Course catalogue doctoral education - VT24

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Title Cancer and Cancer Stem Cells
Course number 5309
Programme 1-Ingår i flera program
Language English
Credits 1.5
Date 2021-09-27 -- 2021-10-01
Responsible KI department Institutionen för medicin, Huddinge
Specific entry requirements Basic knowledge in Cancer Biology and Cell Biology.
Purpose of the course The purpose of the course is to deepen the participant’s knowledge about the concept of cancer stem cells and to understand the necessity of targeting cancer stem cells directly in cancer treatment. The course will provide a historical perspective of the discovery of the cancer stem cells. It will focus on current research in the field and methods to detect cancer stem cells in solid tumors and hematological cancers. Another focus point will be the therapeutical applicability of targeting cancer stem cells specifically.
Intended learning outcomes After completion of the course, the student will be able to describe the concept of cancer stem cells, the relationship between cancer and cancer stem cells, as well as assays to identify these stem cells. Within this framework, the student will be able to demonstrate an understanding for the development of cancer in the context of solid tumors and hematological cancers. In addition, the students will be able to critically evaluate the advantages and drawbacks of basic mechanisms employed for cancer treatment in the clinic.
Contents of the course The course covers key principles of cancer development and cancer therapies, and provides an appreciation for the concept of cancer stem cells and its implications from a clinical and basic science perspective. This includes a general overview of molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying cancer development, drug resistance, disease relapse, cancer stem cells, therapeutic stem cell transplantation and clinical care for the treatment of solid tumors and leukemia, immunological cancer-related considerations, and perspectives for novel cancer therapies. The student will be required to take an active part in this course by contributing with presentations and discussions related to cancer and cancer stem cells.
Teaching and learning activities The pedagogic frame of this course is based on lectures combined with topic-related research articles. The course includes workshops where the students are required to present articles, integrate the knowledge acquired from lectures and reading of the articles, and actively discuss their acquired knowledge as a group. Each student will research, prepare and present his or her examination task orally.

Online presentation of methods combined with a short lab visit may be offered (depending on the appropriateness at the timepoint of the course).
Compulsory elements The lectures and discussions are mandatory. Absence is compensated according to the instructions of and in agreement with the course director.
Examination The individual performance of each student will be evaluated separately based on their presentation of a cancer stem cell-related topic and the feedback the student provides to their fellow students. The content and organization of the presentation and discussion will follow a format provided by the instructors.
Literature and other teaching material The course literature will consist of recent articles on selected topics within the field of cancer and cancer stem cells. These will be updated prior to the course on the course platform based on speakers for the course and current publications. Examples of recommended articles:

1) Hanahan, D.; Weinberg, R.A. Hallmarks of cancer: the next generation. Cell 2011, 144, 646-674, doi:10.1016/j.cell.2011.02.013.

2) Batlle, E.; Clevers, H. Cancer stem cells revisited. Nat Med 2017, 23, 1124-1134, doi:10.1038/nm.4409.

3) Bleijs, M.; van de Wetering, M.; Clevers, H.; Drost, J. Xenograft and organoid model systems in cancer research. EMBO J 2019, 38, e101654, doi:10.15252/embj.2019101654.

4) Yamashita, M.; Dellorusso, P.V.; Olson, O.C.; Passegue, E. Dysregulated haematopoietic stem cell behaviour in myeloid leukaemogenesis. Nature reviews. Cancer 2020, 20, 365-382, doi:10.1038/s41568-020-0260-3.

5) Walcher, L.; Kistenmacher, A.K.; Suo, H.; Kitte, R.; Dluczek, S.; Strauss, A.; Blaudszun, A.R.; Yevsa, T.; Fricke, S.; Kossatz-Boehlert, U. Cancer Stem Cells-Origins and Biomarkers: Perspectives for Targeted Personalized Therapies. Front Immunol 2020, 11, 1280, doi:10.3389/fimmu.2020.01280.
Number of students 12 - 30
Selection of students Selection will be based on 1) the relevance of the course syllabus for the applicant's doctoral project (according to written motivation), 2) start date of doctoral studies (priority given to earlier start date)
More information The course will be given Monday - Friday, with lectures, JCs, discussion forums from 9.00-14.00, and individual and group work in the afternoon. The course will be held online. The course is given jointly by the doctoral programmes Development and Regeneration (DevReg) and Tumor Biology and Oncology (FoTO). See: https://staff.ki.se/doctoral-programmes. The course has previously been given with course number 2849.
Additional course leader Arnika Wagner and Marios Dimitriou
Latest course evaluation Course evaluation report
Course responsible Arnika Wagner
Institutionen för medicin, Huddinge

Arnika.Wagner@ki.se
Contact person Marios Dimitriou
Institutionen för medicin, Huddinge

marios.dimitriou@ki.se