Doug Schirch

Chem 100, Chemistry World

An introduction to chemistry in our society for non-science majors. The course is a hands-on laboratory course based on important and intriguing problems from the world around us. Topics may include forensics, biochemical, environmental, household, medicinal and nuclear chemistry. Modern instruments and analysis will be used to collect and discuss data. Lectures and laboratory. Prerequisite: one year of high school algebra.

Chem 101, Chemistry and Physics of Life

Designed for non-chemistry majors. Chem 101 gives students a condensed foundation of chemistry principles. Lectures and laboratory.

Chem 103, Chemistry and Health

A survey of organic chemistry and biochemistry designed for nursing and other allied health majors. A laboratory component will involve chemical experimentation, research skills, and experimental design. Prerequisite: two semesters of high school chemistry with grades of B- or higher or a C or better in Chem 101, or consent of the instructor.*

*Taught as a ‘flipped course.’

Chem 200, Analytical Chemistry

Quantitative analysis using traditional and instrumental methods. Lectures and laboratory.

Chem 220, Human Nutrition

A study of the nutritive needs of the body in normal stages of growth and development, food sources of nutrients, nutrient functions, nutrition in clinical practice, and an emphasis on patient teaching.

Chem 303-304, Organic Chemistry*

Covering structure, nomenclature, stereochemistry, and principal reactions for the major functional groups of organic chemistry, this is a one-semester survey course that gives an overview of the field. Laboratory exercises introduce basic purification techniques. Using Chem 303 as a foundation, Chem 304 course presents additional reactions (with an increased emphasis on mechanisms) and material on stereochemistry, as well as introducing spectroscopy (IR, NMR, GC-MS and UV-Vis). Together, the Chem 303-304 sequence covers all topics traditionally covered in two-semester organic chemistry courses. Laboratory experiments teach techniques for organic syntheses, instruments (GC/MS, FT-IR, FT-NMR), and chemical information retrieval.

*Taught as spiral (two-cycle) organic chemistry. For more information, view my presentation given at the Biennial Conference on Chemical Education, August 2018.  A spiral organic chemistry sequence, 12 years after implementation.

Chem 430, Biochemistry

Introduction to the chemical processes of living organisms. This course (which complements Biol 307) focuses primarily on proteins (including enzymes) and metabolism, with introductions to carbohydrates, lipids, and cell membranes. Students planning to continue on to graduate programs in medicine, biochemistry, or related fields should take both Chem 430 and Biol 307 to get a solid background in the areas of biochemistry and molecular biology. Lectures and laboratory.

Chem 450, Introduction to Research Problems

Participation in distributed drug discovery research.

• Fuller A., Dounay A., Schirch D., Rivera D., Hansford K., Elliott A., Zuegg J, Cooper M., Blaskovich M., Hitchens J., Burris-Hiday S., Tenorio K., Mendez Y., Samaritoni J., O’Donnell M., Scott W.  Multi-Institution Research and Education Collaboration Identifies New Antimicrobial Compounds. ACS Chem Biol. (2020 Dec 18) 15 (12), 3187-3196.
• Dounay, A. B., O’Donnell, M. J., Samaritoni, J. G., Popiolek, L., Schirch, D., Biernasiuk, A., Malm, A., Lamb, I. W., Mudrack, K., Rivera, D. G., Ojeda, J.M., Scott, W.L.  Globally Distributed Drug Discovery of New Antibiotics: Design and Combinatorial Synthesis of Amino Acid Derivatives in the Organic Chemistry Laboratory, J. Chem. Educ. (2019 June 19) 96 (8), 1731-1737.

Chemistry Education.

• Schirch, Douglas.   Flipping an Allied Health Survey Course of Organic and Biological Chemistry, in Active Learning in Organic Chemistry: Implementation and Analysis; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society, (2019) Vol. 1336, pp 149-166.

The novel anti-tumor agent 3-bromopyruvate.

• The antitumor agent 3-bromopyruvate has a short half-life at physiological conditions.  Biochem Biophys Res Commun. (2014 Sep 12) 452(1):170-3.
• Differential 3-bromopyruvate inhibition of cytosolic and mitochondrial human serine hydroxymethyltransferase isoforms, key enzymes in cancer metabolic reprogramming.  Biochim Biophys Acta. (2016 Aug 13) 1864(11):1506-1517.

Fuller A., Dounay A., Schirch D., Rivera D., Hansford K., Elliott A., Zuegg J, Cooper M., Blaskovich M., Hitchens J., Burris-Hiday S., Tenorio K., Mendez Y., Samaritoni J., O’Donnell M., Scott W.  Multi-Institution Research and Education Collaboration Identifies New Antimicrobial Compounds. ACS Chem Biol. (2020 Dec 18) 15 (12), 3187-3196.

Dounay, A. B., O’Donnell, M. J., Samaritoni, J. G., Popiolek, L., Schirch, D., Biernasiuk, A., Malm, A., Lamb, I. W., Mudrack, K., Rivera, D. G., Ojeda, J.M., Scott, W.L.  Globally Distributed Drug Discovery of New Antibiotics: Design and Combinatorial Synthesis of Amino Acid Derivatives in the Organic Chemistry Laboratory, J. Chem. Educ. (2019 June 19) 96 (8), 1731-1737.

Schirch, Douglas.   Flipping an Allied Health Survey Course of Organic and Biological Chemistry, in Active Learning in Organic Chemistry: Implementation and Analysis; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society, (2019) Vol. 1336, pp 149-166.

Alessandro Paiardini, Angela Tramonti, Doug Schirch, Giulia Guiducci, Martino Luigi di Salvo, Alessio Fiascarelli, Alessandra Giorgi, Bruno Maras, Francesca Cutruzzolà, Roberto Contestabile, Differential 3-bromopyruvate inhibition of cytosolic and mitochondrial human serine hydroxymethyltransferase isoforms, key enzymes in cancer metabolic reprogramming. Biochim Biophys Acta. (2016 Aug 13); 1864(11):1506-1517.

Matthew Glick, Perry Biddle, Josh Jantzi, Samantha Weaver, Doug Schirch.  The antitumor agent 3-bromopyruvate has a short half-life at physiological conditions, (2014) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 452 (1), 170-3.

AudioSlides presentation of  The antitumor agent 3-bromopyruvate has a short half-life at physiological conditions.

Kim, D.W., Huang, T., Schirch, D., and Schirch, V. The Properties of Tetrahydropteroylpentaglutamate Bound to 10-Formyltetrahydrofolate Dehydrogenase, (1996). Biochem . 35 (49), 15772-15783.

Cai, K., Schirch, D., and Schirch, V. The Affinity of Pyridoxal 5′-Phosphate for Folding Intermediates of Escherichia coli Serine Hydroxymethyltransferase, (1995) J. Biol. Chem. 270 (33), 19294-19299.

Schirch, D.M., Villar, E., Maras, B., Barra, D., and Schirch, V. Domain Structure and Function of 10-Formyltetrahydrofolate Dehydrogenase, (1994) J. Biol. Chem., 269 (40), 24728-24735.

Schirch, D.M., delle Frate, S., Iurescia, S., Angelaccio, S., Contestabile, R., Bossa, F., and Schirch, V. Serine Hydroxymethyltransferase: Role of the Active Site Lysine in the Mechanism of the Enzyme, (1993) Adv. Exp. Med. Biol. 338, 715-718.

Schirch, D.M., Contestabile, R., delle Frate, S., Iurescia, S., Angelaccio, S., Bossa, F., and Schirch, V. Function of the Active Site Lysine in Serine Hydroxymethyltransferase, (1993) J. Biol. Chem., 268 (31), 23132-23138.

Schirch, D.M. Location and Structure of the Hexose Binding Site of Rat Brain Hexokinase, (1986) Ph.D. Dissertation Thesis, Michigan State University.

Schirch, D.M. and Wilson, J.E. Rat Brain Hexokinase: Amino Acid Sequence at the Substrate Hexose Binding Site is Homologous to that of Yeast Hexokinase, (1987) Arch. Biochem. Biophys., 257, 1-12.

Schirch, D.M. and Wilson, J.E. Rat Brain Hexokinase: Location of the Substrate Hexose Binding Site in a Structural Domain at the C-Terminus of the Enzyme, (1987) Arch. Biochem. Biophys., 254, 385-396.

Schirch V., Schirch, D., Martini, F., and Bossa, F. Serine Hydroxymethyltransferase: Effect of Proteases on the Activity and Structure of the Cytosolic Enzyme, (1986) Eur . J. Biochem., 161, 45-49.

Co-leader of Study and Sports in the Dominican Republic, May 2019.

Co-leader of Study-Service Term in Peru for three semesters in 2016-2017.

Co-leader of Study and Sports in Nicaragua, May 2016.

Co-leader of Study-Service Term in Nicaragua during the summers of 2008 and 2013.

AAC&U Conference on “Transforming STEM Education,” Nov. 2023, Arlington, VA:

• Incorporation of metacognition and mindfulness instruction into majors and non-majors chemistry courses.  [PPTX]

American Chemical Society National Meeting, Aug. 2022, Chicago, IL:

• Evaluations of weekly short metacognitive interventions in first- and second-year chemistry courses

American Chemical Society National Meeting, April 2019, Orlando, FL:

• Flipping and restructuring an OB course: Improved student performances and positive longitudinal student survey responses

25th Biennial Conference on Chemical Education, 2018, Notre Dame University, South Bend, Indiana:

• A spiral organic chemistry sequence, 12 years after implementation [PPTX] [PDF]
• Student perspectives on a flipped OB course at course completion and 2-3 years later  [PPTX] [PDF]

24th Biennial Conference on Chemical Education, 2016, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO:

• Successful conversion of confirmation labs to a simulated research project in a GOB course.  [PPT]  [PDF]

July 2010-present

Professor of Chemistry, Goshen College, Goshen, IN.

2004-2010

Associate Professor of Chemistry, Goshen College, Goshen, IN.

2002-2004

Academic Dean, Ave Maria College of the Americas, Nicaragua.

2000-2004

Associate Professor of Chemistry, Ave Maria College of the Americas, Nicaragua.

1997-2000

Academic Dean, University of Mobile Latin American Campus, Nicaragua.

1994-2000

Assistant Professor of Chemistry, University of Mobile Latin American Campus, Nicaragua.

1992-94

Postdoctoral research, Medical College of Virginia.

1987-91

Team member and Coordinator of Media/Documentation Office, Witness for Peace, Nicaragua.