Leyte L Winfield

Spelman College · Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry

Chemistry scholars and educators are intentionally creating inclusive curriculum and equitable learning opportunities in response to the inequities in society exposed by the challenges of discrimination and the pandemic over the past few years. This special issue shines a light on discipline-based education research (DBER) in chemistry that address...

As undergraduate students cultivate their scientific knowledge and abilities, several high-impact educational practices such as undergraduate research and global experiences have proven exponentially beneficial for their development and success. Current literature on underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities has focused primarily on the impact...

The Journal of Chemical Education announces a call for papers for an upcoming special issue on diversity, equity, inclusion, and respect in chemistry education research and practice.

Uncovering systemic racism and ensuring the equitable inclusion and respect of all individuals are at the core of the current public outcries. This editorial is a call to action for the chemistry community to adopt practices and research scholarship that respond to the needs of diversity, equity, inclusion, and respect.

Background Ovarian cancer and ovarian related diseases affect reproductive health. Therapeutic molecules are needed to improve treatment outcomes and overcome drug resistance. The benzimidazole-based sulphonamide LLW-3-6 has both anti-apoptotic and anti-proliferative effects when used to treat prostate, breast, and brain cancer cells. Objective Th...

This account reports building a community of practice for organic chemistry instructors. With support from Chemistry Collaborations, Workshops, and Communities of Scholars (cCWCS), a group of organic chemistry faculty facilitated multiple workshops to introduce active learning techniques to their colleagues across the country. A Web site, organicer...

Strategies employed in the organic chemistry course must have the shared benefit of promoting concept mastery and visual literacy. With this in mind, an iSpartan-enabled visualization and computational activity was developed to complement learning in the first-semester, introductory organic chemistry course. The activity provides students an opport...

Our forefathers came here as slaves and were able to create rhythm and they kept rhythm no matter what. Now, we came here as slaves, but we going out as royalty.

The learning environment in higher education has morphed from a lecture-driven paradigm to an amalgam of experiences that utilizes collaborative and interactive engagement pedagogies enhanced by technology. Such learning strategies are believed to result in deeper learning, with students taking control of their educational experiences, and improvin...

A community-based element was merged with an interactive engagement learning environment in the organic chemistry course. The learning community was established by requiring chemistry and biochemistry majors to enroll in the same section of general chemistry and subsequently organic chemistry (courses designated as majors only). This allowed freshm...

The Spelman College Strategic Plan calls for an “internationalized” curriculum and a learning environment that extends to locations abroad, “Spelman Going Global.” The campaign endeavors to provide opportunities for both faculty and students. To sustain the effort, the College has established the Gordon-Zeto Center for Global Education and provides...

The learning environment in higher education has morphed from a lecture-driven paradigm to an amalgam of experiences that utilizes collaborative and active learning pedagogies enhanced by technology. In line with this, the current projects focuses on community-based, active learning strategies in the first- and second-year chemistry lecture courses...

Gliomas are among the most commonly diagnosed central nervous system tumors. Celecoxib has been utilized with success in the treatment of several types of cancer, including gliomas. The present study examined the antiproliferative effects of celecoxib and its benzimidazolebased analog, LLW-3-6, when used as co-treatment with sulfasalazine against h...

In an effort to improve student retention and success in the Organic Chemistry course, a blend learning format has been implemented. A number of pedagogical strategies are utilized synergistically to promote learning and knowledge retention in the course. While students read course material and review online lectures outside of class, the in class...

The proliferation in human prostate carcinomas, PC3 and MDA-PCa-2b, was analyzed for cells treated with LLW-3-6 and celecoxib in the presence and absence of sulfasalazine. LLW-3-6 was more potent than celecoxib at mediating a dose-dependent reduction of viable PC3 cells. Co-treatment with a non-lethal dose of sulfasalazine diminished the potency of...

A computational module has been developed in which students examine the binding interactions between indinavir and HIV-1 protease. The project is a component of the Medicinal Chemistry course offered to upper level chemistry, biochemistry, and biology majors. Students work with modeling and informatics tools utilized in drug development research wh...

Spelman College has sustained a strong record of educating African American women in STEM disciplines and continues to strengthen its capacity to contribute to the diversity of the science workforce. While Spelman College is exceptional in carrying out its mission to educate talented women from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, the national r...

http://www.aacu.org/peerreview/2014/spring/jackson

Spelman College has sustained a strong record of educating African American women in STEM disciplines and continues to strengthen its capacity to contribute to the diversity of the science workforce. While Spelman College is exceptional in carrying out its mission to educate talented women from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, the national r...

This invention provides for compounds, compositions, and methods that involve anti-proliferative and anti-neoplastic activity in cancer cells. In particular, a series of benzimidazole, purine, imidazopyridine, and imidazopyrizine compounds having selected substitution patterns are disclosed, and the activity of various subject compounds is demonstr...

Celecoxib is a multifaceted drug with promising anticancer properties. A number of studies have been conducted that implicate the compound in modulating the expression of Bcl-2 family members and mitochondria-mediated apoptosis. The growing data surrounding the role of celecoxib in the regulation of the mitochondrial death pathway provides a platfo...

http://www.nyu.edu/frn/publications/emerging.technologies/index.html

Inquiry-based learning is a unique student-centered alternative to traditional instruction. This form of active learning is ideal for the organic chemistry laboratory as it encourages critical thinking and hands on problem solving to complete an experiment. Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution is immediately associated with the undergraduate organic...

With cancer-related fatalities being the second leading cause of death in the USA, understanding the activity of effective chemotherapeutic agents is critical to addressing prostate and other cancers. Celecoxib, an FDA-approved drug for the treatment of colon tumors, has been used successfully as a lead compound in the development of antiproliferat...

PDK1 is pivotal in the development and progression of several cancers. A 3D pharmacophore was developed for pyrazole derivatives displaying anti-proliferative activity and PDK1 inhibition. The pharmacophore was utilized in the design of benzimidazole analogs. Our preliminary results indicate the pharmacophore should be useful in designing PDK1 inhi...

Tetrahydropyridine (THP) moiety is a part of many biologically active systems. The discovery of the neurotoxic properties of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) as well as numerous alkaloids, prompted extensive research on the synthesis and pharmacological properties of these compounds. The goal was extending the database for struct...

A series of 2,5-disubstituted 1,3,5-dithiazine derivatives were synthesized as potential analogues of the potent dopamine uptake inhibitor GBR 12909. The lipophilic character of the 1,3,5-dithiazine derivatives were experimentally (log P) and computationally (clog P) determined. The in vitro binding affinities of the 2,5-disubstituted 1,3,5-dithiaz...

A series of 2,5-disubstituted 1,3,5-dithiazine derivatives were synthesized as potential analogues of the potent dopamine uptake inhibitor GBR 12909. The lipophilic character of the 1,3,5-dithiazine derivatives were experimentally (log P) and computationally (clog P) determined. The in vitro binding affinities of the 2,5-disubstituted 1,3,5-dithiaz...

A series of novel GBR 12909 analogs have been prepared. Among, them are the 2,6-dioxopiperazine compounds. The synthesis of the piperazine derivatives comprised of three steps. However, the preparation of the 1-(2-hydroxyethyl)-4-alkylaryl-2,6-dioxopiperazines was tedious and difficult to accomplish. Formation of the ether linkage was straightforwa...

A series of eight 2-substituted 3-tolyltropane derivatives were synthesized, and the in vitro and in vivo biological activities as dopamine uptake inhibitors were determined. From the in vitro structure-activity data, it is apparent that a tolyl group in the 2-position, independent of the stereochemical attachment to the tropane ring system, provid...

A series of GBR 12909 analogues containing a 2,6-dioxopiperazine ring system were prepared and evaluated as ligands for the dopamine transporter. These less lipophilic analogues of GBR 12909 exhibited diminished in vitro binding affinities (Ki) at the dopamine transporter relative to GBR 12909.