Case Studies in Translational Research

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

Guidelines and Outline

Fall, 2008

Learning objectives:

Format of student presentations:

Students will organize into six “teams”, each containing four members.  Each team will lead two class discussions on different dates with different preceptors.  These discussions will be organized as follows, with one student covering each area:

Student 1. Review the background problem.  Identify the important research questions/goals.

Student 2. Review the general background of translational research/procedural issues and discuss how they pertain specifically to the problem under discussion.  These issues include one or more of the following:

           • Regulatory issues

IRB human subject protocols

IACUC animal protocols

              • Intellectual property/technology transfer/other legal issues

              • Ethical considerations

Student 3. Discuss pertinent research data and findings.

Presentations for areas 1-3 will be limited to 10 minutes and 8 slides.  There will 5 minutes for discussion and questions immediately after each student talk (total time = 15 min). 

Student 4. No formal presentation.  Lead a discussion on implications of the findings and future directions.  Thirty minutes will be allotted for this discussion.  The 4th team member will prepare 3-4 slides to serve as an outline to organize this discussion and stimulate ideas. The preceptor will be invited to join in and share his/her personal experiences and expertise in the field.

Role of the preceptor:

In general, the preceptor will discuss his/her own work. The preceptor will provide two documents as background reading for the session.  One document will cover the problem to be addressed, for example, a brief review of the disease under study.  The second document will cover a translational research issue pertaining to the study.  This document can be a published paper or unpublished manuscript describing a research study.  We encourage preceptors to use less conventional documents such as IRB proposals or patent proposals to expose students to things that they might not otherwise have a chance to review.

The class discussion should be primarily student run.  The role of the preceptor is to help the students organize this discussion prior to the day of the presentation.  In addition, the preceptor should provide expertise and personal insights to supplement the student run presentation.

The preceptor is expected to meet at least once and preferably twice with all four students together prior to the day of presentation.  The students should arrange these meetings well in advance of the presentations. 

Student evaluations:

Written and verbal evaluations and constructive criticisms will be provided to each student immediately after their presentations.  Student presentations will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

1. Style of presentation

2. Staying within allotted times (see above)

3. Slide content

4. Knowledge of topics and ability to answer questions from classmates and faculty

5. Ability to facilitate discussion and bring everyone in the class into the discussion.

6. Ability to work well within teams and to interrelate talks with those of other team members

In addition, students will be evaluated on their contribution to class discussion throughout the course.  A token system will be used to facilitate participation by all members of the class.  Team success will be judged in part by the quality of the discussion and the breadth of the participation.

Students are expected to attend every session.  Potential schedule conflicts should be discussed in advance with one of the course directors.

For planning this course in future years, preceptors will be evaluated by students for:

1. accessibility

2. quality of guidance

3. choice of topic

4. selection of reading materials

Be creative!  Have fun!

CSTR Presentations08

Class Date

Faculty Preceptor

Title

Student 1

Student 2

Student 3

Student 4

             

Mon, Sept. 8

1412 BRB II/III

Jennifer Lagenberger

Intellectual Property.

   

Mon., Sept. 15

104 Stellar-Chance

Rosemary Mazanet

Application of Intellectual Property to drug development.

Lisa Korn

Rena Zheng Sean Spencer

Rohan Joshi

Mon, Sept. 22

104 Stellar-Chance

Jordan Orange

Cytokine therapy in disease.

Greg Peterfreund

Brittany

Weber

Ankit Jain Alice Zhou

Tues, Sept. 30

104 Stellar-Chance

Jean Bennett

Gene therapy for congenital blindness.

Omar Butt Tapan Patel Irene Chernova

Alice Zhou

Tues, Oct. 7

John Morgan

Wood Room

Kathy High

Gene Transfer for Hemophilia.

Paul Hess David Rawnsley Jesse Platt Omar Butt

Mon, Oct. 13

1412 BRB II/III

Don Siegel

Targeted drug delivery to human skin using human single-chain antibody fragments.

Josiah Peterson Jiyeon Kim Andrew Liu Jenn Burg

Mon, Oct. 20

104 Stellar-Chance

Carl June

Genetically engineered lymphocytes for HIV and Cancer Therapy: Translational Take Home Lessons.

Jesse Platt Henry Bergquist Ankit Jain Irene Chernova

Mon, Oct 27

104 Stellar-Chance

Robert Vonderheide

Telomerase-based vaccines for cancer.

Jenn Burg Eric Lee Jiyean Kim Rena Zheng

Tues, Nov. 4

1412 BRB II/III

Brian Litt

Implantable Devices to Treat Epilepsy.

Whitney Parker

Kevan

Salimian

Paul Hess Tapan Patel

Tues, Nov. 11

301 BRB II/III

Paul Offit

The Growing Threat of America's Anti-Vaccine Movement.

Sean Spencer Greg Peterfreund Andrew Liu Rohan Joshi

Mon, Nov. 17

1412 BRB II/III

Robert Levy

Developing novel heart valve replacements: Clinical, laboratory & corporate mechanisms.

Brittany

Weber

David

Rawnsley

Josiah Peterson Henry Bergquist

Mon, Nov. 24

1412 BRB II/III

Dan Rader

Genetics of lipids and translation to therapeutics.

Lisa Korn Jie Xu

Emily

Charlson

Eric Lee

Mon, Dec. 1

1412 BRB II/III

Barbara Weber &

Tal Zaks

EGFR inhibitors in cancer therapy: biological, study design, and regulatory implications.

Kevan Salimian Jie Xu

Emily

Charlson

Whitney Parker

 

• Last updated: 08/27/2008