Biology 445: Cancer Biology Syllabus (Summer Session I, 2014)
M/T/W/R/F 9:45-11:15AM
G030 Bondurant Hall
Instructor: Dr. Jennifer W. Bradford
Office Hours: M/W/F, 12-1pm, Bondurant G021
(Or by appointment if unavailable during these hours)
Email: jennifer_bradford@med.unc.edu (include Biol. 445 in the subject heading when emailing me)
Prerequisites: Biology 202 Molecular Biology and Genetics
Biology 205 Cellular and Developmental Biology
Required Textbook
The Biology of Cancer 2nd Edition by Robert A. Weinberg (available in the bookstore).
Course Objectives
This course will cover the biology of cancer and at the end of this course you should have a firm grasp of the
basic cellular and molecular mechanisms that lead to cancer and the major hallmarks of cancer. This course is
not designed to cover the clinical aspects of cancer pathology and diagnosis. As this is an upper level class, you
will be expected to go beyond memorizing facts and figures. Critical thinking, class participation, scientific
writing, analysis of primary literature, and a power point presentation will be required for this course.
Class Attendance
This course will move very quickly, which makes attendance necessary. You will be expected to attend every
class period and participate during class discussions and group activities. You will be responsible for obtaining
any material missed. Missed quizzes will not be allowed to be retaken.
Students with Disabilities
If you are a student with a documented disability please contact the Office of Disabilities Services so they can
notify me about your needs.
Laptop and Cell Phone Use in Class
Any use of computers will be for note taking only. If you normally take notes on your laptop, I will also
encourage you to bring a notebook so you can draw pathways etc. If I find you surfing the web, watching You
Tube videos, checking Facebook etc., I will ask you to leave class. I do not want to see any cell phones – for
either calling or texting. It will be an honor code violation for cell phones to be used during an exam or quiz –
this means I will give you a 0 for the exam/quiz if I see a cell phone or other mobile device and you may be
subject to honor court review.
Cheating and Plagiarism
I take violations against the honor code like cheating and plagiarism very seriously. All academic work in this
course, including quizzes, exams, and written work is to be your own work, unless otherwise specified. It is
your responsibility to ask me if you have any doubt whether or not collaboration is permitted on an assignment.
However, I do encourage you to form small study groups.
UNC’s Honor code statement: “All work done in this class must be carried out within the letter and spirit
of the UNC Honor Code.”
Schedule
The professor reserves the right to make changes to this schedule. Any changes will be announced as early as
possible.
In addition to the sections listed below, please also read the Introduction, Synopsis and Prospects, and
Key Concepts for each chapter.
Session
1
Day
T
Date
May 13
Topic
Course Introduction
Chapter 2: The Nature of Cancer
Chapter 3: Tumor Viruses
Chapter 4: Oncogenes
(Quiz 1 May 16)
Chapter 5: Growth Factors, Receptors and Cancer
Chapter 6: Signaling Pathways in Cancer
Required Readings for Class
Syllabus; Ch. 2.1, 2.2, 2.4, 2.5,
2.7-2.11; Hanahan & Weinberg, 2000
Ch.3.1-3.3, 3.5-3.9, 3.11
Ch. 4.1 - 4.6
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
W
R
F
M
T
W
R
May 14
May 15
May 16
May 19
May 20
May 21
May 22
Chapter 7: Tumor Suppressor Genes
**Presentation topic must be approved by today
Exam I
No class, Memorial Day
Chapter 8: pRb and Cell Cycle Control
Chapter 9: p53 and Apoptosis (Quiz 2 May 28)
Ch. 7.1-7.8, 7.11
Begin reading assigned JC paper
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
F
M
T
W
R
F
M
T
W
May 23
May 26
May 27
May 28
May 29
May 30
June 2
June 3
June 4
Assigned journal club paper
Ch. 10.1-10.9
June 11
June 12
June 13
Journal Club Session
Chapter 10: Eternal Life (Immortality)
Exam II
Chapter 12: Cancer Stem Cells and Genomic
Integrity
Chapter 13: Tumor Microenvironment and
Angiogenesis
Chapter 14 Invasion and Metastasis (Quiz 3 June
9) **I must have all power point presentations
by 5pm June 10th
Student Presentations
**Journal Club paper due Wednesday June 11
Chapter 16: Treatment of Cancer
18
19
20
21
R
F
M
T
June 5
June 6
June 9
June 10
22
23
24
W
R
F
25
M
June 16
Exam III – 8am-11am
Ch. 5.1-5.6, 5.8, 5.10
Ch. 6.1-6.8, 6.12-6.14
Have some fun!
Ch. 8.1-8.3, 8.5-8.7, 8.12
Ch. 9.1-9.12, 9.16
Ch. 11.6, Ch. 12.1-12.5, p.533, 12.812.9
Ch. 13.1-13.8
Ch. 14.1-14.6, 14.11-14.12, 14.15
Ch. 16.1-16.3, 16.7-16.12
How to succeed in this class:
You will live, breathe, eat, sleep, and dream about cancer biology for the next 5 weeks. This is a fast paced
course that crams a ton of material into a very short amount of time. If you do not read and review your notes
daily, you will get lost quickly. Please see me during office hours if you have questions about the material - do
not wait until the last minute to seek help! I can’t help you much the day before the exam! Please allow a 24
hour turn around for email responses. This means I will not be available the night before exams via email. Study
well in advance and I encourage you to form small (2-3 person) study groups for this course.
Remember to read the assigned material before class as you will be able to follow the lecture more easily if you
have read the night before.
Ask questions during class! If you have a question, it means someone else probably does as well.
Use the list of Key Terms to help guide you through the topics/concepts I think are most important/interesting.
However, this is only a list to help guide you and all lecture notes/required readings are fair game for exam/quiz
questions.
Grading
It is not anticipated that the grades will be curved in this course, unless the class average is below a 75.
Exams
Three (non-cumulative) exams will be given during the semester and will consist of a combination of multiple
choice, short answer, and essay questions. Exams must be taken on the indicated day during the regular class
period. There will be no exceptions except for medical/family emergencies, which need to be documented in
writing. The makeup exam may be in a different format like an oral exam.
Quizzes
Three short quizzes will be given during the semester to test your knowledge of covered material and prepare
you for the exam. Missed quizzes will not be allowed to be made up.
***Exam and quiz questions will come from lecture notes and required readings – pay special attention to the
material covered both in the readings and the lecture. I encourage you to answer the relevant Thought Questions
at the end of the chapters to make sure you understand the concepts presented.
Journal Club Assignment
It is important to be able to read, interpret, and discuss primary scientific literature. We will have UNC cancer
researchers come to class to discuss some of their recently published work. You will be working in small groups
with one researcher and you will be responsible for reading his/her manuscript before class. During class be
prepared to go through each figure, and discuss the techniques and concepts used in the research. Following
class, you will prepare a paper following proper scientific style describing the overall questions asked,
background, methods, results and conclusions. Participation in the journal club lecture and paper are worth 15%
of your grade. More to come on the paper.
Student Presentations
We will have 2 class periods devoted to student presentations. You probably elected to take this course because
you have a pretty big interest in some aspect of cancer biology. This is your opportunity to choose a topic of
your choice (with my approval) that is related to cancer research. You will research your topic and give a short
Power Point presentation to the class. At least two primary pieces of literature need to be included and
referenced in the presentation. This presentation will count for 10% of your grade and must be given on the day
indicated – no exceptions. More to come on the presentation.
Grade Breakdown
Exam 1: 20%
Exam 2: 20%
Exam 3: 20%
Quizzes: 15% (3 quizzes, 5% each)
Journal Club Paper 15%
Student Presentation: 10%
Grades will be posted to the Sakai website as soon as grading is complete. I will not discuss grading issues via
email. Please see me in person during office hours if there has been an arithmetic error in a grade calculation.
A 93-100
A- 90-92
B+ 87-89
B 83-86
B- 80-82
C+ 77-79
C 73-76
C- 70-72
D+ 66-69
D 60-65
F <60
UNC Grade Explanations
A: Mastery of course content at the highest level of attainment that can reasonably be expected of students
at a given stage of development. The A grade states clearly that the student has shown such outstanding
promise in the aspect of the discipline under study that he/she may be strongly encouraged to continue.
B: Strong performance demonstrating a high level of attainment for a student at a given stage of
development. The B grade states that the student has shown solid promise in the aspect of the discipline
under study.
C: A totally acceptable performance demonstrating an adequate level of attainment for a student at a given
stage of development. The C grade states that, while not yet showing any unusual promise, the student may
continue to study in the discipline with reasonable hope of intellectual development.
D: A marginal performance in the required exercises demonstrating a minimal passing level of attainment
for a student at a given stage of development. The D grade states that the student has given no evidence of
prospective growth in the discipline; an accumulation of D grades should be taken to mean that the student
would be well advised not to continue in the academic field.
F: For whatever reasons, an unacceptable performance. The F grade indicates that the student's performance
in the required exercises has revealed almost no understanding of the course content. A grade of F should
warrant an adviser's questioning whether the student may suitably register for further study in the discipline
before remedial work is undertaken.