Computer-Aided Drug Design Project for Introductory High School Students

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.