In this lesson, students will see first-hand how all different kinds of scientists work together in the process of discovering anti-cancer drugs. Students meet cancer doctors, biologists, chemists and learn how they take part in the various steps of drug discovery. This lessons uses, as an example, a type of leukemia called CML, which is caused by a translocation that leads to production of the fusion protein Bcr-Abl. The activity of this mutant protein is inhibited by a famous drug that was found to be an effective treatment for CML.

We recommend that this lesson be the final BLOSSOMS lesson on cancer, that the students use, from the series of three cancer lessons made by scientists at the Broad Institute of MIT & Harvard. Before using this lesson, students should have already learned about DNA structure & function, and how different kinds of mutations affect genes. Only paper and writing utensils, and the ability to print out or display the provided handouts, are necessary to complete this lesson. 

This lesson is intended to take one or two class periods. The two most central hands-on activities in the lesson are: 

1. Students analyze data obtained at various steps of the drug discovery process, including: identifying rearrangements in chromosomes of cancer cells, identifying promising potential drugs from photos of cancer cells treated with various chemicals, & determining the most effective inhibitors of cancer cell growth.
2. Students do an activity in groups, during which they have to work together as a team to put in order their assigned career functions, in the over-arching steps of drug discovery. Each student must figure out which kind of scientist they were assigned to be. Instructions for an optional career project – focused on a science career of each student’s choosing – are also provided.