Board 28: Work-in-progress: Transforming the Molecular and Cellular Engineering Educational Experience in Biomedical Engineering
In recent decades, biomedical engineers have capitalized upon the “molecular revolution” that fundamentally changed the study of biology through discovery, design, and commercial production of molecular and cell-based therapeutics that form the foundation and future of modern medical treatment. Advances in tissue engineering, computational protein design, and high-throughput bioanalytical techniques across academia and industry motivate the need to develop curricula that provides opportunities for students to interact and design early in their undergraduate careers. To meet this need, we created two new junior-level courses: Molecular Engineering (BME305L) and Cellular Engineering (BME306L) that were offered in the Fall and Spring of 2022, respectively. We have emphasized student-centered experimental and laboratory practice as the backbone of these courses to prepare students for authentic research experiences in any industry. Molecular Engineering integrates computational and experimental learning outcomes that bridge the in silico to in vitro pipeline of protein engineering. Students combine their “wet” and “dry” lab experiences into a final month-long project to design novel protein fusions or protein affinity binders with the potential to inhibit an aberrantly expressed protein. Cellular Engineering prepares students with continuous engagement in mathematical modeling of cellular phenomena, mammalian cell culture, analytical techniques (fluorescence microscopy, Western blotting, and quantitative real-time PCR), and studying morphological and cytoskeletal changes in 3D culture models. Preliminary student feedback from Cellular Engineering and Molecular Engineering emphasizes the impact of “hands-on lab experiences” that scaffold knowledge with lecture content. Students value that these authentic experiences help to answer “overarching scientific question[s] for most of the labs and we were doing the lab for a purpose.” Course evaluations for Cellular Engineering report a 4.83/5 overall evaluation score, with a 5/5 score for intellectually stimulating content. Likewise, Molecular Engineering course evaluations report a 4.00/5 overall evaluation score, with a 4.53/5 score for intellectually stimulating content. Additional questions on integrating these new gateway courses with advanced topics and electives are pending, along with long-term success of the new courses on student engagement in primary research at Duke University, industry connections and career success.
