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DP students win computational chemistry awards

It’s likely that computational chemistry is an unfamiliar term to many of us. However, Diploma Programme graduates in Girona, Spain—Arnau Cañabate and Èric Vallès from Bell-lloc del Pla school—recently won four well-respected awards for their research on the topic.

Foto 7 Momento de la entrega del premio Recerca Jove a Èric y Arnau - 600px

The four awards include:

  1. Gaining a grant Granting a Joves 10 Scholarship Foundation Jaume Casademont, Girona
  2. Premio Especial del Jurado – the Special Jury Prize at the Contest for Young Scientists of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport.
  3. Contest prize in the pre-university Research work BCN BIO Pro Science Meeting, at the Biomedical Research Park of Barcelona.
  4. Premi Recerca Jove, de la Generalitat de Catalunya

The development of research skills is such a fundamental part of the learning experience of Diploma Programme students that we asked Arnau and Èric to tell us more about their award-winning experience.

What inspired you to carry out this particular research project?

Foto 1 Arnau y Èric con la escritora Maria Mercè Roca en Beques Joves 10 600pxOur biology teacher told us about an article in La Vanguardia describing a great discovery by Dr. Joan Massagué, director of the Memorial Sloan Institute in New York, and suggested the possibility of conducting a theoretical study using computational chemistry techniques. Carrying out such research was presented to us as a way to learn more about a field that was totally unknown to us and linked to leading molecular cancer research – – something quite extraordinary for high school students. We each carried out our work individually, addressing particular aspects of the theme, but leaving a core theme that could merge the two papers, to give it more content and depth.

Our hypothesis is that, through the molecular design programs in computational chemistry, and using a technique called ‘docking’, molecules can be designed with greater power to inhibit VCAM-1, a protein that acts decisively in the progress of metastasis—the development of secondary malignant growths at a distance from a primary site of cancer [Ref: Wikipedia}–than those normally used.

Starting with the molecules indole and quinoline, we will design molecules that bind better to VCAM-1. Using the docking technique, we will know which of these molecules bind in the most stable way and, therefore, which will inhibit the protein best and will be more likely to be the most effective drugs against brain metastasis.

The main objective of this project is the virtual design of new compounds derived from indole and quinoline, to make them inhibitors of VCAM-1, and thus prevent metastasis in cancers.

How have your studies helped you in carrying out this project?

We both studied IB sciences at high school. The depth of the experimental science programs in the Diploma Programme gave us secure access to content that is not generally included in high school diploma programs. The foundation provided by our IB studies is a key tool for ensuring we successfully make the leap to university studies.

Knowing that we form part of the IB community of learners, our participation in this paper made us inquiring and knowledgeable, required us to be good communicators, and to develop our caring capacity. With an open mind, we addressed unknown aspects boldly and worked collaboratively to propose innovative strategies. The philosophy that permeates the IB programmes has been key to achieving our objectives.

What did you like most about the project?

The opportunity to access complex biological problems using virtual tools really inspired and spurred us on when preparing the paper. Dr Joan Massagué approved our proposals for both theoretical models and encouraged us during all stages of conducting the research, describing the end result as sophisticated and very sound. This has been our greatest reward. Contact with a leading research team such as the Sloan Kettering Institute team has been extremely exciting and motivating and has given the paper a strong international dimension.

Foto 6 Èric, Arnau y el señor Montoliu con el conseller de la Generalitat de Catalunya, señor Jordi Baiget- 600px


Arnau Cañabate is currently studying Human Biology at the University Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona and Èric Vallès studies Biotechnology at the University of Barcelona.

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