Follow Up: Virtual Reality in Dr. Low’s “Introduction to Biochemistry”

Last year, we highlighted a new faculty member, Dr. Wen Yi Low and gave you a little preview of some plans that she had for using VR headsets in the Biology Fundamentals sequence. Now, a little more than a year later, we have an update!

This quarter is the second time that Dr. Low has run this course since receiving the Meta Quest 3 as part of the College Curricular Innovation Fund from 2024-2025. Dr. Low collaborates with Dr. Blair Szymczyna from Boston University on how to use VR in Biochemistry classrooms

We got a chance to throw on one of these headsets the other week to see how the students are using them in the classroom. Unlike previous generations of Meta's headsets (including previous Oculus headsets), the Quest 3 has a number of cameras on the face that allow for an augmented reality (AR) mode where the virtual environment overlays the real world around you.

When you first put the headset on, and the virtual environment suddenly materializes around you, it really does feel like being pulled into a different world! (If you ever get motion sick, you might need to take some breaks!) While there are a few different ways you can get out into the world at the university (Study Abroad, MBL, etc.), there aren't many other opportunities to step into the molecular world. Standing underneath an enzyme and being able to focus in on an active site feels like something out of science fiction!

Compared to hand drawing diagrams and plastic models - Dr. Low provides exercises that makes learning biochemistry literally feel larger than life. When you can actually reach out and grab a protein to spin it around and highlight a specific molecule, it provides a different opportunity for learning for students that might prefer a more hands-on approach. As part of the Introduction to Biochemistry, this course can help provide a great foundation for any student as you move through other courses that explore and engage with biochemistry.

- All majors are required to take Biochemistry, so if you haven't already taken this course you will definitely be putting on a headset sometime in the future. -