Ampersand: Frontiers in Cancer Research and Treatment

Cancer as a disease has touched countless people in every country and every lifestyle. Cancer is not one single disease; rather, it is a collective scourge of many underlying disorders. Over the years, biomedical research has led to a fuller understanding of cancer etiology and spawned new diagnostic and treatment strategies to better manage and treat this condition. More recently, the launch of the Precision Medicine Initiative by the National Cancer Institute has led to unprecedented insights into the cellular signaling pathways that drive the development and progression of cancer. Furthermore, the current onset of "omics" technology and high-throughput biological readouts has opened the possibility of precisely identifying molecular changes and affected metabolic pathways in individual cancers, paving the way for precision medicine and patient care. In this second semester, we will build upon our foundational understanding of cancer and explore recent and groundbreaking advances in cancer research and therapies. The course is driven largely by student-led presentations and discussions with a mix of faculty lectures and guest seminars. Students work in teams and take responsibility for their own active, inquiry-based learning by examining various cancer topics using primary literature as the principle resource. Learning to read, interpret, and assemble a presentation from scientific literature and biomedical research is emphasized. Student teams choose a hypothesis-driven topic of interest in the field of oncology for further study and, near the end of the semester. prepare a written report and oral presentation to the class outlining its background, central hypothesis-driven question(s), experimental rationale/strategy, research data, scientific conclusion, and future direction. Prerequisite: BIOL 144. Enrollment is limited to students in the Hallmarks of Cancer & Patient Care program. Limited to 20 students.
Course Attributes: FA NSM; BU SCI; AS NSM; AMP

Ampersand: Frontiers in Cancer Research and Treatment

BIOLOGY AND BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES 1441

Section 01