“Neurobiology of Disease”
Spring 2015
Tu/Th 2 PM - 3:20PM
Room: Gerstenzang 124
Avital Rodal, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Biology
Brandeis University
Room 528, Rosenstiel Center
arodal@brandeis.edu
Office Hours: MON 2:00 or by appointment
TA: Daniel Acker
Shapiro Science Center, Paradis lab (SSC-108)
dacker@brandeis.edu
Office Hours: THURS 3:30-5
Overview:
This course will explore the cell biological events underlying neuronal function and how
they are altered in neurological disease. This will be an advanced course, designed for
upper-division undergraduates and graduate students. Students must have taken BIOL
22a and 22b (or BIOL14 and BIOL15) AND either already had a course at the level of
NBIO 140, BIOL 100, BIOL 103 or similar. In very special circumstances, the latter list of
prerequisites may be taken concurrently (but ONLY with my permission).
Course format:
This will be a student-participation and lecture based course focused on cellular
mechanisms of neurological disease. Each topic will begin with a student-led medical
“case study” of a neurological disease. This will be followed by a one to two lecture
overview of our current understanding of the cellular defects underlying the disease,
featuring 2-3 open or controversial questions that remain unanswered. Students will
learn which tools are being used to experimentally answer these questions. To finish up
the topic, students will present an assigned primary literature paper that proposes an
answer to one of these open questions.
Grading:
 Assignments (10% of final grade) - There will be two mandatory assignments, to be
turned on LATTE.
 Paper summaries (30% of final grade). – A summary (1-2 pages) outlining the major
findings of your choice of 10 of the assigned papers will be due online from each
student. Your own presentation written report will not count towards these 10.
Reports are due by 9AM the morning that the paper is discussed. This summary
should include your thoughts or questions about the paper. These summaries are
meant to serve as learning tools. Paper summary guidelines can be found on LATTE
and at the end of this syllabus.
1





Case studies – (20% of the final grade; 6% assigned to the entire team/group, 4%
from peer evaluation, 10% from individual written report). Case study guidelines can
be found on LATTE and at the end of this syllabus.
Paper presentations – (20% of the final grade; 6% assigned to the entire team/group,
4% from peer evaluation, 10% from individual written report). Paper presentation
guidelines can be found on LATTE and at the end of this syllabus.
Final poster session or paper – (20% of final grade). All students will design (and
present, time permitting) a poster or paper describing a novel hypothesis for a
neurological disease mechanism. Details will be provided mid-semester.
Written assignments are due on LATTE by 9AM on the date noted. There will be NO
LATE SUBMISSIONS or DEADLINE EXTENSIONS. Therefore, all written
assignments should be completed well ahead of time.
If you are ill on the day of your case study or paper presentation (with a doctor’s
note), you will be reassigned ONCE to another group to make it up. Each group
should be prepared to execute the presentation even if a member is missing, since
you will have prepared it all together.
Reading:
The required reading will be primary research papers assigned by the instructors,
announced in class, and available on LATTE. In addition, if you need additional
background material I can recommend a textbook; however, this is not mandatory
reading. Kandel (5th edition; available in bookstore)
Attendance and expectations in class
The textbook and other readings will not be a substitute for attendance, as reading only
covers a small portion of the material discussed in class. Lecture notes will be posted on
LATTE before class but will only consist of bullet points, figures and sketches.
Attendance is therefore required to fully understand the material.
CELL PHONES AND OTHER HANDHELD E-DEVICES are prohibited in class. Laptops
and tablets are allowed but must be used ONLY for note taking – NO emailing,
facebooking, texting, or shopping. NO INTERNET USE OF ANY KIND. And please turn
OFF your cell phone, skype, and email alerts and notifications; no Beeps, BUZZes, or
annoying vibrations. NO working on assignments for other classes; if you have to do this,
please just don’t come to class. This policy will be strictly enforced by the TA who will sit
at the back of the class.
Learning/ other disabilities:
If you are a student with a documented disability at Brandeis University and if you wish
to request a reasonable accommodation for this class, please see me immediately.
Please keep in mind that reasonable accommodations are not provided retroactively.
Academic integrity:
Conduct inconsistent with the policies on academic honesty in "Rights and
Responsibilities" will not be allowed, and if it occurs, will be referred to the Office of
Campus Life without exception.
2
SCHEDULE
Topic
Assignment
1
T
1/13
Introduction/ history of neurological disease
Lecturer
AR
2
R
1/15
Motor Neuron Disease 1
AR
3
T
1/20
Motor Neuron Disease 2
AR
4
R
1/22
In-class exercise
DA/MD
5
T
1/27
In-class exercise (Assignment 2)
DA/MD
6
R
1/29
Motor Neuron Disease 3
AR
7
T
2/3
Motor Neuron Disease 4
AR
8
R
2/5
Alzheimer’s Disease 1
AR
Case Study 1/Paper 1
Assignment 2 due
Paper 2/Case Study 2
9
T
2/10
Alzheimer’s Disease 2
AR
Case Study 3/Paper 3
10
R
2/12
Alzheimer’s Disease 3
AR
Case Study 4/Paper 4
T
2/17
WINTER BREAK – NO CLASS
R
2/19
WINTER BREAK – NO CLASS
11
T
2/24
Parkinson’s Disease 1
AR
Case Study 5/Paper 5
12
R
2/26
Parkinson’ Disease 2
AR
Case Study 6/Paper 6
13
T
3/3
Anxiety + Depression
MD
Case Study 7
14
R
3/5
Anxiety + Depression
MD
Case Study 8/Paper 8
15
T
3/10
Down’s Syndrome
AR
Case Study 9/Paper 9
16
R
3/12
Angelman Syndrome
AR
Case Study 10/Paper 10
17
T
3/17
Prader/Willi Syndrome
AR
Case Study 11/Paper 11
18
R
3/19
Genetic models of autism 1 (Fragile X)
AR
Case Study 12/Paper 12
19
T
3/24
Genetic models of autism 2 (Rett)
AR
Case Study 13/Paper 13
20
R
3/26
Spinal cord injury and neuro-regeneration 1
AR
Case Study 14/Paper 14
21
T
3/31
Spinal cord injury and neuro-regeneration 2
AR
Case Study 15/Paper 15
22
R
4/2
Multiple Sclerosis
AR
Case Study 16/Paper 16
T
4/7
SPRING BREAK – NO CLASS
R
4/9
SPRING BREAK – NO CLASS
23
T
4/14
Infectious Disease
AR
Paper 17
24
R
4/16
Infectious Disease
AR
Case Study 18/Paper 18
25
T
4/21
Channelopathy, Pain and Epilepsy 1
LP
Case Study 19/Paper 19
26
R
4/23
Channelopathy, Pain and Epilepsy 2
LP
Case Study 20/Paper 20
27
T
4/28
Wrap-up
AR
**Schedule is subject to change**
3
Assignment 1 (due 9AM 1/20)
CASE STUDY AND PAPER ASSIGNMENTS
Case Study
ALS
Spinal Muscular Atrophy
FTDP-17
Alzheimer’s Disease
Huntington’s Disease
Parkinson’s Disease
Bipolar Disorder
Schizophrenia
Down Syndrome
Angelman Syndrome
Prader-Willi Syndrome
Fragile X Syndrome
Rett Syndrome
Spinal Cord Injury
Stroke
Multiple Sclerosis
Group-date
A – 2/3
B – 2/5
C – 2/10
G – 2/12
E – 2/24
F – 2/26
D – 3/3
H – 3/5
I – 3/10
J – 3/12
K – 3/17
L – 3/19
M – 3/24
N – 3/26
O – 3/31
P – 4/2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18 Rabies
R – 4/16
19 Benign familial neonatal S – 4/21
seizures
20 Timothy Syndrome
T – 4/23
4
Paper
Wen et al. 2014
Perlson et al. 2009
De Calignon et al. 2012
Udayar et al. 2014
Delekate et al. 2014
Cooper et. al. 2012
Group/date
D – 2/3
K – 2/5
L – 2/10
M – 2/12
N – 2/24
O – 2/26
Tsankova et al. 2006
Jiang et al. 2012
Wallace et al. 2012
Hsiao et al. 2014
Auerbach et al. 2012
Derecki et al. 2012
Braz et al. 2014
Osterloh et al. 2012
Ajami et al. 2011
Matsumura et al. 2014
Altmeppen et al. 2015
Bohlen et al. 2011
C – 3/5
B– 3/10
T – 3/12
P – 3/17
G – 3/19
R – 3/24
S – 3/26
I – 3/31
H – 4/2
J – 4/14
F – 4/16
E – 4/21
Weiss et al. 2011
A – 4/23
GROUP ASSIGNMENTS
Name
Email
Group
1
20
2
9
3
8
D
D
lherzog@brandeis.edu
D
csymansk@brandeis.edu
E
llueck@brandeis.edu
E
mryan91@brandeis.edu
pnweat10@brandeis.edu E
F
asianski@brandeis.edu
F
cluu@brandeis.edu
F
ezheng@brandeis.edu
G
mhobin@brandeis.edu
G
jdshin@brandeis.edu
G
atorrpac@brandeis.edu
H
jennycbb@brandeis.edu
H
hklin3@brandeis.edu
H
edaigle@brandeis.edu
I
ajkatz1@brandeis.edu
I
ksarill@brandeis.edu
I
jennyv@brandeis.edu
J
dalpert@brandeis.edu
J
pgupta@brandeis.edu
J
pnadu@brandeis.edu
K
angelama@brandeis.edu
K
askeller@brandeis.edu
K
beztak93@brandeis.edu
L
malelov@brandeis.edu
immad000@brandeis.edu L
L
enohelty@brandeis.edu
M
acoleman@brandeis.edu
M
jhaley@brandeis.edu
M
imoore@brandeis.edu
7
1
5
19
6
18
4
12
8
16
9
15
10
17
11
2
12
3
13
4
wfagan@brandeis.edu
Khlestova,Elizaveta
lizak@brandeis.edu
Sinai,Claire Elizabeth
csinai@brandeis.edu
Greppi,Chloe Charlotte
cgreppi@brandeis.edu
Lemos,Brenda
blemos@brandeis.edu
Walsh,Rylie Brianne
rbwalsh@brandeis.edu
Kuo,James Kangjun
jameskuo@brandeis.edu
Peck,Jessica Lynn
jlpeck@brandeis.edu
Scontras,Jennifer Mary
Groves Kuhnle,Chelsea
Elizabeth
jscontr1@brandeis.edu
Symanski,Claire Anne
Lueck,Lizabeth Carolyn
Ryan,Mary Allison
Weatherill,Peter N.
Lai,Austin
Luu,Cindy Ka-Man
Zheng,Eddy
Hobin,Michael Patrick
Shin,Justin Drake
Torrado Pacheco,Alejandro
Crawford,Jennifer Lee
Lin,Heather Kelsey
Daigle,Emily Rachel
Katz,Ariel Jennifer
Sarill,Kiera Gillian
Varughese,Jenny Mariamma
Alpert,David Andrew
Gupta,Pooja
Naduthota,Prayuth Praveena
Acevedo,Angela Maria
Keller,Arielle Stephanie
Teshome,Bezaye T
Alelov,Meir Mikhel
Cote,Rita Marie
Nohelty,Eric James
Coleman,Alana Michelle
Haley,Jessica Allison
Moore,Isabelle Lorraine
Paper
A
A
A
B
B
B
C
C
C
Fagan III,William Joseph
Herzog,Linnea
Case study
cgrovesk@brandeis.edu
5
Agress,Joshua Daniel
Copel,Sarah Elizabeth
Lehmann,Micah Louis
Nussbaum,Mara Judith
Chan,Urann
Mukhina,Anna Levouna
Kimbrell,Katherine E
Tereshko,Lauren Rose
Krishnan,Nikhila
Li,Xinyue
Agha,Moneeza Akbar
Bomsol Lee
Zayhowski,Kimberly Mai
Dressler,Danielle Beth
Landesman,David Joseph
Lee,Jesse
Tran,Tony
Saechew,Andrew Yang
Blackett,Nataliya Nikitah
Groth,Matthew James
Wagenpfeil,Karina Anna
N
N
scopel@brandeis.edu
mlehmann@brandeis.edu N
N
maran93@brandeis.edu
O
uchan@brandeis.edu
amukhina@brandeis.edu O
O
kimbrell@brandeis.edu
O
laurente@brandeis.edu
P
nikhila@brandeis.edu
P
sarah92@brandeis.edu
P
magha@brandeis.edu
R
twio24@brandeis.edu
R
kimzay@brandeis.edu
R
dressler@brandeis.ed
R
dlandesm@brandeis.edu
S
mcjlf99@brandeis.edu
S
tonytran@brandeis.edu
S
aechro@brandeis.edu
T
nb123@brandeis.edu
T
mgroth@brandeis.edu
T
kwagenpf@brandeis.edu
jdagress@brandeis.edu
6
14
5
15
6
16
11
18
13
19
14
20
10
Guidelines for case studies
NBIO 146A
Spring 2015
Presentations should be 10-15 minutes long, using 5-7 slides. Please make sure they
will export to Powerpoint in case you want to use the professor’s computer and as a
backup in case your computer doesn’t work with the projector. Part of the
assignment will be to turn in your presentation as a Powerpoint file (USB preferred)
at the end of class. Each group member should present some of the slides. I highly
recommend watching the following video for advice on how to prepare a scientific
presentation:
http://www.ibioseminars.org/lectures/bio-techniques/susan-mcconnell.html
The objective of the case studies is to describe:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Symptoms
Diagnosis
Prognosis
Treatment options
Your audience may not know much anatomy or human physiology – please make
sure to explain any relevant background information. Please include minimal detail
on disease mechanism, only the bare minimum you need to describe diagnosis and
treatment. Take some time to look at patient message boards and web sites (see
below for example) to see if patient and caregiver experience matches what the
medical establishment is telling you.
Individual Written Reports:
Each student will write a ~4 page double-spaced report describing their case study,
using the above categories. You are welcome to include figures. Please include
references, though these need not be the exhaustive list of primary literature (online
resources or review articles are ok). This written report should be your own work,
not a group effort. Reports are due by email to arodal@brandeis.edu by 9AM
the day of class.
4 points of your case study grade comes from the peer review form (on LATTE).
6 points of your grade is assigned to the group as a whole for the presentation.
10 points of your grade comes from individual written reports.
Resources
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/disorder_index.htm
http://www.patientslikeme.com/
7
Guidelines for paper presentations
NBIO 146A
Spring 2015
Paper presentations should be 10-15 minutes long, using 6-8 slides. Please make
sure they will export to Powerpoint. Part of the assignment will be to turn in your
presentation as a Powerpoint file (USB preferred) at the end of class.
There should be 1-2 slides describing the background that led up to the paper, 3-4
slides of data, and 2 slides of conclusions and new questions opened by the paper.
Each group member should present some of the slides. I highly recommend
watching the following video for advice on how to prepare a scientific presentation:
http://www.ibioseminars.org/lectures/bio-techniques/susan-mcconnell.html
Give yourselves at least a week to prepare this presentation. Every group member
should start by carefully reading the paper, and answering the basic questions (see
guidelines for paper summaries). The group should then meet to sort through the
following more detailed questions:
1. What is the relevant background information? Was it adequately presented
in the introduction or is additional background information relevant?
2. What are the important figures? You don’t need to present every single piece
of data and supplementary data in the paper.
3. For each figure you are going to show, how was the experiment done? Use
the internet and your group members to help if you are unfamiliar with the
details of a technique. What was the conclusion? Write the conclusion in your
own words at the bottom of your slide.
4. What are the take-home messages of the paper that the authors are trying to
convey? Do you agree with their conclusions?
5. What new questions does the paper open up in the field?
Individual Written Reports:
Each student will write a ~5-10 page double-spaced report describing their paper,
using the above categories. You are welcome to include screenshots of the figures.
This written report should be your own work, not a group effort. Reports are due
by email to arodal@brandeis.edu by 9AM the day of class.
4 points of your case study grade comes from the peer review form (on LATTE).
6 points of your grade is assigned to the group as a whole for the presentation.
10 points of your grade comes from individual written reports.
Resources
http://www.cc.gatech.edu/faculty/ashwin/wisdom/how-to-present-a-paper.html
http://www.alzforum.org/
8
Guidelines for paper reports
NBIO 146A
Spring 2015
Paper reports are due from each student by 9 AM the day the paper will be
presented in class. The report should be uploaded on LATTE or may also be emailed
(less preferred), or handed in on paper (least preferred). Paper reports can be as
brief as a few paragraphs or as long as a page or two per paper. The purpose of the
paper summary is (A) as a learning tool to solidify your understanding of and
thoughts on the paper (B) to show us that you read the paper carefully. If you are
unfamiliar with an experimental technique, Google, Wikipedia, or one of the
suggested textbooks should be able to help you out.
Here are some questions you might want to answer in your report. It is acceptable
to have headings with the following titles, followed by bullet point or paragraph
answers:
1. What was the open question the paper set out to address?
2. What are the important experiments and findings? You don’t need to
regurgitate every single piece of data and supplementary data in the paper,
so focus on the interesting and important ones.
3. What are the take-home messages of the paper that the authors are trying to
convey? Do you agree with their conclusions?
4. What new questions does the paper open up for you or for the field?
Reports will be graded as follows:
0 points if you don’t turn it in or clearly didn’t read the paper
1 point for a cursory description
2 points for addressing all the points above
9