News & Comment
Press Releases
Learning by Doing
by Jaimie Leopold
Dr Moses Lee, a professor of chemistry and dean of natural and applied sciences at Hope College in Holland, Mich., believes that a key ingredient to a successful science department is that students learn by doing.
This teaching method is what brings a student alive to the possibilities of a career in science, he maintains, adding that a favorite saying from a colleague at Hope is, "Enthuse them or lose them."
Lee, a bio-organic and medicinal chemist who develops anti-cancer and gene-control agents, points out that much of advanced, 21st-century science is about crossing disciplinary boundaries. He adds that an interdisciplinary research question - for example, one touching on engineering, business, law and politics -- incorporated into the curriculum can migrate from class to class -- a teaching strategy that strengthens the future scientific workforce that will undoubtedly be faced with complex problems. That's also one reason why he works with the faculty at Hope College to develop research programs that cut across multiple disciplines.
"We look at solving a problem by exploring all the disciplines and tools," he says.
Lee's office provides discretionary funds aimed at supporting this complex research. The money usually includes supplemental grants from HHMI and other funders.
While he continues to lead by example, engaging undergraduate students in research in his own lab, he is also working at community building by creating a K-12 pipeline through Hope College's engagement with local high-school students and their parents. He is particularly invested in ensuring an increased diversity in the pool of undergraduate science students.
Lee says his fascination with science began as he watched his grandfather and uncle work with Chinese medicine, and it gradually dawned on him that chemistry plays a major role in treating human illnesses through dealing with the whole person -- "body, mind and soul."
Today, Lee's curiosity for innovation in science combines with his drive to improve the lives of third-world people. In addition to anti-cancer work, he also targets malaria, tuberculosis, African sleeping disease and sandfly disease.
His first grant, a Cottrell College Science Award for genetic research, came from RCSA, a foundation with a long tradition of investing in early career scientists who show promise in both innovative research and teaching in primarily undergraduate institutions. Lee recalls the RCSA grant, in 1990, allowed him to establish a research program and to continue his work through the summer; he says it also gave him the freedom to take some risks on a good hypothesis. It was, he adds, a "stamp of approval that allowed me to take risks and educate students. " It led to several published papers as well as additional grant awards and patents.
"Building a program succeeds when there is a focus on hard work, productivity and people," Moses says. "RCSA focuses support on people, and that is a key for success."
#