Course Syllabus

     BY440 Stem Cell Biology

Block 4 (2013-2014)

9am, Olin 473

Darrell J. Killian

 darrell.killian@coloradocollege.edu 

Olin Hall, Room 475/477

719.389.7395

Course Description:

Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that are capable of self-renewal and have the potential to develop into specialized cells types. Stem cells are important for development, reproduction, growth, healing, and homeostasis. We will explore several aspects of stem cell biology including the microenvironments that are required to maintain stem cells, asymmetric cell division, the genes required for stem cell fate, and the use of stem cells for medical applications. We will delve into examples of stem cell biology from algae, plants, Drosophila, C. elegans, and several different types of stem cells in mammals such as embryonic, induced pluripotent, hematopoietic, neural, epithelial, and pancreatic stem cells. We will discuss ethical considerations in stem cell research and therapy. We will read and critically discuss primary research articles and students will write an original research proposal. There will be two labs exploring stem cells in the alga Volvox and the simple animal model system C. elegans using light and fluorescence microscopy. This course counts as a capstone experience for those in their last two semesters.

Prerequisites:

BY231 Genetics (or BY361 Molecular and Classical Genetics)

Required Course Materials:

No textbook. All readings will be from primary research articles, review articles, selected book chapters and will be posted on Canvas as pdf or links. I will also post the syllabus, schedule, lecture slides, lab information, short movies or animations, etc. on Canvas. I expect that you will check Canvas often/daily for updates. In some cases I will post lecture slides the night before class and other times I will post lecture slides after class.

Learning Goals:

Content learning goals: Upon successful completion of this course students will be able to….

• Explain the specific characteristics of stem cells.
• Relate the importance of stem cells to the development and maintenance of multicellular organisms.
• Describe how a niche can regulate stem cell biology and cite some specific examples.
• Understand how cell-cell signaling maintains stem cells and influences differentiation of specialized cells.
• Describe how asymmetric cell division contributes to stem cell behavior and cite specific examples.
• Describe how stem cells can be used for medial purposes and cite specific examples.
• Understand how defects in stem cell behavior can lead to medical problems.
• Understand complex molecular, cellular, and genetic techniques used to investigate stem cell biology.
• Describe current limitations of stem cell biology applications and areas of active research

Performance learning goals: Upon successful completion of this course students will be able to….

• Read research articles and critically discuss the experimental approaches, results, and conclusions.
• Analyze a body of research including primary literature, explain the applications and relevance of the findings, and describe potential future directions of the research topic.
• Develop an original research proposal including a justification of the merits of the proposed research, experimental design, and a discussion of possible outcomes. Seniors will demonstrate their ability to draw from skills and content learned in many courses in the Biology curriculum towards this capstone project.
• Demonstrate concision and precision in scientific writing.
• Demonstrate scientific presentation skills.
• Demonstrate light microscopy lab skills and basic knowledge of fluorescence microscopy.
• Develop informed opinions of the science, policy, and ethics of modern applied stem cell biology.

Assessment:               

Grading: The final grade for this course will be calculated as follows:

Exam:                          100 points

Lab I:                             25 points

Lab II:                            75 points

Research Proposal:       100 points

Proposal Critique:          50 points

Presentation:                 50 points

Article Discussions:        50 points

Ethics Discussion:          50 points

Total:                          500 points

Letter Grades:        As a percent score…100-94 (A); 93-90 (A-); 89-87 (B+); 86-83 (B); 82-80 (B-); 79-77 (C+); 76-73 (C); 72-70 (C-); 69-65 (D+); 64-60 (D); No Credit below 60

S/C/NC track:         S≥70%; C=60% to 69%; NC≤60%

Exam: There will be one “open” in-class exam with approximately 20 questions related to stem cell research from assigned readings discussed in class. The exam will also include 1 research article that we will not discuss in class (assigned the night before). You may use your notes, the internet, the research articles – really any reference except classmates and professors. The exam may be curved depending upon the best score and the mean score – at my discretion. If the mean score is a “C” and the highest score was better than 90%, it is very unlikely that I will curve the exam. If the mean is a “D”, and the best score is 82%, I will likely admit that the test was too hard and curve it accordingly. Curving of exams will never bring your score down and my curving methodology will be explained. 

Laboratory: See the lab handouts (on Canvas) for details and the course schedule for times and dates. There are two labs that we will perform in this course: a simple microscopy lab on the alga Volvox and a fluorescence microscopy lab investigating the germline stem cells and the niche in C. elegans WT and mutants. There will be some investigative questions associated with each lab to answer for credit, but no formal lab report/write-up.

Research Proposal Critique: As a way to gear up for writing a research proposal you will read an actual research proposal related to stem cell biology (before class) and critically evaluate it (in class) as part of a group as if you were a study section that decides whether the grant is fundable or not. See Canvas.

Research Proposal: You will write an original research proposal on any topic related to stem cell biology that you discuss with me first and I approve. You must be certain that you are asking a novel question in the field of stem cell biology and that you outline an experimental plan to answer that question. You will also critique classmates’ proposals and provide feedback. See Canvas for a specific description of the assignment and for a grading rubric that will be important to follow in writing the proposal.

Presentation: In small groups (~3 students), you will give a ~30 minute presentation on the background information for a given particular topic in stem cell biology and then follow that up by leading a discussion of a primary research article on the same topic. See Canvas for a specific description of the assignment and a grading rubric.

Article Discussions: I will assign primary research articles to read for many days during the block. The day/night before class you should read those articles with the specific purpose of being able to answer/understand several provided questions/concepts (posted on Canvas). These questions/concepts will be the basis for our discussion on that day. You will be graded on your preparation for the discussions based on your ability to participate in a Socratic method-styled discussion. Asking questions also counts as participation. For each discussion you will receive a grade of 3 (well prepared and actively participated), 2 (somewhat prepared and participated to some extent), 1 (minimal preparation and participation), or 0 (completely unprepared and did not participate or absent). Everyone has an occasional bad day and thus you have your lowest score dropped. I will calculate an average score and convert that to a portion of a 50-point total towards your final grade (Ex – an average of 2.5 is a 42).

Ethics Discussion: We will have a discussion of the ethics of stem cell applications in biotechnology and medicine. You will be graded upon your participation to the discussion but you are not required to prepare a specific presentation. Spirited participation in the discussion will get you 50 points.

Expectations:    

This is an upper level elective course in Biology with a prerequisite in Genetics. Thus, I expect that you have a solid background in Molecular and Cellular Biology, Genetics, and Chemistry. I do not expect that you will recall 100% of the things you learned in previous courses but I do expect that you will recall the major themes of those courses and be quick to build on them. I also expect that you will be able to assimilate new knowledge and solve new problems based on that. The prerequisite courses in Biology and Chemistry should have helped you develop skills in presentation, critical reading, problem solving, scientific writing, experimental design, and lab skills, and we will continue to develop those skills.

Students that are prepared with a solid background, have an interest in learning more about stem cells, work hard, are clever problem solvers, strong writers, and confident presenters can expect to receive an A in this course. Students that are strong in many but not all of these areas may expect to receive an A-/B+. Students that are strong in only some of these areas may expect a B while students that do not excel in any of these areas will likely receive a C or worse depending upon effort and determination to succeed. I will try to make this course a fun and a valuable learning experience without making it overly burdensome.

Attendance:      

Students are expected to attend courses regularly and are responsible for course work whether present or not. The College believes in giving students as much freedom as is consistent with their academic progress. However, excessive absence, excluding illness or emergency, may result in a special probation or dismissal from the course with no credit.

Part of your grade is based on participation and thus attendance is important. Lab attendance is mandatory. Students that miss lab will lose one letter grade on their final grade for the course for each day that is missed. If you are genuinely too sick to attend lab, I will require a legible note from a doctor that specifically states that you are too sick to attend lab.  

All exams/presentations must be taken/submitted/given on the scheduled date and time indicated on the course schedule. If you miss an exam/presentation, you will receive a zero for that grade. Under extenuating circumstances (that will be highly scrutinized), you must inform me before the day of the exam/presentation that you will miss it and we will try to make some arrangements. If you are genuinely too sick, I will require a legible note from a doctor or the health center that specifically states that you are too sick to take an exam/give a presentation.  

Resources Available:

There are no tutors or learning assistants assigned to this course but you may make an appointment to meet with me for any time that is convenient for both of us.

The Writing Center (for help with writing your research paper and other writing assignments)

http://www.coloradocollege.edu/WritingCenter/index.asp

Etiquette:

I expect you to be courteous and respectful to me and other students.  You are expected to arrive on time for class.  If you do arrive late or need to leave early, do so quietly with minimal backpack zippering and door slamming.  While in class, please keep you cell phones off or silent. You may bring a laptop to class to help take notes and look things up, but please do not disrupt class by having “you’ve got mail” alarms and start-up chimes go off etc.  Food in class does not bother me.  No food in lab.  However, please realize that chewing on an apple next to someone’s ear or unwrapping the plastic on a veggie burrito is annoying.  Even more annoying is spilling a can of Mountain Dew on your classmate.  Please be reasonable with what you bring to class.  Poor etiquette may be addressed publicly resulting in embarrassment.

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities:        

Colorado College is committed to being an exciting place of learning and discovery for all of its students and strives to provide equal educational opportunities to students with disabilities. In accordance with Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, CC faculty and staff work closely with students with disabilities to ensure equal access to the College’s programs, activities, services, and facilities. For these purposes, disability is defined as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. Major life activities include, but are not limited to, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, walking, seeing, hearing, and speaking.

If you have a disability and require accommodations for this course, please speak with me privately as soon as possible so that your needs may be appropriately met. If you have not already done so, you will need to register with Disability Services (Learning Commons at Tutt Library, Room 152, 719.227.8285), the office responsible for coordinating accommodations and services for students with disabilities.

Academic Integrity:

Scientific misconduct is defined as the violation of the standard codes of scholarly conduct and ethical behavior in professional scientific research. The National Science Foundation cites fabrication, falsification, and plagiarism as the three main types of scientific misconduct and David Goodstein (Academe, 2002) cites career pressures, laziness (assumed results), and ease of fabrication as the major motives for misconduct. Scientists guilty of misconduct may be fired from their job, ostracized by the scientific community, and legally prosecuted.  However, there are other consequences of scientific misconduct – the progress of science itself. New scientific discovery builds on previous scientific discovery. If a previous publication is falsified, it may lead to future studies that are not grounded in sound science – a big waste of time, money, energy, and resources.

Undergraduate biology courses train students for, among other things, a career in science. Therefore, I do not tolerate dishonesty of any kind. Any act of dishonesty on exams, in the laboratory, or on written assignments (including fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism) will result in investigation by the Colorado College Honor Council and may result in a grade of No Credit or dismissal from the College. This statement, clearly stated, constitutes the first warning. There is no second warning.

The Honor System is a bond of mutual understanding between students and faculty that is codified through the Honor Code (see below). Before matriculating, all students sign a statement acknowledging that they will abide by the guidelines set under the Honor Code. Students are thus completely responsible for knowing and upholding the Honor Code. As a result, in the event of a potential violation, ignorance of the Honor Code is not considered to be a valid proof of innocence.

 

On my Honor, I have neither given, nor received unauthorized aid on this assignment.

Honor Code Upheld.