National Chemistry Week 2023: Celebrate The Healing Power of Chemistry with Resources from the Journal of Chemical Education

National Chemistry Week, a community-based annual event uniting ACS local sections, businesses, schools, and individuals in communicating and promoting the value of chemistry in our everyday life, is held this year from October 15–21, 2023 with the theme "The Healing Power of Chemistry."

The Journal of Chemical Education has a wide range of articles for exploring and experimenting with topics on medicine and health. These materials can be used to motivate students, illustrate important chemical concepts, and communicate the value of chemistry. Make the most of this annual celebration by connecting chemistry to students’ everyday lives through resources from the Journal of Chemical Education.

Chemistry and Medicine

Computer-Aided Drug Design Project for Introductory High School Students
Elizabeth W. Kelley
Journal of Chemical Education 2023 100 (3), 1179-1188
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c00989

What’s in That Medicine: An Inquiry-Based Activity to Introduce Medicinally Active Natural Products and Metals
Stephanie L. Mitchell, Jill S. McCourt, Diane J. Nesset-Tollefson, Gabrielle L. Kimball, Jasmine N. Mikesell, Emily J. Tollefson, and Erin E. Carlson
Journal of Chemical Education 2023 100 (1), 410-414
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c00836

Medicine Maker: An Outreach Activity for Pharmaceutical Manufacturing and Health Literacy
Martin McHugh, Sarah Hayes, Lidia Tajber, and Laurie Ryan
Journal of Chemical Education 2022 99 (3), 1231-1237
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.1c00915

Introduction to Medicinal Chemistry: A Five-Day Course for High School Students
M. Kyle Hadden and Angela M. Zaino
Journal of Chemical Education 2020 97 (6), 1543-1548
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.0c00099

Science and Business of Medicinal Chemistry: A “Bench-to-Bedside” Course for Nonmajors
Anna G. Wenzel, Steven Casper, Cooper J. Galvin, and Grace E. Beck
Journal of Chemical Education 2020 97 (2), 414-420
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b00691

Make a Molecule: A Synthetic Organic and Medicinal Chemistry Workshop Program for High School Students
Iain A. Stepek, Raphael Hofmann, Paula L. Nichols, Andrea Aschwanden, Christophe Eckard, Patrick Aschwanden, and Jeffrey W. Bode
Journal of Chemical Education 2020 97 (2), 402-413
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b00812

Plants in Medicine: An Integrated Lab–Lecture Project for Nonscience Majors
Annette W. Neuman and Brenda B. Harmon
Journal of Chemical Education 2019 96 (1), 60-65
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.8b00583

Drug Design Workshop: A Web-Based Educational Tool To Introduce Computer-Aided Drug Design to the General Public
Antoine Daina, Marie-Claude Blatter, Vivienne Baillie Gerritsen, Patricia M. Palagi, Diana Marek, Ioannis Xenarios, Torsten Schwede, Olivier Michielin, and Vincent Zoete
Journal of Chemical Education 2017 94 (3), 335-344
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.6b00596

PharmaChemistry in the Classroom: A Drug-Discovery Experiment for the High School Chemistry or Biotechnology Classroom
Emily Garcia Sega and Jewyl Clarke
Journal of Chemical Education 2013 90 (12), 1658-1661
DOI: 10.1021/ed300336c

An In-Pharm-ative Educational Poster Anthology Highlighting the Therapeutic Agents That Chronicle Our Medicinal History
Elizabeth A. Ilardi, Edon Vitaku, and Jon T. Njardarson
Journal of Chemical Education 2013 90 (10), 1403-1405
DOI: 10.1021/ed4002317

Chemistry and Health

Creative Ways of Presenting Metabolism to Prenursing Students
Corina E. Brown and Richard M. Hyslop
Journal of Chemical Education 2023 100 (7), 2627-2633
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c01138

Antioxidant Potential of Anthocyanidins: A Healthy Computational Activity for High School and Undergraduate Students
Marco Bortoli and Laura Orian
Journal of Chemical Education 2023 100 (7), 2591-2600
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c01070

Observing Microplastics in the Environment through Citizen-Science-Inspired Laboratory Investigations
Karen M. Collier, Katherine McCance, Sarah Jackson, Ana Topliceanu, Margaret R. Blanchard, and Richard A. Venditti
Journal of Chemical Education 2023 100 (5), 2067-2079
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c01078

How Do High School Students Learn the Importance of Fats in the Diet? Analysis of the Fatty Acid Composition of Bakery Products
Enrique J. Clavijo-Bernal, Rosario Sánchez, Mónica Villoslada-Valbuena, Cristina DeAndrés-Gil, Rafael Garcés, Enrique Martínez-Force, Joaquín J. Salas, and Mónica Venegas-Calerón
Journal of Chemical Education 2023 100 (5), 1958-1964
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c01044

Digesting Digestion: An Educational Laboratory to Teach Students about Enzymes and the Gastrointestinal Tract
Stephanie Mack, Sarah L. Barron, and Alexander J. Boys
Journal of Chemical Education 2023 100 (2), 907-913
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c00992

The “Clean Air Outreach Project”: A Paired Research and Outreach Program Looking at Air Quality Microenvironments around Elementary Schools
Yara Khalaf, Carol Salama, Brenda Kurorwaho, Jessica C D’eon, and Hind A. Al-Abadleh
Journal of Chemical Education 2023 100 (2), 681-688
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c00890

Byproduct Valorization: From Spent Coffee Grounds to Fatty Acid Ethyl Esters
Lauren I. Austen, Thomas I. J. Dugmore, Avtar S. Matharu, and Glenn A. Hurst
Journal of Chemical Education 2023 100 (1), 327-335
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c00728

Why Is There a Red Line? A High School Experiment to Model the Role of Gold Nanoparticles in Lateral Flow Assays for COVID-19
Benjamin Pölloth, Hannah Röhrig, and Stefan Schwarzer
Journal of Chemical Education 2022 99 (7), 2579-2587
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c00094

“COVID-19 between Myth and Science”─Innovative Experiments for Analyzing Fake News Inside and Outside the Chemistry Classroom
Lars Otte and Marco Beeken
Journal of Chemical Education 2022 99 (5), 1890-1899
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.1c01262

Thirst for a Solution: Alginate Biopolymer Experiments for the Middle and High School Classroom
Emma R. Corcoran, Cassandra Lydon, Mollie C. Enright, Jeffrey Paz Buenaflor, Kate Anderson, and Jane E. Wissinger
Journal of Chemical Education 2022 99 (2), 1021-1025
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.1c00905

The Science of Human Health—A Context-Based Chemistry Course for Non-Science Majors Incorporating Systems Thinking
David Armstrong and Judith C. Poë
Journal of Chemical Education 2020 97 (11), 3957-3965
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.0c00887

Seeing the “Unseeable,” A Student-Led Activity to Identify Metals in Drinking Water
Heather M. Neu, Merton Lee, Jordan D. Pritts, Angela R. Sherman, and Sarah L. J. Michel
Journal of Chemical Education 2020 97 (10), 3690-3696
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b00553

Mock Urinalysis Demonstration: Making Connections among Acid–Base Chemistry, Redox Reactions, and Healthcare in an Undergraduate Nursing Course
Angela L. Mahaffey
Journal of Chemical Education 2020 97 (7), 1976-1983
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b01086

Urinalysis and Prenatal Health: Evaluation of a Simple Experiment That Connects Organic Functional Groups to Health Equity
Ginevra A. Clark, Marisha L. Humphries, Jessica Perez, Stella Udoetuk, Kruti Bhatt, Jennifer P. Domingo, Megan Garcia, Patrick L. Daubenmire, Nazminbano Mansuri, and Maripat King
Journal of Chemical Education 2020 97 (1), 48-55
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b00408

Sustainable Consumer Choices: An Outreach Program Exploring the Environmental Impact of Our Consumer Choices Using a Systems Thinking Model and Laboratory Activities
Kathleen C. Murphy, Meghna Dilip, Joseph G. Quattrucci, Susan M. Mitroka, and Jeremy R. Andreatta
Journal of Chemical Education 2019 96 (12), 2993-2999
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b00400

Introducing Toxicology into the Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratory Using Safety Data Sheets and Sunscreen Activities
Grace A. Lasker, Nancy J. Simcox, Karolina E. Mellor, Melissa L. Mullins, Suzanne M. Nesmith, Saskia van Bergen, and Paul T. Anastas
Journal of Chemical Education 2019 96 (4), 720-724
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.8b00408

Introducing Students to the Medical Applications of Cross-Linked Hydrogels Using Nontoxic Materials and Experiments Suitable for Many Settings
Grigoriy Sereda and Benjamin Hawkins
Journal of Chemical Education 2018 95 (11), 2068-2070
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.8b00067

Relating Chemistry to Healthcare and MORE: Implementation of MORE in a Survey Organic and Biochemistry Course for Prehealth Students
Lianne Schroeder, Joshua Bierdz, Donald J. Wink, Maripat King, Patrick L. Daubenmire, and Ginevra A. Clark
Journal of Chemical Education 2018 95 (1), 37-46
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.7b00272