376-1151-00L Translation of Basic Research Findings from Genetics and Molecular Mechanisms of Aging
| Semester | Autumn Semester 2020 |
| Lecturers | C. Ewald |
| Periodicity | yearly recurring course |
| Course | Does not take place this semester. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Comment | Number of participants limited to 30. |
| Abstract | Recently, several start-up companies are aiming to translate basic molecular findings into new drugs/therapeutic interventions to slow aging or post-pone age-related diseases (e.g., Google founded Calico or Craig Venter's Human Longevity, Inc.). This course will teach students the basic skill sets to formulate their own ideas, design experiments to test them and explains the next steps to translat |
| Objective | The overall goal of this course is to be able to analyse current therapeutic interventions to identify an unmet need in molecular biology of aging and apply scientific thinking to discover new mechanisms that could be used as a novel therapeutic intervention. Learning objectives include: 1. Evaluate the current problem of our aging population, the impact of age-dependent diseases and current strategies to prevent these age-dependent diseases. 2. Analyse/compare current molecular/genetic strategies that address these aging problems. 3. Analyse case studies about biotech companies in the aging sector. Apply the scientific methods to formulate basic research questions to address these problems. 4. Generate own hypotheses (educated guess/idea), design experiments to test them, and map out the next steps to translate them. |
| Content | Overview of aging and age-related diseases. Key discoveries in molecular biology of aging. Case studies of biotech companies addressing age-related complications. Brief introduction from bench to bedside with focus on start-up companies. |
| Prerequisites / Notice | No compulsory prerequisites, but student should have basic knowledge about genetics and molecular biology. |