Admission requirements
This course is mandatory for, and in the first instance restricted to, students who follow the Minor DSDT. The general admission requirements for this Minor apply. All students will perform the same combination of wet lab experiments and computational analyses.
Description
In this course students will learn basic and advanced topics in stem cell biology and apply the knowledge in drug research. The research projects will focus on differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells, and their application as innovative models for drug discovery and safety. The topics are directly related to current research performed at the Division of Drug Discovery and Safety. Developmental biology, tissue culture, gene expression analysis, and toxicology play important roles in the course.
Course objectives
After the course, the student will be able to: * Understand the principles of stem and progenitor cell biology * Explain gene regulatory and signaling mechanisms underlying the proliferation and differentiation of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells * Understand cellular reprogramming * Interpret literature and experiments involving use of stem, differentiated cells and reprogrammed cells for stem cell-derived models for drug discovery and safety * Analyze stem and differentiated states using imaging approaches * Explain the RNAseq workflows, interpret common plot types used to analyse RNAseq data, and compose simple scripts to generate such plots from pre-processed RNAseq datasets * Present and discuss research and literature findings on stem cell biology and stem cell-derived models for drug discovery with fellow students
Schedule
Teaching method
During this course students will follow lectures, perform practical lab work, apply quantitative analysis, and present their results. The 4 week course involves lectures and short written assignments, in parallel to tissue culture experiments using iPS cells, their differentiation to spontaneously beating heart tissue, and its subsequent exposure to compounds. Wet lab experiments will be complemented by computer practicals where students learn basics of RNAseq analysis, and apply this knowledge to analyse datasets of stem cells differentiating under normal and perturbed conditions. Attendance at lab and computer practical is compulsory. Students will make an exam to test the theoretical knowledge and present a short report to wrap up their experimental results. Students will be supervised by the lecturer, student assistants and technicians throughout the course. The preparation and practical work will take place in groups of 2-3 students.
Assesment method
Assessment occurs through a combination of methods with the following weights: * Written examination (closed questions): 35% * Assignments: 10% * Oral presentation, including quantitative data analysis: 35% * Active participation in lab work: 20%
Resit, review & feedback
Resits for failed assignments will be offered during the course within one week of the original deadline. Resits for oral presentations will be scheduled on an ad-hoc basis within 4 four weeks after the completion of the course. A resit of the written exam is scheduled approx. 6 weeks after the end of the course. The date of this resit will be published in MyTimetable.
A feedback session is scheduled in the week after the final written exam.
Reading list
Required reading for this course are the course syllabi and a collection of classical and contemporary reviews as well as primary research articles related to the course topic.
The reading list will be published on Brightspace at least 4 weeks before the course.
Registration
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer(s) (listed in the right information bar). For questions about enrolment, admission, etc., contact the Education Administration Office.