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MBP 1018Y: ONCOLOGY
Wednesdays, 10 a.m. – 12 pmJanuary 7 – May 1, 2015
Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Room 7-605
OUTLINE Introductions Course Contact Information Course Overview - Goal, Format Course Schedule Course Evaluation Term Project – Midterm Assignment, Term
Paper and Oral Presentation Significant Dates
INTRODUCTION Name Research area Objective for attending this class Personal tidbit you would like to share
CONTACT INFORMATION Course Coordinator: Dr. Michael Reedijk
Email: [email protected]
Teaching Assistant: Julia Izrailit (Day-to-day contact person) PMH, Room 8-514 Tel: 416-946-4501 Ext.3590 Email: [email protected]
COURSE GOALS To expose graduate students to the
concepts of translational oncology (“from bench to bedside”) through a series of seminar-type presentations highlighting recent advances of translational research
And, To motivate graduate students to apply the
concepts of translational oncology to their own research through a series of written and oral assignments.
CLASS FORMAT Didactic lecture, led by experts in the field,
45-50 minutes in length; followed by discussion/Q&A
Class discussion on 2-3 papers chosen by lecturer, led by students (“Journal Club”-1hr)
COURSE SCHEDUDULEDate Title Speaker
January 7, 2015 Introduction Julia Izrailit
January 14, 2015
Imaged based monitoring of individual response to treatment
Greg Czarnota
January 21, 2015
The importance of genetic variation in oncology Geoffrey Liu
January 28, 2015
Novel models and methods for assessment of new targeted agents in oncology
David Hedley
February 4, 2015
Perils and pitfalls in translational research Norman Boyd
February 11, 2015
Epigenetic modifications as therapeutic targetsDaniel De Carvalho
February 18, 2015
Cancer Immunotherapy Linh Nguyen
February 25, 2015
Breast cancer oncogenesis and new targets Anne Koch
March 4, 2015 Towards personalized epigenomics Mathieu Lupien
March 11, 2015Lung cancer genomics and patient individualization
Ming Tsao
March 18, 2015Tumor microenvironment and metabolism in radiation oncology
Mike Milosevic
March 25, 2015Novel targeted drugs and their introduction in the clinic
Phil Bedard
April 1, 2015 Novel targets in leukemia Mark Minden
April 8, 2015 Proposal presentations - part 1
April 15, 2015 Proposal presentations - part 2
May 1, 2014 Final assignment due
JOURNAL CLUB FORMAT All students are expected to read the
assigned papers in advance of the class 2-3 students will be assigned to lead the
journal club discussion in class Come to the session with prepared questions
and/or discussion topics that arise from the selected manuscripts
Be creative with the discussion period! Leaders can feel free to coordinate with each other and develop ways to engage their fellow students and the lecturer in discussion
DO’S Focus on “big picture” – implications of the
papers; integration with earlier concepts in the course; impact on personalized medicine; what comes next?
Engage all students in the discussion Spread the facilitation duties among the
team Keep discussion lively and interesting
HOW DO WE KEEP THE DISCUSSION GOING? Facilitate! Be creative
Mock debates (pro/con) Play games with the audience Snap group discussions …The sky’s the limit
For advice and assistance, contact me
DO NOT’S Rely only on Powerpoint presentations Dissect/critique the papers, figure by figure Monopolize the discussion Fail to engage your classmates
COURSE EVALUATION Participation (20%)
Class attendance (if you are unable to attend with reason, please notify me in advance)
Leadership of journal club Participation in journal club
Midterm Assignment (15%) Oral Presentation (15%) Term Paper (50%)
LECTURE ATTENDANCE MANDATORY If you are unable to attend (for e.g., ill;
committee meeting; conference), please notify “My experiment got in the way” is not an
acceptable excuse (speaks to time management skills)
“I needed to finish my assignment for X course” is also not an acceptable excuse
TERM PROJECT Group-developed project - grant application
Midterm: Individual letters of intent Oral: Group presentation of project proposal Final: Group project proposal
In these types of grants, often three to four linked initiatives are submitted as part of a larger overall research. For example, a project in head and neck cancer may
involve biomarker identification and validation; imaging; and new therapy development, all linked by common themes and integrated with one another.
Demonstrates “team science” and the ability to integrate concepts and ideas in a collaborative environment
TERM PROJECT Groups of 3-4 Each group identifies an overall topic or
theme MUST be approved by me No two groups can do the same topic Topic choice is made on a first come-first served
basis What’s a topic/theme? Examples:
A given tumor site Multiple approaches to biomarker
discovery/validation Novel target discovery/experimental therapeutics Combinations of the above Anything you can think of!
MIDTERM ASSIGNMENT “Letter-of-intent”/Statement of Research
Interests INDIVIDUAL SUBMISSION 2 pages Single spaced Not including any necessary references or the title
page Contents
Clearly stated research question Well-defined hypothesis Two clearly-stated aims/objectives Translational relevance/Human impact Integration with overall group project
“Set the Stage” for your final assignment
MIDTERM ASSIGNMENT What is NOT necessary
Detailed methodology Discussion of experimental plan
DO NOT make this about your research directly!
To verify this, we ask for a copy of your research abstract (e.g., your project proposal abstract from your first committee meeting or qualifying/reclassification exam; or your student seminar abstract)
Failure to abide by this rule will result in an automatic failing grade in the course; there will be no opportunity for a make-up assignment
You may stay within the same disease, but you must choose a different aspect of it (for e.g., if you are working on a particular signaling pathway, you cannot do that, but you can do something based on imaging modalities in the same disease, or experimental therapeutics, etc.)
You cannot work on the same protein
You may apply a technique you’re learning or working on currently to your research question, but remember that a research question isn’t based around a technique
You can, also, if you like, extrapolate from your research if it is very basic, and consider how you would apply it 5 or 10 years from now, in the clinical setting
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me
MIDTERM ASSIGNMENT: RESEARCH PLAN “Set the Stage”
Background of your question Clinical and translational relevance Rationale for your choice What models and systems will you be using
You may outline your proposed study design, but don’t make this the focus of your discussion
MIDTERM ASSIGNMENT: RESEARCH PLAN Why are we making you do this?
Experience with a different style of scientific writing Grad students, post-docs and people applying for
faculty positions have to write these statements of research interest in applying for fellowships/positions
Write for a general audience – OK to be nontechnical
Good practice to solidify your ideas before launching into the more complex – and technical – grant writing exercise
ORAL PRESENTATION Group (20-25 minute) oral presentation
outlining your research proposal Focus on translational aims and impact “Interview” for grant proposal
TERM PAPER “Medical Biophysics Translational Research
Grant” Full research proposal
4 pages per group member Single spaced Not including figures, tables, references, title page
This grant is to be built around the translational research aim(s) you designed for the Midterm Assignment
TERM PAPER Longer and more complex than the
midterm assignment Similar to grant and fellowship proposals you will
be writing as a graduate student Similar to the design for a reclass/qualifying exam
proposal Intended to give you a sense of the form and
function in a scientific proposal Meant to be a “window into your thought
processes” if well written
TERM PAPER Components
Abstract of overall project (1 page) Introduction and statement of relevance (2 pages) Rationale and outline of objectives/hypotheses (1
page) Each group member’s specific research proposal
(4 pages, max, each – including a review of preliminary data from the literature, 2 aims, and a statement of translational implication)
A section on integration and an overall conclusion (1 page)
WHAT IS TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH? For the purposes of this grant, “Translational
Research” is defined to be use of clinically obtained samples in at least one major aim of the proposal
Specifically, use of: Human subjects (with malignancy or disease) Primary tissues/fluids (e.g., bone marrow samples or
tumour biopsies) derived from patients with malignancy or disease
You CANNOT use for this purpose: Mice or other animal models Cell lines derived from patients Other cell culture systems
BUT I DON’T DO TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH!
Don’t worry! Fewer of us than you might think do purely translational research
Objective of MBP 1018 is to develop your ability to conceive of and integrate translational concepts into your thinking
If you do: Basic research (with cell lines or animal models) Structural research Photonics or imaging research
…There are translational applications in the future – just think about them!
BUT I DON’T DO ONCOLOGY RESEARCH! That’s OK – think about the pathways you
work on. Do they have application to cancer in some
way? Can you draw connections outside of your
own immediate sphere of research? If you can, write about those connections.
SIGNIFICANT DATES January 7 - Introductory session January 21 - Submission of abstract of term
project; groups identified and topics selected February 4 - Submission of midterm
assignment February 23 - Last date to drop Y/S courses
without academic penalty April 1 - Last session April 8 - Oral presentations – part 1 April 15 - Oral presentations – part 2 May 1 - Submission of term paper
