BMS 230 will be offered again in fall 2010.

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Schedule: Winter quarter 2009, January 5– March 20
Lectures: Monday and Tuesdays, 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM. 15 minute break and time for questions
Advanced Topics: Thursdays 4:00 PM - 5:30 , Room U-506
Location: room N-729, Parnassus

Please pre-registister for this course: here

Advanced Topics Format: 30-40 minute lecture/discussion lead by a guest lecturer who will discuss an important topic/paradigm or an emerging and/or controversial issue/area related to CANCER.
40-minute journal club presented by one or two students (depending on enrollment) presenting article(s) relating to Lecture topic(s) that week. Students will identify a faculty mentor for assistance with their journal club, and that will attend their presentation.

Exam: One question related to the course contents will be given to enrolled students. Relevant references for a series of articles pertaining to the content of the question will be provided. From the references, students will extract salient details and synthesize their responses in the form of a coherent and scholarly 3-5 page essay.

Course Objectives:
Lectures will provide a broad understanding of the epidemiologic, molecular genetic, cell and pathobiological aspects of human cancer focusing on 1) regulatory and effector mechanisms and experiments demonstrating their functional significance in model systems and in human cancers, 2) the cells constituting tumor microenvironments and composing the tumor as an organ, and 3) relationships between basic biomedical research and their clinical applications.

In the Advanced Topics series, students will present concise literature reports supporting concepts discussed in the Lecture series, supported by a Faculty discussion leader who will pose an interesting and/or controversial spin on the topic. Together, these will enable students to engage in independent research projects using state-of-the-art methodology and model systems designed to improve our understanding of the etiology, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of cancer.

Recommended textbook: The Biology of Cancer (2007) by Robert A. Weinberg

Except for the first lecture on 1/5, hard copies of lecture materials will not be provided. Please remember to download course materials prior to each class.

Final Exam

Course Evaluations