This paper uses speculative methods as a way of imagining futures for higher education in open, non-predictive ways. The complexity and 'unknowability' of the highly technologised, environmentally damaged and politically degraded futures we seem to be facing can mean that our conversations about the future of higher education have a tendency to…

An approach for incorporating preliminary drug discovery research into a biochemistry laboratory is described. During a total of 42 hr (one 3-hr laboratory section a week for 14 weeks), students were exposed to bioinformatics; molecular cloning; protein expression, purification, and characterization; and enzymatic kinetic assays. This…

Heterocycles, more specifically those containing nitrogen, make up a family of molecules with great pharmaceutical potential. Many approved drugs, notably anticancer drugs, contain a nitrogen-based heterocycle. To expose students to this class of molecules, we used the Paal--Knorr reaction for the synthesis of edaravone, a pyrazolone derivative.…

The doctor of nursing practice (DNP) project was a staff education intervention intended to improve medication adherence at a long-term care facility. The practice gap identified was that staff lacked current evidence-based knowledge in medication compliance. The project addressed whether educating staff on medication compliance would increase…

Biotechnological pharmaceuticals is a key course offered to third-year undergraduates majoring in biotechnology in our university. However, students often experience difficulties in understanding the principles of related technologies. In this study, we developed and implemented an elective course on preliminary structural biology for…

This research study aimed to achieve five objectives. The first objective was to explore the pedagogical content knowledge of nurse educators who teach pharmacology. The second objective was to reflect upon the experiences of nurse educators who teach pharmacology. The third objective was to understand which pedagogical content knowledge informs…

In recent years, growing interest has been seen in the application of gamification in education, which can be defined as the application of game design elements in learning activities. The goal of gamification is to motivate students by creating an engaging learning experience that can keep them focused on learning tasks in the classroom. However,…

The application of chemistry concepts in biological settings plays an important role in the interdisciplinary field of drug discovery and development. This is true for molecular docking, where an understanding of intermolecular forces and noncovalent interactions is useful for rational drug design and development. Here we report the design and use…

Structure--activity relationships are foundational concepts in biochemistry and drug design. Despite their importance, it can be difficult to create and execute laboratory activities that allow students to directly observe the interactions between small-molecule drugs and their biomolecular targets. Here, we report an activity that investigates…

A course centered around transition-metal catalysis in modern drug discovery was designed to illustrate the central role of organic chemistry in driving small-molecule drug development. The course highlighted both fundamental and applied concepts, first with a focus on the drug discovery process, followed by foundational principles in catalysis…

Research has shown that the use of practical examples in undergraduate education promotes the retention of historically underrepresented students in STEM majors and lowers achievement gaps within courses. Since many students of color and women aspire toward careers in healthcare and the pharmaceutical industry, efforts to incorporate medicinal…

Nurse educators are faced with many challenges while preparing students to safely enter clinical practice. Due to technological advances in the health care field and student demographic changes, educators have been looking for alternative methods to traditional lecture format to meet the needs of current learners. Using the framework of Adult…

The goal of this laboratory exercise is to give upper-level undergraduate students an introduction to sterile technique in mammalian cell culture and metabolism. The experiment can be completed within a 3-h lab period and can be performed either in conjunction with other biochemistry/metabolism experiments or used as a stand-alone experiment. In…

The concept of co-amorphous systems is introduced in an integrated laboratory experiment, designed for advanced chemistry students, using solvent-free, environmentally friendly mechanochemistry. The dual-drug naproxen-cimetidine co-amorphous system (NPX-CIM) is investigated as an example of the emergent field of medicinal mechanochemistry.…

Four experiments examined the effects of a dangerous context and a systemic epinephrine injection on sensory preconditioning in rats. In each experiment, rats were exposed to presentations of a tone and light in stage 1, light-shock pairings in stage 2, and test presentations of the tone alone and light alone in stage 3. Presentations of the tone…