Biology 422 Syllabus
Cancer Biology
Fall 2017
Dr. Erin Gestl
Office: SSN 282
Phone: 610-436-2760
Email:
Office Hours: Tuesday from 2:30 - 4:00pm
Wednesday from 8:30 - 10:00am
Thursday from 10:00 am - 12:00pm
By appointment
Class Time: Tuesday and Thursday 1:00 – 2:15pm, 212 Anderson
Text: Readings from Cancer Biology, Raymond W. Ruddon, 4th Edition
Supplemental Readings will be supplied.
Course Description and Objectives: A comprehensive lecture-based course that covers the genetic, molecular, histological, and therapeutic aspects of cancer biology. The course is designed around the emerging hallmarks of cancer and the enabling characteristics of cancer as a disease.
Attendance: Due to the nature of the lecture information, it is imperative that students attend all the lectures without a valid excuse.
Notes: Lecture notes/presentations will be posted on my website http://darwin.wcupa.edu/faculty/gestl. It is your responsibility to print them for lecture if desired.
Cell Phones: They are to be either turned off or set them to vibrate or other silent mode. In any case,
do not answer them during class. This includes texting. Please be considerate of the rest of the group. Disregard of this policy will negatively impact your grade.
ACADEMIC & PERSONAL INTEGRITY: It is the responsibility of each student to adhere to the university’s standards for academic integrity. Violations of academic integrity include any act that violates the rights of another student in academic work, that involves misrepresentation of your own work, or that disrupts the instruction of the course. Other violations include (but are not limited to): cheating on assignments or examinations; plagiarizing, which means copying any part of another’s work and/or using ideas of another and presenting them as one’s own without giving proper credit to the source; selling, purchasing, or exchanging of term papers; falsifying of information; and using your own work from one class to fulfill the assignment for another class without significant modification. Proof of academic misconduct can result in the automatic failure and removal from this course. For questions regarding Academic Integrity, the No-Grade Policy, Sexual Harassment, or the Student Code of Conduct, students are encouraged to refer to the Department Undergraduate Handbook, the Undergraduate Catalog, the Ram’s Eye View, and the University website at www.wcupa.edu.
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: If you have a disability that requires accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), please present your letter of accommodations and meet with me as soon as possible so that I can support your success in an informed manner. Accommodations cannot be granted retroactively. If you would like to know more about West Chester University’s Services for Students with Disabilities (OSSD), please visit them at 223 Lawrence Center. The OSSD hours of Operation are Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Their phone number is 610-436-2564, their fax number is 610-436-2600, their email address is , and their website is at www.wcupa.edu/ussss/ossd.
EXCUSED ABSENCES POLICY FOR UNIVERSITY-SANCTIONED EVENTS : Students are advised to carefully read and comply with the excused absences policy for university-sanctioned events contained in the WCU Undergraduate Catalog. In particular, please note that the “responsibility for meeting academic requirements rests with the student,” that this policy does not excuse students from completing required academic work, and that professors can require a “fair alternative” to attendance on those days that students must be absent from class in order to participate in a University-Sanctioned Event.
REPORTING INCIDENTS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE: WestChesterUniversity and its faculty are committed to assuring a safe andproductive educational environment for all students. In order to meet this commitment and to comply with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and guidance fromthe Office for Civil Rights, the University requires faculty members to report incidentsof sexual violence shared by students to the University's Title IX Coordinator, Ms. Lynn Klingensmith. The onlyexceptions to the faculty member's reporting obligation are when incidents of sexualviolence are communicated by a student during a classroom discussion, in a writingassignment for a class, or as part of a University-approved research project. Facultymembers are obligated to report sexual violence or any other abuse of a studentwho was, or is, a child (a person under 18 years of age) when the abuse allegedlyoccurred to the person designated in the University protection of minors policy. Information regarding the reporting of sexual violence and the resources that areavailable to victims of sexual violence is set forth at the webpage for the Office of Social Equity athttp://www.wcupa.edu/_admin/social.equity/.
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS: All students are encouraged to sign up for the University’s free WCU ALERT service, which delivers official WCU emergency text messages directly to your cell phone. For more information, visit www.wcupa.edu/wcualert. To report an emergency, call the Department of Public Safety at 610-436-3311.
ELECTRONIC MAIL POLICY: It is expected that faculty, staff, and students activate and maintain regular access to University provided e-mail accounts. Official university communications, including those from your instructor, will be sent through your university e-mail account. You are responsible for accessing that mail to be sure to obtain official University communications. Failure to access will not exempt individuals from the responsibilities associated with this course.
Student Learning Outcomes and how they are assessed:
-To understand the basis of cancer as a disease (Exam I)
-To conceptually discuss the hallmarks of cancer (Exam I, Presentation, Final)
-To understand and interpret the molecular aspects of cancer including genomic instability, cell signaling, growth factors, apoptosis, telomerase, angiogenesis, and metastasis. (Exam I, Presentation, Exam II, Final)
-To understand the effects of cancer progression on the cell, organs, and organism, in part, through the use of histology and pathology. (Exam II, Final)
-To understand the impact of emerging hallmarks and enabling characteristics of cancer (Final, Research Paper)
-To compare and contrast traditional, current, and developing therapeutic cancer treatments (Final, Research Paper)
Late Assignments: Assignments are due at the beginning of class and will be considered late if they
are handed after the start of the class. The grade of the assignment will be reduced by 10% for each week it is late.
Evaluation: Your final grade will be calculated as follows:
Exam I 20%
Exam II 20%
Presentation 10%
Research Paper 20%
Final (Cumulative) 30%
Make-up Exams will be allowed to taken only in the case of excused absences or when arranged prior to the exam date.
The grades will follow university standards, for example:
A 93-100%
A- 90-92.99%
B+ 87-89.99%
B 83-86.99%, Etc…
Presentation: The presentations will be given by groups of 2-3 students per group, and the topics will be chosen by the group from a given list related to the cancer biology field. The presentations will be powerpoint based and 10-15 minutes in length so that they can be accommodated within two classes during week 8 of the semester.
Research Paper: The research paper will be an individual project and the topics will describe the various treatments of different cancers. For example, a research paper topic may be, “The Use of Chemotherapeutics in the Treatment of Breast Cancer.” The papers will be 4-5 pages in length and due in week 12 of the semester.
Lecture Schedule
Date Topic
Aug 29 , 31 Syllabus and Introduction to Cancer
Sept 5, 7 Genome Instability and Mutation
Sept 12, 14 Tumor-Promoting Inflammation
Sept 19, 21 Sustaining Proliferative Signaling
Sept 26, 28 Evading Growth Suppressors
Oct 3 Exam I
Oct 5, 12 Resisting Cell Death
Oct 17, 19 Enabling Replicative Immortality
Oct 24, 26 The Tumor Microenvironment
Oct 31, Nov 2 Inducing Angiogenesis Presentations
Nov 7 Exam II
Nov 9, 14 Presentations
Nov 16, 21 Activating Invasion and Metastasis
Nov 23 Thanksgiving
Nov 28, 30 Reprogramming Energy Metabolism
Dec 5, 7 Evading Immune Destruction, Therapeutic Targeting
Research Paper Due
Final Exam (Cumulative)