THE COURSE IS A SEMINAR SERIES FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS OF MEDICAL SCHOOL. THE MAIN OBJECTIVE IS OF THIS COURSE IS TO HELP STUDENTS UNDERSTAND THE SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION BY COMPARING AND CONTRASTING THE SIGNALING PATHWAYS BETWEEN NORMAL AND NEOPLASTIC CELLS.
THIS IS A WEEKLY CLASS AND IT RUNS ABOUT 2-3 HOURS EACH TIME. TWO OR THREE STUDENTS WILL PRESENT THE UP-TO-DATE REVIEW ARTICLES AND RESEARCH ARTICLES RELATED TO SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION FROM DIVERSE PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL PROCESSES. PAPERS ARE ALL SELECTED FROM PRESTIGIOUS JOURNALS AND PRE-APPROVED BY THE TEACHERS. EACH STUDENT WILL FIRST GIVE A 30-45 MINUTE TALK FOLLOWED BY A 15-MINUTE DISCUSSION. THE TOPICS TO BE DISCUSSED INCLUDE MEMBRANE RECEPTORS, ION CHANNELS, THE SECOND MESSENGERS (CALCIUM, CYCLIC NUCLEOTIDES, ETC), PROTEIN KINASES AND PHOSPHATASES, PHOPHOLIPASES, FREE RADICALS, GROWTH FACTORS, GENE REGULATION, APOPTOSIS, STEM CELL BIOLOGY, IMMUNOLOGY, CANCER CELL BIOLOGY AND NEUROBIOLOGY. THE STUDENTS IN THE CLASS ARE EXPECTED TO ACQUIRE A COMPREHENSIVE AND IN-DEPTH UNDERSTANDING ON THE ACTION OF SIGNALING MOLECULES OF EACH PATHWAY AND THE CROSSTALKS BETWEEN PATHWAYS. IN ADDITION TO THE PRESENTATION, THE COURSE IS AIMED TO TEACH STUDENTS LOGIC THINKING, DATA INTERPRETATION, AND PROBLEM SOLVING. IN A WAY, THIS COURSE ALSO SERVES AS A USEFUL BASIS FOR THE MASTER STUDENTS TO WRITE THEIR THESIS LATER ON.
THE GRADE OF THE STUDENTS WILL BE GIVEN BASED ON THEIR PRESENTATION AND THEIR ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS.