A new lesson plan from the University of Arizona aims to help high school students learn about vaccine development for COVID-19 using computational analysis, according to the University of Arizona News. The lesson is now available to all high school teachers in the U.S.

Part of the BIOTECH Project, which has provided “Arizona teachers with materials, equipment and training to conduct molecular genetics experiments with high school students” since 1996, the lesson has been tested in at least three high schools in Tucson, Arizona. The students studied proteins of all seven coronaviruses, according to the news site. The goal was to determine whether the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein could be a candidate for a vaccine.

During the lesson, students learned how different vaccines work and conducted a detailed comparison of protein sequences. Looking at the uniqueness of spike proteins, the students were able to see the evolutionary relatedness of the seven coronaviruses from their home computers. When they were done, they compared spike protein sequences of different versions of SARS-CoV-2. They observed that the sequence similarity within the spike proteins make them good vaccine candidates.

“We had the students looking at the protein sequences of the spike protein – the protein on the outside of the virus that makes it a prime candidate for your immune system to target and create immune response,” Nadja Anderson, director of the BIOTECH Project, told the University of Arizona News.

The lesson, which was performed virtually during the pandemic so students could learn at home, included more than 1,000 kits for building electrophoresis boxes, which are used in molecular biology labs to separate and examine DNA.  Using these boxes, students examined DNA from different lessons provided by the BIOTECH Project, which included mock crime scene activities and simulated genetic testing. 

For more information, check out the BIOTECH Project website and the Project Activities page. 

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