Spicing Up an Interdisciplinary Chemical Biology Course with the Authentic Big Picture of Epigenetic Research

Abstract

The complexity of the world's current grand challenges demands interdisciplinary approaches. The education of future scientists must cross the silos of the traditional disciplines; however, there is still a strong reluctance to tear such walls down. Here, we describe an integrative chemical biology course focused on epigenetics that strives to bring research culture to chemistry and biology Master's students. The course, which has been successfully implemented for the past two years, combines three modules: lectures, discovery-based research lab, and science communication. Importantly, the outline of our course design could be easily adapted to different fields, improving the synergy between research and teaching in our universities.

Potential for Chemistry in Multidisciplinary, Interdisciplinary, and Transdisciplinary Teaching Activities in Higher Education

“…For example, gene expression in bacteria is largely dependent upon binding interactions of certain macromolecules and DNA, but it would simply take too long to teach and understand gene expression at this level of detail. The practical value of these chemistry-related bioscience subjects has made them heavily integrated into other areas of biology, bioengineering, and biomedicine curricula. ,,, …”

“… ,, Examples that highlight the importance of the recognition of the underlying chemical principles in other disciplines include supramolecular interactions in biological processes (e.g., protein assembly, gene expression, etc.) that could be included in molecular biology and biochemistry curricula. ,,− Drennan and co-workers’ interdisciplinary introductory chemistry course resulted in increases in student assessment that the course instructors “inspired interest” in chemistry and “used good examples” (old curriculum, 5.50 ± 1.29; new curriculum, 6.36 ± 0.97) and increases in the overall course rating (old curriculum, 5.15 ± 1.29; new curriculum, 5.99 ± 1.22) . Frey and co-workers described interdisciplinary, application-oriented tutorials covering chemistry in the context of biology, engineering, and environmental sciences, enhancing the students’ appreciation of chemistry in the world around them (with improvements in exam scores; old curriculum, ca.…”

Structural determination of model phospholipid membranes by Raman spectroscopy: Laboratory experiment

“…[1][2][3][4] A wellstructured interdisciplinary curriculum promotes student understanding of how different disciplines integrate with one another to help address complex and unique interdisciplinary problems. [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] Accordingly, the number of STEM courses and laboratory experiments designed to integrate multiple disciplines is increasing. [15][16][17][18][19][20][21] For example, the fields of biochemistry and molecular biophysics are inherently interdisciplinary in nature, and their principles encompass many concepts from biology, chemistry, and physics.…”

Creative Adjustments to an Undergraduate Chemical Biology Course from Research-Based in-Person to All-Remote Education during the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…This work centered on a common research-based project that demonstrates necessary chemical biology skills. This type of course, however focused on epigenetics and taught at the graduate level, was described in a recent article by H. Benedikt et al 5 The version by the author of this Communication also takes an interdisciplinary approach by covering a variety of topics relating chemical techniques and biological manipulations in lectures and assessed across three inclass exams (see Supporting Information for syllabi). The final is comprehensive, and also includes topics the students present during lecture the last week of class.…”