Integration of research experience into classroom is an important and vital experience for all undergraduates. These course‐based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) have grown from independent instructor lead projects to large consortium driven experiences. The impact and importance of CUREs on students at all levels in biochemistry was the focus of a National Science Foundation funded think tank. The state of biochemistry CUREs and suggestions for moving biochemistry forward as well as a practical guide (supplementary material) are reported here. © 2016 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 45(1):7–12, 2017.

Abstract: Computer-aided drug design (CADD) methodologies have proven to be very effective, greatly enhancing the efficiency of small molecule drug discovery and development processes. These methods include quantitative structureactivity relationship and pharmacophore models, quantitative structure-property relationship models, as well as in silico docking studies. While docking studies very often correctly identify the binding mode of a ligand, they have reduced success in predicting binding affinities. Development of improved and more efficient strategies for scoring binding affinity is a very active area of research. Here we review the utility of computational intelligence approaches such as artificial neural networks, fuzzy logic, and evolutionary computation to the calculation of improved docking scores.