Stem Cell Course

CONJ 530

University of Washington School of Medicine - 1.5 Credits - Winter 2010

Directing Stem Cells Toward Regenerative Medicine

Instructors:

Hannele Ruohola-Baker, Professor of Biochemistry
Carol Ware, PhD, Professor of Comparative Medicine

The primary goal of the Stem Cell course is to give an overview of the emerging field of stem cell and regenerative medicine, with an emphasis on human embryonic stem cells (hESC) for early graduate students so that they can decide if this will be a field of interest for their graduate studies and, if so, which facet they wish to focus on. Several investigators from the University of Washington and the greater Seattle area will present overviews of their interests and how this integrates within the greater picture of stem cells and regenerative medicine. The students who wish to receive credit for this course will write one page proposal, similar to a pilot grant proposal encompassing an abstract, introduction, experimental plan and future directions. The proposal will be evaluated for feasibility, scientific novelty and general grasp of the subject matter. Students will present their proposal to the class during the final sessions (~5 minute presentations). These will be assessed for the same criteria as the proposal, however, will be more heavily weighted for grasp of the material. The final portion of the grade will be assigned for attendance. Drs. Ruohola-Baker and Ware will attend all classes and take responsibility for assignments and consultation, including leading the students toward the appropriate resources for their proposals. Outside reading will be assigned from published articles accessible through PubMed, as appropriate for individual lectures. No textbook is required.
Schedule of classes