End of the Semester Review of Biochemistry Using a Case Study on Phosphoglucose Isomerase Deficiency

Abstract

Case study exercises are extensively used as a pedagogical tool not only to deliver the content but also to engage students in problem-solving using real-life scenarios. The transition to the virtual learning platform due to COVID-19 made it even more imperative to implement an inquiry-driven learning exercise that tethers various biochemistry concepts into one activity. Here, I present a case-based activity that was used to review and integrates multiple concepts taught in the introductory biochemistry course. This case study is derived from the clinical data of a newborn, diagnosed with hemolytic anemia pertaining to a defect in the phosphoglucose isomerase enzyme, and laboratory-generated research data comparing the wild type and the mutant proteins. This data-driven case study takes a question-guided approach to review acid–base chemistry, protein structure, protein purification, protein characterization, enzyme kinetics, mechanism, nucleic acids chemistry, carbohydrate chemistry, and metabolism. This activity is conducted over two lecture periods, allowing enough time to implement concepts learned during the entire semester to solve the questions in this activity. Furthermore, the case study helps students to identify some of the challenging concepts and guides them to generate a study list for the cumulative final exam. This activity has been conducted both in a face-to-face classroom setting and in a synchronous virtual classroom using Blackboard Collaborate Ultra. The survey of this activity clearly shows students’ enthusiasm toward participating in case-based learning in both modalities.