At the Innovations in Human Health & Life Sciences (iH2LS) division, we are dedicated to merging scientific theories of education with the context of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), based on decades of expertise in the field of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Our commitment to understanding how things work drives innovation in both research and teaching practices.

iH2LS focuses on two interconnected research lines:

1. Educational innovation – Our team of teacher-researchers explores novel teaching concepts and learning methods that foster new insights and enrich study programs within the Faculty of Science. Unlike traditional educational research groups in the social sciences, we ensure that every proposed and studied innovation considers the practicality for teachers and students.
2. Science – By embedding pedagogical and didactic research within the STEM context, we create strong links to beta research. This integration connects us to the department, faculty, and hospital, enabling multidisciplinary collaboration and the exchange of knowledge and techniques.

While individual projects may resemble those elsewhere, the combined, multi-perspective approach of iH2LS is unique. It consistently stimulates innovation in both teaching and science, adding significant value to education and research.

Besides performing and innovating research and teaching processes, the iH2LS group is dedicated to supporting the development of young professionals (e.g. junior lecturers or Ph.D students) within the department of Chemistry & Pharmaceutical Sciences (CPS). Junior lecturers are important assets in educational programs and, similar to a PhD-trajectory, junior lecturers follow a development process. It is our aim to let junior teachers reach and utilize their full potential in teaching, while safeguarding both their development process and well-being.

 Until ​recently, iH2LS hosted junior lecturers from the Mechanical Engineering BSc program, a joint degree program with the University of Twente. This approach was driven by on the vision that junior lecturers thrive through peer interaction and professional supervision. As of 2025 this program and its teaching staff, have been fully integrated in the VU department of Physics&Astronomy.

Research into teaching and learning

Our research at iH2LS explores innovative methods and didactics in STEM education. We actively seek new teaching concepts and innovative learning approaches, with a key focus on active learning. The three research lines covering a spectrum of diverse projects, are:

• Nature of Science
• Educational tools, including AI
• Teacher development, agency and leadership

When developing novel heuristics for implementing innovative teaching approaches, we keep practicality in mind to ensure they are both feasible and effective. Our students benefit from our continuous efforts to integrate the findings of our educational research into daily teaching practices to enhance student engagement and learning outcomes. Beyond stimulating insightful discussions, we at iH2LS are committed to driving broader changes across the faculty's study programs. An example is the Pharmaceutical Sciences program, which has already adopted various educational innovations in areas such as academic skills, research and lab skills, and active learning. By embedding these learning areas within the interesting context of drug discovery—a field filled with intriguing aspects and numerous unanswered questions—we ignite the enthusiasm and curiosity of science students.

Medicinal chemistry research

The medicinal chemistry research lines at iH2LS focus on elucidating molecular drug targets and the interactions thereof with small molecules. For example, through biophysical methods like surface plasmon resonance (SPR). We employ SPR biosensors and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) to analyze protein-ligand interactions and the thermodynamics of ligand binding which help us derive structure-kinetics relationships (SKRs). Coupled with X-ray crystallography, these techniques assist in understanding the molecular intricacies of target binding. But also in other disciplines, like Computer Aided Drug Discovery (CADD), bioinformatics, cheminformatics, receptor biochemistry and drug safety we strive to improve our understanding of the biological targets and their molecular interactions with small molecules.

Another core research area is understanding knowledge transfer processes within the realm of drug discovery. Under the ONCORNET 2.0 project, we are geared up to examine the status of GPCR cancer drug commercialization, by studying the intertwined perspectives of biomolecular sciences, innovation management, and organizational sciences. We study the knowledge base, clinical trials, and patents with the goal of contributing to GPCR cancer research in relation to innovation in pharmaceutical science management.

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