Advanced Seminar in Gene Therapy

Catalog description

The course comprises a mix of student-led Journal Club classes and Expert Seminar lectures that provide students with a conceptual framework for the critical appraisal of the current cell and gene therapy landscape through a review of the literature and seminar presentations. Journal Clubs will critically review select articles from the scientific literature, exploring key aspects of experimental design and data interpretation, scientific rigor, and reproducibility. Students will be responsible for leading a group discussion of assigned scientific manuscripts in the field of cell and gene therapy selected by course faculty. At the beginning of the course, students and faculty will assign primary research papers with the number of assignments varying (between 2 and 4) depending on the number of enrolled students. The assigned student to lead a given class will prepare slides covering background and paper figures. They will also assign other students to cover a portion of the article result section with corresponding article figure (-s) in order to promote interaction and participation. Emphasis in review will be placed on technical rigor and reproducibility, as well as the broader scientific context and disease pathophysiology. Lectures: 3-4 lectures exploring issues of intellectual property, compliance, and ethics will be spread throughout the semester. During each lecture, a faculty member or external speaker will give a presentation for ~45-60 minutes followed by ~30 minute discussion. Students are expected to ask questions during or at the end of the lecture. Course faculty will moderate lectures and discussions. Prerequisites: Open to all students