Oncology 703

703 - Carcinogenesis and Tumor Cell Biology

Semester I; 3 credits.

Prerequisites: Oncology 401 or equivalent, organic chemistry, biochemistry, cell biology, virology, or consent of instructor.

Instructors: Chris Bradfield (course organizer), Caroline Alexander, Paul Lambert, Jeff Ross, Wei Xu. Associates: M. Albertini, W. Bushman, Y. Matloub, D. McNeel, A. Moser, A. Roopra, R. Tibbetts.

Oncology 703 -

Fall 2007 Course Information

Meeting time/location: 12:05 PM
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
Room 125 McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research

Faculty

Chris Bradfield (course organizer)
213A McArdle
telephone: 262-2024
bradfield@oncology.wisc.edu

Paul Lambert
710A McArdle
telephone: 262-8533
lambert@oncology.wisc.edu

Caroline Alexander
819A McArdle
telephone: 265-5182
alexander@oncology.wisc.edu

Jeff Ross
625 McArdle
telephone: 262-3413
ross@oncology.wisc.edu

Wei Xu
421A McArdle
telephone: 265-5540
wxu@oncology.wisc.edu

Teaching Approach

This course provides a survey of the molecular mechanisms underlying cancer. The course is taught primarily through the description of experiments that provide new insights in cancer biology. Specific cancers will be emphasized and used to demonstrate central themes in cancer biology. There is a heavy reliance upon reading and understanding primary scientific literature. While the classes are designed primarily around faculty lectures, student participation in class is expected. The course grade is primarily based upon the students' performance in class and their written responses to take home assignments.

Preparation for Each Class

Written material important to the course will be handed out in class. Students should read all handouts for a specific lecture before arriving in class. This includes the background information as well as assigned primary papers. The significance, qualifications, and implications of the studies described in these assigned papers will be discussed in class. The faculty will sometimes ask students to summarize specific experiments described in the assigned papers. Students should be prepared to provide a short description of: (a) the question being asked; (b) the approach used to answer the question; (c) the results obtained; (d) the authors' conclusions drawn from their experiment; and (e) an individual commentary on the value and significance of the experiment.

Exams/Assignments

There are no formal in-class examinations. Instead, students are provided periodic (weekly or more frequent) take-home assignments that involve addressing questions pertaining to a particular reading assignment. Each student is expected to work individually on these assignments. Assignments are to be handed in at the beginning of the class period on the day they are due. Graded assignments will be handed back to students and issues surrounding the answers discussed in class. The goal of these assignments are to foster an appreciation of the primary literature relating to a particular topic and to help students learn to synthesize new ideas and design experiments to test/distinguish between hypotheses.

Help

Students who need any assistance during the course can contact Dr. Bradfield directly or speak with any of the other faculty at the beginning or end of class.

Oncology 703 – Fall 2007
Class Syllabus

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