacological identification of other drug…

Uses an interdisciplinary approach in an organic chemistry course which integrates a pharmacology framework to incorporate meaningful connections between biology and chemistry. (YDS)

The use of computational chemistry and the protein data bank (PDB) to understand and predict the chemical and molecular basis involved in the drug-receptor interactions is discussed. A geometrical and chemical overview of the great structural similarity in the substrate and inhibitor is provided.

This publication is one of the courses from the Practical Nursing series of competency-based training programs designed to coordinate the job related experience and knowledge needed by personnel working in a practical nursing position. The course includes five units. Each unit includes some or all of the following components: objective sheet,…

Discussed are applications of biochemistry. Included are designed drugs, clever drugs, carcinogenic structures, sugary wine, caged chemicals, biomaterials, marine chemistry, biopolymers, prospecting bacteria, and plant chemistry. (CW)

A computer program that replaces a set of pharmacology and physiology laboratory experiments on live animals or isolated organs is described and illustrated. Five experiments are simulated: dose-effect relationships on smooth muscle, blood pressure and catecholamines, neuromuscular signal transmission, acetylcholine and the circulation, and…