NeuroDevNet 101 Translation of Genetic Findings in Complex Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Course Outline 1. General Course Information Time: 9.30 am– 11 am (PST) Tuesdays and Thursdays Place: Connect online Start date: Jan 17th, 2012 End date: ~ mid April, 2012 Contact person: Doug Swanson / Dan Goldowitz Contact info: Doug Swanson training@neurodevnet.ca Dan Goldowitz dangndn@cmmt.ubc.ca 2. Course Description Currently no standard of practice exists to translate genetic findings in complex disorders, such as ASD, into practice, such as therapeutic needs. This course is a collaborative interdisciplinary approach to develop a strategy to validate candidate genes and understand their function with a view to translate genetic findings into possible therapeutic targets. Students are expected to work in collaboration with other trainees as teams to validate ASD candidate genes through multiple research methods: genetic, clinical, molecular, imaging etc. Intended goal: a multi-­‐disciplinary approach towards carving a pathway from gene discovery to gene validation and therapeutic application in complex diseases, using ASD as a case study. End result of this course: Teams are expected to present and to write up a mini-­‐CIHR proposal discussing their strategy for understanding genetic function and establishing a causal relationship between the gene and the disorder. NDN101 Course Outline - Jan 31.docx Page 1 of 5 NeuroDevNet 101 Translation of Genetic Findings in Complex Neurodevelopmental Disorders
LECTURES Week 1 (Jan 17) Jan 17, Tue Jan 19, Thur Course overview/Overview of ASD Lonnie Zwaigenbaum Define ASD, present the core deficits, the current genetic model, and give a general overview of anything that is relevant to the material that will be presented in the course (sensory issues, cell migration, 1 gene familial disorders), differentiate between chromosomal abnorm. and multiple gene ASD. Genetics of ASD Steve Scherer Present a current genetic model, set the stage for candidate genes (explain how they fit in the general issues of ASD). Bring to attention KT and ethics issues. Week 2 (Jan 24) Jan 24, Tue Jan 26, Thur Week 3 (Jan 31) Jan 31, Tue Feb 2, Thur KT intro lecture + KT activity! Introduce the criteria for the plain language writing – Adapting Knowledge Translation. Practices in your research Bioinformatic analysis + Candidate Gene Identification Compex Inheritance In Neurological disorders Nicholas Schork “Genetic Mapping: Strategies for Complex Phenotypes” Workshop (Bioinformatics exercises in Candidate Gene Prioritization) NDN101 Course Outline - Jan 31.docx Paul Pavlidis Page 2 of 5 NeuroDevNet 101 Translation of Genetic Findings in Complex Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Week 4 (Feb 7) Feb 7, Tue Feb 9, Thur (tentative date) Cell Biology in Autism Tabrez Siddiqui Give in understanding of cell biology that is relevant to the molecular pathways in autism and possibly other complex neurodev. disorders. Give an understanding of most studied protein pathways, etc. Gene Validation Models Randy Blakely “The path from Autism biomarkers to genetic variation underlying physiological and behavioral traits”. Week 5 (Feb 14) Feb 14, Tues Feb 16, Thur Week 6 (Feb 21) Feb 21, Tues Workshop (Molecular pathways and Biomolecular techniques) Brain Development Dan Goldowitz General lecture on brain development with regard to time of gene onset etc. Inhibition/Excitation Hypothesis of ASD David Eisenstat Inhibition/Excitation hypothesis in relation to ASD and how identifying transcription factor gene networks accelerates discovery progress. Feb 23, Thursday Week 7 (Feb 28) Feb 28, Tues Neuropathology Workshop (Development) Imaging Genetics Nicholas Schork Post-­‐mortem studies of autistic brains, possibly MEG data. Setting the stage for imaging talks. NDN101 Course Outline - Jan 31.docx Page 3 of 5 NeuroDevNet 101 Mar 1, Thu Translation of Genetic Findings in Complex Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Imaging of Autistic Brain Krista: Structure, size, correlations between regions… Alan Evans: Imaging Genetics approaches Week 8 (Mar 7) Mar 6, Tue Neuropathology Krista Hyde, Alan Evans, Tony Bailey Post-­‐mortem studies of autistic brains, possibly MEG data. Setting the stage for imaging talks. Mar 8, Thur Functional Imaging in ASD Geoff Hall Connectivity, brain activation on tasks from basic and clinical perspectives in ASD. Week 9 (Mar 13) Mar 13, Tue Animal Models Dan Goldowitz/ Marla Sokolowski Flies as a model organism for gene validation. Techniques, current practices and uses in relation to autism. Mar 15, Thur Week 10 (March 20) Mar 20, Tue Mar 22 Workshop (Functional Analysis and Animal Models) Developing Animal Models Marco Prado Molecular, cell and transgenic techniques (generating genetically modified mice) for gene validation. Behavioral Assessment Translational Models. Richard Brown, Current animal models, their drawbacks, how to create a successful animal model. Behavioural analyses (face-­‐validity and other considerations) NDN101 Course Outline - Jan 31.docx Page 4 of 5 NeuroDevNet 101 Week 11 (March 27) Mar 27, Tue Mar 29, Thu Week 12 (April) Ethics: from Gene to Therapy Mentoring of workgroups Mentoring/ Student presentations NDN101 Course Outline - Jan 31.docx Translation of Genetic Findings in Complex Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Page 5 of 5 Judy Illes