M.S. Courses

4 Credits | Fall Semester

Designed to provide students with an integrative overview of mechanisms of growth control and malignant transformation by physical, chemical, abd viral mechanisms. Introduction to growth factors, oncogenes, and suppressor genes. Includes an introduction to means of reverting or blocking malignant behavior with particular emphasis on biochemical & molecular mechanisms.

4 Credits | Fall Semester

In this course, students will be introduced to basic biochemical pathways involved in normal human tissue and in carcinogenesis. Furthermore, students will be encouraged to think about how molecular interventions of biochemical pathways could be applied to solve current problems in cancer research.

3 Credits | Fall Semester

Laboratory Research Project required for M.S. Students. Part 1 of 2.

3 Credits | Spring Semester

Laboratory Research Project required for M.S. Students. Part 2 of 2.

3 Credits | Spring Semester

An introduction to bioinformatics in systems biology, covering microarray data analysis, proteomic informatics, and regulatory network and pathway analysis, and discuss how a systems approach to the analysis of “omics” data can improve our understanding of biology.

3 Credits | Fall Semester

This new didactic course will provide an overview of the field of Biomedical Informatics from different perspectives. Particular emphasis is given to understanding the basic building blocks, various information resources and the application areas of Biomedical Informatics. Students will learn to explore the process of developing and applying computational techniques for determining the information needs of health care providers and patients.

3 Credits | Spring Semester

This course will cover the methodology and bioinformatics of next-generation sequencing technologies for virus detection and discovery in clinical, environmental, and biological samples. It will comprise a combination of lectures, invited seminars, and hands-on computer-based exercises utilizing web-based bioinformatics tools and publicly available databases for analyzing next-generation sequence datasets and for annotation of viral sequences. Additionally, the course will provide working-knowledge for developing bioinformatics pipelines for big data analysis. The course will include hands-on experience with the most popular Biomedical Workbench licensed software for data analysis. The course will also cover aspects of Translational Sciences applicable to analysis of “Big data.” The course will be co-directed by an eminent scientist in the area of retroviruses from FDA.

1 Credit | Fall Semester

The sequencing of the human genome that was completed in 2001 and the explosion of “omic data” has accelerated our understanding of basic genetics and how we think of biology. We are now in the “omic” era of molecular biology that has given birth to the new field of Bioinformatics. All this data can be used meaningfully for biological and clinical research only if we can extract the relevant functional information from them and convert biological data into knowledge of biological systems. Fortunately, by using bioinformatics we can make headway in understanding and extracting relevant biological information from these sequences. The aim of this course is to introduce the various tools and resources that are available as applicable to biomedical research. This course is highly experiential with both lectures and “hands-on” sessions.

2 Credits | Fall Semester

This course will introduce students to the foundational concepts of Toxicology and Pharmacology. Topics to be discussed will include major classifications of toxicants and drugs as they relate to organ systems or major pathophysiological disease effects such substances are likely to engender. Toxic substances in Foods, Water and Medicines will be discussed as well as in Industrial chemical substances that can be encountered in environments at work, home and at leisure.

This course has a lab component.

2 Credits | Fall Semester

This lecture and laboratory course familiarizes students with different pathways leading to apoptosis and their importance in development as well as in diseases such as cancer, autoimmune diseases and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Ischemia.

1 Credit | Fall Semester
Prerequisites: Some background knowledge and/or familiarity with molecular biology and genetics through either formal coursework or tutorials will be helpful in understanding course material.

DNA repair and human therapy will focus on the innovative and rapidly expanding field of gene editing and genome engineering as molecular medicine for human therapeutics. Our focus will be on the historical development of the current tools being advanced toward clinical application and how these tools will be used to treat inherited disease, infectious disease and cancer. Through a series of weekly readings and websites that will augment lecture material, the concepts surrounding this form of gene therapy will be discussed.

3 Credits | Fall Semester

This course will introduce the idea of how to reason via statistical models to get and interpret information from big biological data. To introduce the idea of how formal models of data are used, examples will also be drawn from related sciences. Students will learn how to apply regression-type models to data and assess the consistency (or inconsistency) of the results they produce with theory. The course will encourage students to set biological or medical problems they are working on within the context of formal statistical models. 

1 Credit | Fall/Spring Semester

This course promotes an appreciation for the biology of breast cancer as it occurs in individual women, allowing students to better formulate research programs addressing issues of clinical significance.

3 Credits | Spring Semester

Cancer epidemiology, prevention, and control relies on the conduct of basic science research and applied research in the behavioral, social, and population sciences to create or enhance interventions that, independently or in combination with biomedical approaches, reduce cancer risk, incidence, morbidity, and mortality, and improve quality of life. The objectives of this course are to equip students with the understanding of cancer problems from cell to society and to provide them with evidence of the need for cross-disciplinary collaboration between biomedical and behavioral sciences. The overall goal of the course is to stimulate students to apply broad perspectives to their areas of research interest that ultimately lead to a successful research career in cancer prevention and control.

Required for M.S. Standard Track. TBIO-Ph.D. Program Requirement.

3 Credits

This is a combined lecture/literature review/problem-based discussion course designed for upper-level undergraduates and graduate students in Human Science, Molecular/Cell Biology, Tumor Biology, Pharmacology, and Neuroscience. Moreover, a broad range of topics will be covered by discussing landmark papers and emerging concepts in the field of epigenetic research, including environmental health, cancer, and neurological disorder. Following an introductory lecture on each topic, students will discuss in detail recent papers and background material concerning each individual topic.

3 Credits | Fall Semester

The Cancer Epigenetics course covers epigenetic mechanisms in human diseases, focusing on cancers. This is a combined lecture/literature review/discussion course designed for graduate students in Molecular/Cell Biology, Biochemistry, Physiology, Tumor Biology, Pharmacology, and Neuroscience. The course has five primary objectives: (1) understanding the epigenetic regulation in normal & cancer cells; (2) deciphering epigenetic pathways and molecular targets in malignant transformation; (3) learning the impact of epigenetic alterations associated with cancers; 4) reviewing recent advances in epigenetic issues/phenomena by highlighting the growing importance of epigenetic therapeutics in cancers; (5) learning the scientific approaches/methods employed to define epigenetic-mediated cancer drivers and their therapeutic potential.

3 Credits | Fall Semester

This course introduces the fundamentals of the molecular genetics and molecular cytogenetics of cancer. In addition, it covers diagnostic, clinical, and population-based aspects of this rapidly advancing field.

2 Credits

This course provides an understanding of the principles and practices related to cancer prevention and control, highlighting the application of social, psychological, behavioral, and translational research across the cancer control continuum, from cancer diagnosis to survivorship. We will examine strategies to help control the impact of cancer from the individual to population levels, with innovative examples from clinically-applied and research-tested approaches in the fields of tobacco control, diet and physical activity promotion, cancer screening and management, and survivorship education and health outcomes.

1 Credit | Fall Semester

This course features a broad site by site survey of human cancer. The perspective is primarily from the points of view of the medical oncologist and pathologist, with an emphasis on providing an integrated view of each principal cancer covering the following: natural history, biology, and treatment.

0 credits | Fall Semester

This course provides an introduction to the Shared Resources of the Lombardi Cancer Center. Emphasis will be on the practical aspects of utilization.

2 Credits

Animal models are an invaluable tool for cancer research and the goal of TBIO 6560 is to introduce graduate students to the wide variety of models available to the factors that inform the choice of an appropriate model for the research planned, and to provide basic training in the ethical, legal, and technical aspects of their use.

2 Credits | Spring Semester

Cancer health disparities represent a major public health problem in the United States. This course addresses the biological basis for the observed unequal burdens of cancer across racial/ethnic populations. The impact of genetic/genomic/epigenetic variability between groups that may affect cancer susceptibility and/or response to therapy which is vital to reducing the cancer gaps will be explored. The course will also explore evidence-based mechanisms that are designed to increase our understanding of biological factors and mechanisms that play a role in cancer health disparities.

2 Credits

A combination of lecture and lab, this course provides a strong background in pathology as related to cancer. The course consists of general introductory pathology lectures, followed by the pathologic basis of specific cancers, including colon, breast, prostate, cervical and endometrial, and hematopoietic.

1 Credit

This course introduces students to the concept of carcinogenesis process (chemical, viral, and physical) with a focus on the causes, distribution, and prevention of cancer in populations. The course emphasizes the roles of DNA damage/repair, individual genetic differences to environmental exposures in cancer risk. Students will learn how the current knowledge is used to develop molecular and genetic biomarkers that could be applied to assess cancer risk and identify potential risk and protective factors.

1 Credit | Fall Semester

The discipline of Tumor Biology (or cancer biology) occupies the intersection between multiple other fields including biochemistry, physiology, cell biology, pharmacology, and pathology, since at its essence it is the study of how processes within the body, whether normal or perturbed in some way, are involved in carcinogenesis, tumor progression, and the response to anti-cancer therapy. The goal of this course is to provide an overview of the field of Tumor Biology through a series of short informal presentations by Tumor Biology Program faculty describing their research interests, how their work relates to the field as a whole, and the research projects currently ongoing in their labs. The course usually starts in the middle of October. Each session includes two to three presentations. The sessions are informal and student participation in discussions is expected. Grading is based on attendance and class participation.

1 Credit | Spring Semester

An introduction to microarray experimental and data analysis. This is a distinct unit of TBIO 6530, which will run from January to mid-February.

1 Credit | Spring Semester

An introduction to mass spectrometry data analysis and proteomic biomarker discovery. This is a distinct unit of TBIO 6530, which will run from mid-February to the end of March.

1 Credit | Spring Semester

An introduction to the metabolomics, interactomics, regulatory network, and pathway analysis, and -omics data integrating and mining. This is a distinct unit of TBIO 6530, which runs from the end of March to the end of April.