GRADUATE PROGRAMS IN THE BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES Course Catalog.pdf · because they affect most of us....

GRADUATE PROGRAMS IN THE BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES

Course Catalog Spring 2010

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COURSE TITLE Page(s)

1002 BIOCHEMISTRY OF METABOLIC REGULATION 2

1004 MOLECULAR CELL BIOLOGY 3

1006 GENE EXPRESSION 4

1008R METHODS TO STUDY MACROMOLECULES 5

1022 BIOCHEMICAL APPLICATIONS OF NMR SPECTROSCOPY 6

1106 HORMONE ACTION AND SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION 7

1210 SYSTEMS NEUROSCIENCE 8

1214 TOPICS IN ADVANCED MAMMALIAN GENETICS 9

1215 NEUROANATOMY: BASIC AND APPLIED 10

1220 RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT OF RESEARCH 11

1242 MECHANISMS OF ENZYMES TARGETED BY DRUGS 12

1313 IMMUNOLOGY 13

1334 FUNDAMENTALS OF COURSE DESIGN AND TEACHING 14

1340 BIOSTATISTICS III WITH DATA ANALYSIS LAB 15

1341 ADVANCED TOPICS IN EPIDEMIOLOGY & BIOSTATISTICS 16

1342 CLINICAL RESEARCH 201: RESEARCH SEMINARS 17

1344 SYSTEMS BIOLOGY SEMINAR 18

1345 GENETIC BASIS OF BEHAVIORAL DISORDERS 19

4006 NMR SPECTROSCOPY OF MACROMOLECULES 20



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1002 BIOCHEMISTRY OF METABOLIC REGULATION

COURSE LEADERS: Drs. Steven Roderick, Maureen Charron, Vern L. Schramm, Marion Schmidt and David Silver.

CREDITS/CLASS MEETINGS: 3 semester hours with approximately 26 lectures.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course will cover key topics in metabolism and will highlight relationships to clinically relevant inherited diseases. Integration and regulation of carbohydrate, lipid, amino acid and nucleic acid metabolism will be emphasized. Students should have some background in biochemistry, but not necessarily at an advanced level.

Emphasizing that the course is designed to deal with principles and fundamentals, the primary text will be "Textbook of Biochemistry with Clinical Correlations", Sixth Edition, by Thomas M. Devlin, editor, Wiley-Liss, Inc. 2006. Scriver et al "The Metabolic and Molecular Basis of Inherited Disease", 8th Edition (McGraw Hill, 2001) will be used for selected supplementary readings.

CREDIT HOURS: 3.0 LEVELS: Sue Golding Graduate Division SCHEDULE TYPE: Lecture



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1004 MOLECULAR CELL BIOLOGY

COURSE LEADERS: Drs. Dianne Cox and Duncan Wilson

CREDITS/CLASS MEETINGS: 4 semester hours; approximately 34 lectures. Grading based on three in-class exams.

SUITABILITY FOR 1ST YEAR STUDENTS: This is a demanding course involving a substantial amount of reading and should only be taken by those first year students with a background in biochemistry and cell biology.

SUGGESTED BACKGROUND READING: "Molecular Biology of the Cell", Fifth Edition, Alberts et al, Garland Publishing, New York. In addition the course will rely heavily on primary literature and current reviews.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course will cover basic areas in cell biology with emphasis on selected topics of current interest. The three main areas will be intracellular protein transport, the nucleus, and the cytoskeleton. Topics will include: membrane structure and biogenesis, functions of intracellular membranes and the signal hypothesis, protein trafficking and intracellular sorting, glycosylation, exocytosis, endocytosis and membrane fusion, nuclear structure and organization, nuclear transport, mRNA localization, self assembly of cytoskeletal structures, actin, microtubules, intermediate filaments, molecular motors, mitosis, cell junctions and extracellular matrix, cytoskeleton and signal transduction, calcium as second messenger, and cilia.




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1006 GENE EXPRESSION

COURSE LEADERS: Drs. Charles Query and B. Hilda Ye

CREDITS/CLASS MEETINGS: 4 semester hours; 30 lectures and 5 discussion sessions.

PREREQUISITE BACKGROUND: An undergraduate course in molecular biology at the level of Alberts et al. "Molecular Biology of the Cell" and Graduate Biochemistry #1001 or Molecular Genetics #1005 (Fall Semester), or equivalent.

SUGGESTED BACKGROUND READING: Alberts et al, "Molecular Biology of the Cell". Sections on Recombinant DNA Technology, The Cell Nucleus, and Control of Gene Expression. or Lodish et al., "Molecular Cell Biology." Sections on Nucleic Acids, The Molecular Anatomy of Genes, Transcription, and Gene Control in Development.

SUITABILITY FOR 1ST YEAR STUDENTS: Yes, with the appropriate background described above.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course deals with molecular mechanisms of gene expression regulation, and their impact on cellular functions during development, differentiation, and pathology. Topics include: regulation of transcription and of chromatin structure, its modification and role in epigenetic phenomena; metabolism of the major cellular classes of RNA, emphasizing transcription, processing, stability/degradation, and translation of messenger RNA and control at each of these steps; the biology of non-coding RNA and the use of RNAi as an experimental and therapeutic tool; mechanisms of genome maintenance and DNA repair. The role of gene expression, as described in the previous sections, is then discussed with respect to control of the cell cycle and apoptosis in the context of cancer, hematopoiesis, and stem cell self-renewal.

Students are expected to participate actively in faculty-guided discussion sessions during which experimental problem sets representing each segment of the course are discussed in depth.

EXAMINATIONS: There will be three take-home examinations.




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1008R METHODS TO STUDY MACROMOLECULES COURSE LEADERS: Drs. Denis Rousseau and Linda Jelicks CREDITS/CLASS MEETINGS: 3 semester hours; ~20 lectures. Classes meet twice a week (1.5 hours each lecture). PREREQUISITE/BACKGROUND: This course is open to any Einstein graduate or MSTP student SUITABILITY FOR FIRST YEAR STUDENT: Yes. COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course will discuss the methods used to explore the basic properties of macromolecules and their interactions. This will include structure determination, protein-protein interactions, protein dynamics, ligand-protein interactions and single molecule biophysics. The physical principles of the techniques used to study these properties will be described and their application illustrated with examples. The methods to be covered will include optical absorption, circular dichroism, fluorescence, nuclear magnetic resonance, electron paramagnetic resonance, cryo-electron microscopy, Raman scattering, and infrared absorption. The general theory that serves as the basis for these electromagnetic interactions with macromolecules will also be presented. The course will be taught by members of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics and will meet for a total of three hours each week. CREDIT HOURS: 3.0 LEVELS: Sue Golding Graduate Division SCHEDULE TYPE: Lecture



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1022 BIOCHEMICAL APPLICATIONS OF NMR SPECTROSCOPY COURSE LEADERS: Drs. Mark Girvin and Sean Cahill CREDITS/CLASS MEETINGS: 3 semester hours; approximately 30 one hour lectures and 8 practical sessions in the NMR Laboratory. PREREQUISITE BACKGROUND: Open to all students. Some background in biochemistry is essential, and introductory coursework in physical chemistry would be helpful. COURSE DESCRIPTION: The course will provide a working knowledge of basic NMR theory, and an extensive treatment of the application of NMR to solving biochemical problems. Topics will include one, two and three dimensional methods applied to: the covalent structure and conformation of small molecules, ligand binding and exchange rates, pKa values, enzyme mechanisms, and the structure, dynamics, and folding of nucleic acids and proteins. Formal lectures will be combined with hands-on sessions in the NMR lab. Students will be assigned projects to be completed on the NMR spectrometers. Grades will be based on the laboratory projects and a research proposal. CREDIT HOURS: 3.0 LEVELS: Sue Golding Graduate Division SCHEDULE TYPE: Lecture



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1106 HORMONE ACTION AND SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION

COURSE LEADERS: Drs. Jonathan M. Backer and Charles Rubin

CREDITS/CLASS MEETINGS: 3 semester hours; ~ 40 lectures (60 minutes).

PREREQUISITE BACKGROUND: Intermediate Biochemistry is desirable, but not absolutely necessary; graduate level understanding of protein structure and function, DNA structure & function also desirable.

SUITABILITY FOR 1ST YEAR STUDENTS: Yes, with appropriate background. If uncertain, see Dr. Rubin or Dr. Backer for interview.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course considers two fundamental aspects of biological regulation in experimental and theoretical detail: 1) The biochemical and molecular basis for the interaction between hormones and receptors; and 2) the mechanisms by which hormone-receptor complexes control cell metabolism, motility, proliferation, and the expression of specific genes. A series of hormone/receptor systems is discussed to provide current concepts of the diverse mechanisms by which different classes of hormones exert their actions. A partial list of topics includes: growth factors and their receptors and relationships to oncogene products; catecholamine-regulated adenylate cyclase with a focus on the role of a family of GTP-binding proteins as mediators of hormone action; regulation of intracellular calcium and calcium-induced signaling the enzymatic, structural and functional properties of cAMP-dependent, calmodulin- activated and calcium- phospholipid activated protein kinases; phosphoinositide kinases and their downstream effectors; small GTPases and their role in mitogenic signaling and cytoskeletal regulation; signaling by non-receptor tyrosine kinases; the progesterone and glucocorticoid receptors and the central roles of steroid receptor-ligand complexes in controlling gene transcription; TGF signaling in development.




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1210 SYSTEMS NEUROSCIENCE

COURSE LEADERS: Drs. Adam Kohn, Jose Luis Pena, and Odelia Schwartz

CREDITS/CLASS MEETINGS: 5 semester hours; three 1.5 hour meetings per week for a total of approximately 30 class sessions.

PREREQUISITE BACKGROUND: You must have completed and passed the Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience course. (Exceptions must be approved by the course leaders in advance).

SUGGESTED BACKGROUND READING: Principles of Neural Science (Kandel, Schwartz & Jessell, Eds.), The Cognitive Neurosciences III (Gazzaniga, Ed.), Theoretical Neuroscience (Dayan & Abbott, Eds.).

SUITABILITY FOR 1ST YEAR STUDENTS: Suitable for 1st year students.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Scope: The course will explore how complex neural systems integrate afferent information and direct efferent outflow. The overall goal will be to explore higher order functions, such as the structure and function of neural systems underlying sensation and movement, learning and memory at the sensory and motor levels, as well as higher-level cognitive processes including object perception and attention. At every stage we will build on a firm understanding of the underlying physiology and anatomical structure. Principal areas of interest will be on hierarchical neural systems, the plasticity of neural networks, serial and parallel neural processing, cognition and computational modeling.

Format: The course will be divided into four modules: 1) Principles of neural systems, 2) Neural bases of sensation 3) Neural bases of behavior and 4) Higher order functions and cognition. Each module will contain an initial series of didactic lectures introducing key facts and concepts, as well as class participation sessions focused on pre-assigned questions and relevant research papers. Techniques will be illustrated by demonstration.

Grading: The grade will be based on class participation and a term paper in the form of a grant proposal. The midterm exam will involve critiquing classmates’ grant proposals.




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1214 TOPICS IN ADVANCED MAMMALIAN GENETICS COURSE LEADERS: Drs. Bernice Morrow and Yousin Suh CREDITS/CLASS MEETINGS: 3 semester hours; 2 sessions per week. PREREQUISITE BACKGROUND: Students enrolled in this are required to have completed the AECOM Molecular Genetics course. Students wishing to enroll that have had the equivalent course elsewhere should see one of the instructors concerning the suitability of their backgrounds. SUITABILITY FOR 1ST YEAR STUDENTS: Not recommended unless the first year student has had the graduate Molecular Genetics course. COURSE DESCRIPTION: In recent years, it has been clearly established that most of the diseases and disorders that affect the human population have a genetic basis. Defects in meiosis have a large impact on the development of the embryo or during infancy. Single gene mutations have their greatest impact during childhood, while complex disorders involving mutation or alterations in genes and environmental effects have their greatest impact as we age. Complex disorders include diabetes, obesity, heart disease and mental illness. Dissection of these disorders has been a major goal of the human genome effort because they affect most of us. We will discuss the basic principles of mammalian genetics and the modern tools for genetic analysis of simple and complex traits. The availability of the complete sequence of human and other genomes has revolutionized the process cloning of genes involved in these disorders. Much of the genome does not encode genes. The availability of the sequence will also enable us to understand the function of the genome at different levels, including important epigenetic mechanisms such as imprinting. We will discuss how model organisms can be used to understand the function and pathophysiology of disease genes. The course will be technology oriented but examples from specific disease entities will be used to illustrate the power of the technologies. COURSE FORMAT: The course will involve sessions that will be divided into a lecture and paper discussion. The most exciting papers that highlight the points of the lecture will be discussed. One student will be responsible for presenting the details of one paper. Another student will be responsible for eliciting a discussion from the group. The presentations will constitute 30% of the final grade. Every student is expected to participate actively (70% of final grade) in each session. There will be no final exam. THE COURSE IS LIMITED TO A GROUP OF 20 STUDENTS




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1215 NEUROANATOMY: BASIC AND APPLIED

COURSE LEADER: Dr. Lucy Brown

CREDITS/CLASS MEETINGS: A short course offered every Spring semester, 2 semester hours, 18 sessions including 6 laboratory sessions and an exam.

PREREQUISITE BACKGROUND: An undergraduate course in Neuroscience is recommended but not required.

SUGGESTED BACKGROUND READING: Martin, J.H., Neuroanatomy Text and Atlas, Appleton and Lange, 1996

SUITABILITY FOR 1ST YEAR STUDENTS: Recommended for 1st Year Students

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Basic and applied neuroanatomy is a hands-on interactive course designed to acquaint the student with central nervous system neuroanatomy and current methods in research. "Applied" in this course means experience with brain dissections and examples in lectures from research and clinical applications. Each student picks a topic according to their interest, or is assigned a topic, e.g. the neuroanatomy of fear, of addiction, of sexual behavior, of cognition, of spinal mechanisms, of memory and learning, of middle cerebral artery infarction, of vision or motion detection. Assignments to identify cortical regions, subcortical nuclei and circuits will be based on these topics. Human, sheep and rodent anatomy will be studied.

The course meets 3 times per week. Part of each class meeting is a didactic lecture and part is an interactive activity, such as "make your own brain". Each Friday, laboratory meetings will include brain dissections. Students are expected to spend 5 hours a week outside the class preparing lab assignments. The grade will be based on an exam and lab notebooks.




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1220 RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT OF RESEARCH

COURSE LEADER: Dr. Victoria Freedman

CREDITS/CLASS MEETINGS: 6 weekly sessions of 2 hours each. Course offered in the Spring semester.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Course fulfills NIH mandated training requirement, required for all new PhD and MSTP students and pre-and post-doctoral students supported by NIH funded individual or institutional training grants.

Week 1 includes an overview of the issues to be covered in the course and institutional and NIH policies. This section will be covered by the course coordinators (1-2 hour lecture).

Weeks 2-6 will have the following format. One or two topics will be covered in an overview lecture of 30 minutes. The students will then breakout into small groups of 12-15 to go over 1-2 case studies pertinent to the particular area (1.5 hours).

Topics covered in weeks 2-6

a. Research Misconduct, Publication Issues and Peer Review b. Image Analysis and Animal Research c. Human Subjects and Conflict of Interest d. Data Management and Mentorship e. Collaborative Science and Respecting Everyone: Harassment Training

ATTENDANCE IS REQUIRED AT EACH SESSION AND WILL BE TAKEN.

NO CLASS SESSION MAY BE MISSED IN ORDER TO RECEIVE CREDIT.

AN INCOMPLETE GRADE FOR THE COURSE WILL REQUIRE RETAKING MISSED SESSIONS THE NEXT YEAR.




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1242 MECHANISMS OF ENZYMES TARGETED BY DRUGS

COURSE LEADERS: Drs. John Blanchard, Vern Schramm and pharmaceutical representatives

CREDITS/CLASS MEETINGS: 3 semester hours; two 1.2 hour sessions per week; approximately 26-30 lectures

PREREQUISITES: Graduate Biochemistry

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Two courses, Mechanistic Enzymology and Drug Design, have previously been taught by faculty of the Department of Biochemistry as half semester courses. This new combined course takes elements of two courses, combines them, and expands their scope with a stronger emphasis on enzymes that are, or are being investigated as, drug targets.

In the first 6 lectures, students will build on their enzyme kinetics experiences from the Graduate Biochemistry course with a more detailed examination of the methods used to probe the chemical mechanisms of enzyme-catalyzed reactions. In the next two sections (12-13 lectures), specific enzymes that are targets for existing drugs (pro- and eukaryotic examples will be given) will be mechanistically dissected and their inhibition mechanism by specific drugs examined. In the fourth section (2-3 lectures), new enzyme targets with substantial therapeutic potential will be explored. In the final section (4-5 lectures), the process of drug discovery and drug design will be discussed. There will be a number of assigned readings from the literature, and class participation and a final paper will be used to determine the student’s grade.

It is hoped that students completing the course will appreciate the subtleties of enzyme specificity and mechanism that are key to a successful drug development process. They will also be introduced to a wide range of chemical reactions catalyzed by the many examples discussed.




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1313 IMMUNOLOGY COURSE LEADER: Drs. Teresa DiLorenzo and Barbara Birshtein CREDITS/CLASS MEETINGS: 3 semester hours; approximately 20 lectures plus a number of small group sessions in which the primary literature will be critically discussed. PREREQUISITE BACKGROUND: It is helpful to have some previous work in immunology but it is not essential. Certainly, exposure to biochemistry and molecular biology are important. SUGGESTED BACKGROUND READING: Molecular Biology of the Cell (Fourth Edition; authors Bruce Alberts, Alexander Johnson, Julian Lewis, Martin Raff, Keith Roberts, and Peter Walter), Chapter 24 (The Adaptive Immune System). SUITABILITY FOR 1ST YEAR STUDENTS: Yes, provided that students have had an introduction to biochemistry and molecular biology, as described above. COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course will acquaint the student with advances in understanding immunological phenomena at the molecular and cellular level. Two introductory lectures, a reading assignment, and a quiz early in the course will ensure required mastery of basic immunological concepts. The course will consider both innate and adaptive immunity and include the structure of immunoglobulins and immunoglobulin genes and T cell receptors and genes. The cellular basis of antibody formation and molecular aspects of cellular immunity will be stressed. Topics in autoimmunity, chemokines, HIV, transplantation, infectious disease, and tumor immunology will also be covered. Lectures, assigned reading, a scholarly paper, and examinations will assist students in their mastery of basic immunology and foster their ability to attend and understand seminars in immunology, to read and evaluate the current immunological literature, and to conduct immunology research. CREDIT HOURS: 3.0 LEVELS: Sue Golding Graduate Division SCHEDULE TYPE: Lecture



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1334 FUNDAMENTALS OF COURSE DESIGN AND TEACHING

COURSE LEADER: Dr. Michael S. Risley CREDITS/CLASS MEETINGS: 2 semester hours; 1 two-hr session of lecture/discussion/group projects per week; total of 17 meetings. PREREQUISITE BACKGROUND: Open to advanced graduate students who have completed their required coursework and qualifying exam. Also open to postdocs and faculty. The course enrollment will be limited to 40. COURSE DESCRIPTION: Research and teaching are two major spheres of scholarship and responsibility for most faculty in academic science. Training in the science and art of teaching is uncommon, however, particularly in the research intensive environment of a medical school. Although we are often expected to teach and show evidence of good teaching, our training in pedagogy is frequently weak, and research training does not substitute for training to teach. The proposed course will present fundamental concepts and principles widely used in the design and execution of courses for adult learners (college and postgrad). Topics will include cognitive hierarchies and multiple intelligences in adult learning, course, lesson and syllabus design, lecture hall strategies, active learning strategies, formative and summative assessment techniques. Readings will be drawn from multiple texts, online resources and primary education research literature. The main texts will be:

McKeachie, W and Svinicki, M. 2006. McKeachie’s Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research and theory for college and university teachers. 12th ed. Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-6185-1586-9, pp 407

Fink, L.D.2003. Creating Significant Learning Experiences. Jossey-Bass, Wiley

and Sons, ISBN 0-7879-6055-1 STUDENT ASSESSMENT: Participants who successfully complete (pass/fail) the course will receive an official institutional certificate of completion to add to their CV. Successful completion will be assessed by attendance, weekly participation in discussions/assignments and satisfactory completion of exercises in course design. More than three absences/failed assignments will be grounds for course failure. CREDIT HOURS: 2.0 LEVELS: Sue Golding Graduate Division SCHEDULE TYPE: Lecture



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1340 BIOSTATISTICS III WITH DATA ANALYSIS LAB COURSE LEADERS: Drs. Abdi Negassa, Nan Xue, Aileen McGinn CREDITS/CLASS MEETINGS: 3 semester hours; 12 week course meets 1x week for 3.5 hours PREREQUISITE BACKGROUND: Must have completed Clinical Research Summer Intensive (Course #1307), Biostatistics II, Epidemiology II, or co-enrolled or have completed Advanced Topics of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, or permission from instructor. SUITABILITY FOR 1ST YEAR STUDENTS: Advanced course COURSE DESCRIPTION: To learn how the logistic regression can be used to assessed associations between exposure variables and dichotomous outcome variables. Methods for variable selection, examining confounders and interaction effects between variables, and assessing the goodness of fit of logistic regression models will be discussed. To learn fundamental methods in analyzing survival data including the Kaplan-Meier survival curves, the log-rank test, the Cox proportional hazards model, the stratified Cox proportional hazards model and the Cox proportional hazards model with time-dependent covariates. The Data Analysis Lab portion of this course will use STATA software to apply the concepts discussed in Biostatistics III including performing and interpreting statistical output related to logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards modeling. This will include assessing for interaction and confounding, model building strategies, testing of appropriate assumptions and evaluating regression diagnostics. Exam: One take-home midterm; and One take-home final Class Participation 10%; Homework 30%; Midterm 30% and Final 30% LEVELS: Sue Golding Graduate Division CREDIT HOURS: 3.0 SCHEDULE TYPE: Lecture



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1341 ADVANCED TOPICS IN EPIDEMIOLOGY & BIOSTATISTICS COURSE LEADERS: Drs. Howard Strickler and Melissa Fazzari CREDITS/CLASS MEETINGS: 3 semester hours; 12 week course meets 1x week for 3.5 hours PREREQUISITE BACKGROUND: Must have completed Clinical Research Summer Intensive (Course #1307), Epidemiology II, and Biostatistics II, and co-enrolled or have taken Biostatistics III, or by permission of instructor. SUITABILITY FOR 1ST YEAR STUDENTS: Advanced course. COURSE DESCRIPTION: The purpose of the course is to build upon the basics of epidemiologic study design and analysis you have received in prior course, and provide sufficient understanding of more sophisticated study design methods and theory - including the biostatistical issues raised by these advanced methods - to enable students completing the course to thereafter participate in the development of these studies with the assistance of appropriate expert support. This task is divided into two parts. The first half of the course focuses on advanced and molecular epidemiologic study design concepts (seven classes followed by a midterm), and is directed by Dr. Howard Strickler. There is special emphasis on the efficient study designs that are needed to conduct molecular and other costly investigations. The second half of the course then focuses on the biostatistical issues raised by these designs, and the analysis of their data (seven classes followed by a final exam), which is directed by Dr. Melissa Fazzari. It differs from the rest of the biostatistical courses in CRTP in that this course seeks to familiarize students with advanced methods and their use, without extensively focussing on statistical/mathematical formulas and derivations. The goal is to provide understanding and familiarity. Exam: midterm; and final Class Participation 10%; Homework 30%; Midterm 30% and Final 30% LEVELS: Sue Golding Graduate Division CREDIT HOURS: 3.0 SCHEDULE TYPE: Lecture



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1342 CLINICAL RESEARCH 201: RESEARCH SEMINARS COURSE LEADER: Dr. Paul Marantz CREDITS/CLASS MEETINGS: 2 semester hours; 10 days/1.5 hours per week PREREQUISITE BACKGROUND: Successful completion of Clinical Research 101, including receipt of the course Certificate; submission of a brief (1 page max) description of planned or ongoing clinical research project or hypothesis driven paper of the student SUITABILITY FOR 1ST YEAR STUDENTS: Recommended to first year students interested in Clinical Investigation Track COURSE DESCRIPTION: The course will use a case-conference seminar style that will link the didactic material to the learners’ proposed study designs. Each student will be assigned to present her/his research project, based on its connection with content areas from the course outline. Each presentation, to take no more than 15-20 minutes, will provide sufficient background for a multidisciplinary audience to understand the clinical problem, an overview of the research question, design, and data, and a specific issue to be addressed in the group discussion. The bulk of the session will involve the entire group in a critical discussion of some of the important issues in clinical research, including: refining the research question; choosing a study design; subject sampling and recruitment; ethical considerations; practical concerns (staffing, funding, setting); data management; data analysis; reporting and presenting findings; next steps. The goal of this approach is to provide an active learning environment in which participants can incorporate higher levels of cognition including application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation as well as knowledge and comprehension. The course grade will be based on class participation 50%, final (essay) 50%. LEVELS: Sue Golding Graduate Division CREDIT HOURS: 2.0 SCHEDULE TYPE: Lecture



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1344 SYSTEMS BIOLOGY SEMINAR (adopted in part from Princeton University) COURSE LEADER: Dr. Aviv Bergman

CREDITS/CLASS MEETINGS: 3 semester hours; 2 times a week for 1 1/2 hours

PREREQUISITE BACKGROUND: The prerequisite for this course is Molecular Gentics

TEXTBOOK FOR BACKGROUND READING AND REFERENCE: None - collections of journal articles will be used.

SUITABILITY FOR 1ST YEAR STUDENTS: The course will be open to students in at least their second year, post-doctorates and faculty members.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: It has long been recognized that scientific breakthroughs and groundbreaking research in the comin century requires multidisciplinary approaches to many areas of research. By means of critical reading of classical and contemporary articles the course will cover a broad range of relevant techniques from mathematical, statistical and computational sciences, and their relations to the specific scientifc questions in each of the articles discussed. The course will cover 26 articles on biological questions that have been addressed both theoretically and experimentally. These articles will cover a broad range of biological topics from molecular biology, evolutionary biology, geonomics and neuroscience. CREDIT HOURS: 3.0 LEVELS: Sue Golding Graduate Division SCHEDULE TYPE: Lecture



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1345 GENETIC BASIS OF BEHAVIORAL DISORDERS COURSE LEADER: Dr. Noboru Hiroi CREDITS/CLASS MEETINGS: 2 semester hours; 1 lecture per week/1.5 hrs per week, 16 lectures PREREQUISITE BACKGROUND: Some background in neurobiology is desirable. SUITABILITY FOR 1ST YEAR STUDENTS: Yes, but some background in neurobiology is desirable. COURSE DESCRIPTION: The role of molecules and neurons in behavior is studied by inhibiting or enhancing their functions in experimental preparations. Similarly, alterations in molecules and neurons occur in disease states, which provide a glimpse as to how the brain functions. Such neuronal alterations often occur as a result of gene alterations, whether inherited, spontaneous, or environmentally driven. These neuronal alterations powerfully shape our behavior. Brain functions can be ascertained when they deviate from a normal state-- without such deviations, observations remain simply correlative. In this course, students will explore the function of different brain regions from a disease perspective. Recent advances in our understanding of the genetic and epigenetic aspects of neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders will be discussed. A secondary focus of this course will be placed on translational research. Students will learn how to ascertain the genetic and molecular mechanisms of behavior in both humans and model systems. Sessions will be informal, with active student participation and student presentations of articles. Critical evaluation of existing dogma or commonly held views is encouraged. Grading will be based on a final essay (50%), presentation (25%) and participation in discussion (25%). Specific instructions about the final essay and presentations will be given at the first class. This course will be given if there are 2 or more students registered; if not, it will be given in the following year. CREDIT HOURS: 2.0 LEVELS: Sue Golding Graduate Division SCHEDULE TYPE: Lecture



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4006 NMR SPECTROSCOPY OF MACROMOLECULES

Courses at the New York Structural Biology Center

AECOM COURSE COORDINATORS: Drs. Mark Girvin, Hernando Sosa, and Linda Jelicks

PRESENT COURSES OFFERED: 1. 4003 Cryoelectron Microscopy of Macromolecular Assemblies (Fall) 2. 4006 NMR Spectroscopy of Macromolecules (Spring 2010) 3. 4008 Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy and Protein Structure (Spring)

NOTE: These courses will be held outside the AECOM campus. Meetings will be at the New York Structural Biology Center (NYSBC, Convent Avenue and 133rd Street, New York). Transportation from Einstein to the NYSBC and vice-versa is the responsibility of the students. Lectures and discussions will also be broadcast over the web, but class participation is important and attendance is mandatory.

CREDITS/CLASS MEETINGS: 3 semester hours; 2-3 times weekly including one discussion or practical session for about 14 weeks.

REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS/BACKGROUND: These are advanced courses. You must get approval from one of the AECOM course coordinators in order to register.

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS AT: http://www.nysbc.org/seminars

AECOM is a member of NYSBC.


GRADUATE PROGRAMS IN THE BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES Course Catalog.pdf · because they affect most of us....

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