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Degree Requirements - Ph.D. Program

Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in the Biomedical Sciences Courses

This course is the first of four lecture units in the first year curriculum of the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in the Biomedical Sciences. It will cover basic principles of metabolism, protein structure and an introduction to nucleic acids. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Students must be admitted into the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in the Biomedical Sciences. Students must co-enroll in GSMC 852 (Introduction to Biomedical Research). LEC.

This course is the second of four lecture units in the first year curriculum of the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in the Biomedical Sciences. It will cover basic principles of molecular genetics, DNA replication, DNA repair, transcription and translation. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Students must be admitted into the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in the Biomedical Sciences. Students must co-enroll in GSMC 852 (Introduction to Biomedical Research). LEC.

This is the first semester of a one year series in the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in the Biomedical Sciences. The course is composed of weekly meetings to discuss research problems, methods and current literature. The course will interface with the lectures and students will learn to critically evaluate our scientific knowledge base. The students will be introduced to the tools that are available to obtain and evaluate information. The students will be challenged to identify areas of our scientific knowledge that require further experimentation and clarification. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Students must be admitted into the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in the Biomedical Sciences. Students must co-enroll in GSMC 850 (Proteins and Metabolism) and GSMC 851 (Molecular Genetics). LEC.

This course is the third of four lecture units in the first year curriculum of the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in the Biomedical Sciences. It will cover basic principles of cellular structure and function. Topics include the lipid bilayer, membrane proteins, and cellular organelles. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Students must be admitted into the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in the Biomedical Sciences. Students must co-enroll in GSMC 855 (Introduction to Biomedical Research). LEC.

This course is the fourth of four lecture units in the first year curriculum of the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in the Biomedical Sciences. It will cover basic principles of cell communication. Topics include G-protein-coupled signaling, cellular cytoskeleton; cell cycle control; cell death; extracellular matrix; and cancer. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Students must be admitted into the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in the Biomedical Sciences. Students must co-enroll in GSMC 855 (Introduction to Biomedical Research). LEC.

This is the second semester of a one year series in the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in the Biomedical Sciences. The course is composed of weekly meetings to discuss research problems, methods and current literature. The course will interface with the lectures and students will learn to critically evaluate our scientific knowledge base. The students will be introduced to the tools that are available to obtain and evaluate information. The students will be challenged to identify areas of our scientific knowledge that require further experimentation and clarification. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Students must be admitted into the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in the Biomedical Sciences. Students must co-enroll in GSMC 853 (Cellular Structure) and GSMC 854 (Cell Communication). LEC.

The objective of this course is to introduce students to research ethics. Students will learn and discuss some of the following areas of ethics in research: 1) sources of errors in science, 2) Scientific Fraud, 3) plagiarism and misrepresentation, 4) conflicts of interest, and 5) confidentiality. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Students must be admitted into the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in the Biomedical Sciences. LEC.

The objective of the course is to teach students how to organize and present data in a clear and concise manner at national meetings. Students are taught basic principles of organizing data for presentation and then learn through the actual presentation of data in simulated platform sessions held in the course. Videotapes are made of the presentations, and students are then given a constructive critique of their presentation by the instructor and fellow students. Prerequisite: Permission of instructors. Students must be admitted into the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in the Biomedical Sciences. LEC.

This course was created to provide students with sufficient introduction to the research conducted at KUMC. To facilitate this point, the course is designed as a seminar series. In each session of the series, three faculty members present a brief 20-minute overview of their research programs. The series will help students to select faculty for research rotations and ultimately help them determine which faculty member they will select as a research adviser for their doctoral research. Prerequisite: Permission of instructors. Students must be admitted into the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in the Biomedical Sciences. LEC.

The course will introduce students to research methods, experimental design, and the types of biomedical research conducted at KUMC. The first research rotation begins halfway through the first semester; the second and third research rotations will occur in the second semester. It is designed to help students determine which faculty member they will select as a research adviser for their doctoral research. Prerequisite: Permission of instructors. Students must be admitted into the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in the Biomedical Sciences. LEC.

Cancer Biology Courses

This 3 credit course is offered in the fall semester every year. This course examines the genetic alterations and cellular phenotypes involving cancer development in a practical manner. The course discusses the underlying molecular and biological principles that result from these genetic alterations and the methods/approaches to examine cancer phenotypes. By the end of the course, students should understand how cancer develops and how to design experiments to address different scientific hypotheses. In addition, students are expected to learn key points regarding how to prepare and give scientific presentation. The class will involve two, 1.5-hour lecture per week: one consists of didactic lecture by a faculty member and the other is student-led journal club related to the lecture topic. Prerequisite: College level biology.

This elective course will be offered in the spring semester every year. This course will be full of discussions on the importance of targeting signaling pathways in cancer through didactic teaching following student led discussion on the topic. The course discusses the underlying responses on signaling mechanisms in different cancers. The major theme is an understanding of how cancer cells receive, transmit and respond to environmental signals. Topics will include different complexity in signal transduction in cancer. There will be a series of lectures on the topics of signal transduction, cell cycle regulation, apoptosis and cancer. Each topic series will be followed immediately by student presentations. The presentations will complement the lectures by providing an overview of a particular topic through the in depth examination of a current research publication.

This 2-credit course is offered every other year. This course is designed to achieve two goals. First, to learn about the role of tumor microenvironment in promoting tumor growth, metastasis and response to therapy. Emphasis is given to understand the complex nature of the tumor microenvironment and use examples from specific tumor types to illustrate how the various components of the microenvironment contribute to tumor progression. By the end of the course, students should understand the components of the tumor microenvironment and their effect on the clinical course of the cancer. In addition, they should be able to design experiments to tease out the importance of these components in tumor progression and response to therapy. Secondly, the course is designed to foster higher order thinking in learners, specifically pertaining to the development and application of new theories. The class will involve pre-work and in-class discussion for a total of 3 hours per week. Pre-work including podcast lectures, individual readiness assessment tests, and associated material will be made available to the students on Blackboard two weeks before each in-class session. Prerequisite: Permission of Instructor and College Level Biology.

Seminar series covering diverse topics in cancer research.

A weekly meeting where research presentations by pre-/post- doctoral fellows will be critiqued for content and presentation skills by peers and faculty.

Research articles are analyzed by the student with the guidance of an instructor in terms of quality of scientific content and mechanics of the presentation. One or more articles are discussed in each tutorial session. The research topics and the instructor are chosen in accordance with the research interest of the student.

Special study allowing a student to pursue a particular subject through readings, specialized laboratory work, writing, or conferences with a faculty member. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.

This is a semester long course that presents a survey of core topics in cancer biology and builds upon core IGPBS courses. The survey includes topics of etiology, genetics, signaling, biochemistry, tumor progression, metastasis, major treatment modalities and overviews of major cancer types. Students are assessed based upon class participation, presentations and examinations. Prerequisite: Completion of GSMC 850GSMC 851GSMC 853 and GSMC 854 or the equivalent or permission of instructor.

Original and independent laboratory investigation, approved by and conducted under the supervision of the student's advisor and advisory committee, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Ph.D. degree. Prerequisite: Consent of Advisor.

This course is designated for dissertation writing leading to a Ph.D. degree in Cancer Biology. The student prepares the formal dissertation based upon independent research and in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Ph.D. degree. The final defense of the dissertation is scheduled only after the written dissertation has been accepted by the student's thesis committee. Prerequisite: Consent of advisor.

KU School of Medicine

University of Kansas Medical Center
Cancer Biology
3901 Rainbow Boulevard
Mailstop1071
Kansas City, KS  66160
cancerbiology@kumc.edu