Schrödinger, Inc. and two City University of New York (CUNY) institutions, New York City College of Technology (City Tech) and LaGuardia Community College (LaGuardia) announced that they have been awarded a three-year, $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation to develop experiential learning opportunities for students in the field of computational molecular modeling. The grant will help increase access for underrepresented students to technology and paid internships to prepare them for careers in drug discovery. Schrödinger and two academic collaborators City Tech and LaGuardia will use the funding to launch a collaborative initiative, Introducing Molecular Modeling Experiences to under Represented StudEnts (IMMERSE).

IMMERSE seeks to increase entry points into drug discovery careers by enhancing student participation at multiple levels on the pathway from community college to a four-year institution to the workforce. As part of the IMMERSE initiative, Dr. Katherine Bay from Schrödinger?s education team will collaborate with Biology Professors Dr. Mai Zahran and Dr. Armando Solis from City Tech and Chemistry Professor Dr. Ian Alberts from LaGuardia to redesign course curricula to integrate current industry-driven practices and cloud-based laboratory exercises, as well as provide paid internship programs for underrepresented students in STEM. The three-year grant will support approximately 480 STEM associate degree students from LaGuardia, up to 240 Biomedical Informatics Bachelor's degree students from City Tech, and 30 Schrödinger interns.