Scientific project design in cell and developmental biology
BIO-464 / 4 credits
Teacher(s): Gönczy Pierre, Oates Andrew Charles
Language: English
Withdrawal: It is not allowed to withdraw from this subject after the registration deadline.
Remark: only one registration per student to a scientific thinking course
Summary
Students are led to understand selected concepts in cell and developmental biology through the analysis of scientific literature, and then apply these concepts to the design and execution of a group project in either the Gönczy or the Oates laboratory.
Content
Students are introduced to different model systems and experimental approaches used to address fundamental questions in cell and developmental biology; the importance of control experiments is emphasized. Students will read, analyze and discuss scientific literature (see Teaching Methods section below for more information).
Topics covered in 2024 include: spindle assembly, motor proteins, centriole assembly, biomolecular condensates, asymmetric division, embryonic development, signaling, organizer function, somite formation. During the last four weeks of the course, students will harness the knowledge acquired during the preceding weeks to design and execute a scientific group project in either the Gönczy or the Oates laboratory.
Keywords
Cell biology, developmental biology, quantitative aspects, model systems (C. elegans, Drosophila, zebrafish, mouse, ...), research strategies, experimental approaches, critical thinking, experimental design.
Learning Prerequisites
Required courses
Bachelor, preferably in the Life Sciences, but motivated students from other disciplines are welcome, as are doctoral students.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, the student must be able to:
- Recognize strengths and weaknesses of different experimental systems
- Realize the importance of control experiments
- Explain figures of a scientific paper
- Deduce conclusions from experimental data
- Distinguish key experiments from less important ones
- Propose next experiments to be conducted in a scientific study
- Use acquired knowledge to design and execute a scientific project
Teaching methods
The course is organized as follows in most weeks: in the first 60 minutes, scientific literature that has been read and analyzed by the students during the previous week is presented by them and discussed. After a short break, in the last 30 minutes, the teacher introduces the topic of the following week and provides one scientific paper to read and analyze for the following week.
During the last four weeks of the course, students form groups and use the knowledge gained until then to design and execute a small scientific project embedded in the Gönczy or Oates laboratories.
Expected student activities
In addition to attending class, students are expected to thoroughly read and analyze the papers, so that they can participate actively in the presentations and discussions. Moreover, they are expected to show dedication during the project design and execution in the last four weeks. Four hours of personal study per week are expected on average.
Assessment methods
Students will be evaluated during the semester on the quality of the presentations and discussions in class (1/3 of the grade), on a continuous evaluation in the middle of the semester (1/3 of the grade), and on the scientific project design and execution component (1/3 of the grade).
In the programs
- Semester: Fall
- Number of places: 20
- Exam form: During the semester (winter session)
- Subject examined: Scientific project design in cell and developmental biology
- Lecture: 1 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Exercises: 3 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Type: optional
- Semester: Fall
- Number of places: 20
- Exam form: During the semester (winter session)
- Subject examined: Scientific project design in cell and developmental biology
- Lecture: 1 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Exercises: 3 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Type: optional