NEUROBIOLOGY OF DISEASE (NEUROLOGY 205)

Winter 2004


Introduction:
Welcome to the course. Over the next few weeks we will pursue some of the most interesting and important research themes in the neurobiology of disease.

Course objectives:

Students will:

    1. develop an appreciation of the concepts important for studying neurological diseases;
    2. become acquainted with the research tools that can be applied to such studies;
    3. develop a detailed understanding of selected disorders;
    4. learn to define approaches for understanding and treating these disorders.

In effect, students will learn how the study of neurological disorders, in both its scientific fundamentals and its applications, is contributing to the broad agenda for neuroscience. As in past years, the course includes didactic and clinical presentations as well as critical reviews of the current research literature. New for this year is an exercise in which students will work together in small groups to develop outlines of research agendas, called "grant applications", that would test hypotheses relevant to the biology of neurological disorders. The faculty is eager to guide and support you in this endeavor and looks forward to the opportunity to serve you.

Course Logistics:

We will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:30 to about 7:30 P.M. in H3150. Please arrive promptly at 5:30. We know you will be hungry after a long day of graduate school activities and we are pleased to offer you dinner at the beginning of each class meeting. We will ask students to take responsibility for what food and drinks will be served and for arranging for delivery to the classroom. There is a sign-up list for this. All food orders can be placed through Kristy at 723-6424. She is very nice, but you should be clear with her about what you want and how much is needed. Plan on ordering enough for all the students and for about 4 to 6 faculty. And please keep it simple that so that we don’t go bankrupt. For example, pizza is popular as is Chinese food. Thai food has also been popular.

Most of the course is organized around discussing specific diseases. Typically, two sessions (one module) will be devoted to each disease. The goal for the first module session is for students to develop a good overview for both the clinical and basic science biology of the disorder. During the first session, the faculty will discuss the clinical dimensions of the problem, ideally including a patient presentation (live or video). In the case of live patients, the students will be encouraged to ask questions. The faculty will then speak to the principal research themes being pursued for that disorder, the most recent advances in understanding the disease, and what new treatments are being used or tested. Student participation is key as it will ensure that any confusing concepts are clarified and that the most important issues have been discussed.

The second of the paired sessions will be used to critically review and discuss the research literature for the disease. Typically, two papers will be presented. Everyone will read all of the papers, but each will be presented by one student. Students will be expected to sign up for at least one paper during the course and should choose this well in advance of the session. The students will read the paper and will work with the faculty member responsible for the session to prepare for their presentation. They will be prepared during the presentation to answer questions and to engage in discussion with the students and faculty. The student will have about 45 to 50 minutes for their presentation. The important elements of the presentation are as follows:

  1. Brief (5 to 10 minute) overview with a crisp statement summarizing the background, hypothesis, principal findings and author’s conclusions and, importantly, what the student regards as the strengths and weakness of the paper and its overall impact on the field.
  2. Context of the work, with background.
  3. Author’s hypothesis and research goals. What do they wish to show?
  4. An overview of the research plan.
  5. What the paper shows, including the student’s evaluation of the quality of the work.
  6. Student’s overall evaluation.
  7. What the paper contributes to understanding the disease.
  8. What the student thinks is the next step in the work. What should be done to pursue the problem by this or other research groups?
  9. A call for discussion.

At the conclusion of the discussion of both papers, we will ask students to grade the papers as to their impact on the field. We will then briefly discuss why students gave this grade and discuss generally where the field of study and treatment should be going.

There are several course sessions that differ from the outline just given. Some will not be followed by literature review sessions. The last two sessions will be used to review the grant applications prepared by student groups. This exercise intended to broaden the students’ grasp of a specific disease, to develop skills in defining research topics, and to increase their ability to present to colleagues. Each student will be asked to join a group of 3 or 4 others to explore a disease area, develop an hypothesis, and put together an agenda for testing the hypothesis. Student groups would start to form during the first few weeks of the course and would be assisted in their deliberations by a faculty advisor. The product of their work will be a brief (about 3 to 4 pages) written outline of their grant application. The format of the NIH R01 grant would be used as a model for this, albeit with much less detail than would be given under a real R01. The students will orally present their grant application to their fellow students and faculty during one of the last two sessions. Each group would have about 50 minutes to present and would answer questions and engage in discussion for about 10 minutes. At the end of the presentation, students will receive both oral and written feedback.

Grading of Students:

Students will be graded on three parameters. About 40% of the grade will be based on the paper presentation, about 40% on the presentation of their "grant application" group, and about 20% on their participation during other course sessions. We believe that all three components are important and each must be represented to do well in the course.

Grading of Faculty:

We are constantly seeking to increase the quality of the course. It is vital that students help us to evaluate it by giving us timely feedback on the faculty’s contributions. Thus, we will be asking you to grade individual faculty throughout the course. At the conclusion of the course, we will ask you to give an overall review. All reviews will be anonymous.

Course Webpage:

A web page has been set up for the course:

http://huguenard-lab.stanford.edu/205/

The web site will be continuously updated during the quarter. Please refer to it for updates.

Course Directors:

Yanmin Yang (yyanmin@Stanford.EDU, Rich Reimer (rjreimer@Stanford.EDU), William Mobley (ngfv1@stanford.edu).