CBS 771: Syllabus
Course Co-Coordinators:
Jonathan M. Horowitz, PhD
Office: College of Veterinary Medicine
Research Building, Rm. 354
Office Phone: 515-4479
E-mail address: jon_horowitz@ncsu.edu
Marcelo Rodriguez-Puebla, PhD
Office: College of Veterinary Medicine
Research Building, Rm. 292
Office Phone: 515-7409
E-mail address:
marcelo_rodriguez@ncsu.edu@ncsu.edu
Course meeting times: Tuesday, Thursday 3:00-5:00 PM
Office hours: By appointment
Course Prerequisites: CBS 770: Cell Biology (or permission from instructor)
Required Textbook:
The Biology of Cancer
Robert A. Weinberg
2007, Garland Science
ISBN Numbers and costs:
Hardcover (0-8153-4078-8): $140
Paperback (0-8153-4076-1): $81
CANCER BIOLOGY
CBS 771
Fall 2007
Course Organization:
The Comparative Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program will offer a course in Cancer Biology. This course
will provide a strong foundation in Cancer Biology, using The Biology of Cancer by Robert A. Weinberg as the
required text. Lectures will be supplemented with current literature in Cancer Biology, in order to provide
students with an understanding of important recent advances in the field.
The course will be team taught by faculty within the Departments of Molecular Biomedical Sciences and
Environmental and Molecular Toxicology. Students will be graded based on:
1) class participation (5%),
2) a paper on a selected topic in Cancer Biology (20%),
3) three exams (75%).
Four credits will be earned for this course.
Proposed Class Schedule (Fall 2007)
Lecture #
L1
L2,L3
L4,L5
L6,L7
L8
L9
L10
L11,L12
L13,L14
L15
L16
L17
L18,L19
L20,L21
L22
L23,L24
L25
Date
Lecture Topic/Exam Number
August
23 Chapter 2: Cancer: The problem (Horowitz)
28, 30 Chapters 3 and 4: Tumor viruses and proto-oncogenes (Horowitz)
September
4, 6 Chapter 5: Growth factors/receptors (J. Ninomiya-Tsuji)
11, 18 Chapter 6: Signal transduction (Y. Tsuji)
20 Chapter 7: Tumor-suppressor genes (Horowitz)
25 Exam 1 (L1-L8)
27 Chapter 8: Rb and G1/S transition (Rodriguez-Puebla)
October
2 Chapter 8: Rb and G1/S transition (Rodriguez-Puebla)
5, 9 Chapter 9: p53 and apoptosis (Horowitz)
16, 18 Chapter 10: Immortalization and telomerase (Rodriguez-Puebla)
23 Chapter 11: Multistep tumorigenesis (Smart)
25 Exam 2 (L9-L15)
30 Chapter 12: DNA damage and repair mechanisms (Smart)
November
1 Chapter 12: DNA damage and repair mechanisms (Smart)
6, 8 Chapter 13: Stroma/epithelial interactions and angiogenesis (Rodriguez-Puebla)
13, 15 Chapter 14: Invasion and metastasis (Horowitz)
20 Chapter 15: Tumor immunology (Horowitz)
27, 29 Chapter 16: Cancer treatment/drug development(Y. Tsuji)
December
4 Course overview and wrap-up (Horowitz)
7 Exam 3 (L16-L25)
Lecturers:
Jonathan M. Horowitz, PhD
Marcelo Rodriguez-Puebla, PhD
Robert C. Smart, PhD
Jun Ninomiya-Tsuji, PhD
Yoshi Tsuji, PhD
Office Phone
515-4479
515-7409
515-7245
513-1586
513-1106
E-mail Address
jon_horowitz@ncsu.edu
marcelo_rodriguez@ncsu.edu@ncsu.edu
rcsmart@unity.ncsu.edu
jun_tsuji@ncsu.edu
yoshiaki_tsuji@ncsu.edu
Reasonable accommodations will be made for students with verifiable disabilities. Students with disabilities are
invited to schedule an appointment with the course coordinators to discuss appropriate accommodations. In
order to take advantage of available accommodations, students must register with Disability Services for
Students at 1900 Student Health Center, Campus Box 7509, 515-7653. Please see:
http://www.ncsu.edu/provost/offices/affirm_action/dss/
For more information on NC State's policy on working with students with disabilities, please see:
http://www.ncsu.edu/provost/hat/current/appendix/appen_k.html
Instructor's policies on attendance, (excused and unexcused) absences, and scheduling makeup work will
conform
to
the
policies,
rules
and
regulations
as
outlined
here:
http://www.ncsu.edu/policies/academic_affairs/courses_undergrad/REG02.20.3.php
Students are expected to abide by the University policy on academic integrity found in the Code of Student
Conduct.
For
more
information
about
the
Code
please
see:
http://www.ncsu.edu/policies/student_services/student_discipline/POL11.35.1.php
Lecture materials will be based on concepts presented in relevant chapters in the textbook, although this will be
considered as a starting point as course instructors will supplement this material with results from the recent
literature.
It is expected that all students will review this material, and any assigned readings, prior to each class.
Grading:
Grades will be based on the following:
Exam 1
lectures 1 – 8
Exam 2
lectures 9 – 15
Exam 3
lectures 16 – 25
Research paper
see below
Class participation
see below
25%
25%
25%
20%
5%
Exams (75%)
Format of exams will be short-answer essay, and questions will be created by each lecturer. Points for each
exam will be distributed according to topics covered. Grading concerns must be addressed within one week of
exam return.
Research paper (20%)
Students will submit a research paper on a subject relevant to one of the course topics. The body of the paper
should be 1500-2500 words and cite current literature. The topic should be pre-approved by at least one
instructor and also made known to the course co-coordinators (Drs. Horowitz and Rodriguez-Puebla). The
paper will be read and graded independently by two instructors.
Class participation (5%)
Students will be graded on attendance, preparation, and participation in class discussions. Additional work and
discussion questions (to be completed outside class) may be assigned by individual instructors.
Final grades will be calculated based on a 9-point scale, with a curve applied as necessary.