University of Calgary : Medical Graduate Education MDGE

Medical Graduate Education MDGE

MDGE 601 602 603 604 605 606 607 608 609 621 622 623 624 625 626 627 628 629 630 631 632 633 634 651 652 654 655 721 722 723 724 725 726 755 799

For more information about these courses, see Graduate Science Education cumming.ucalgary.ca/gse.

Graduate Courses

Medical Graduate Education 601

Business Fundamentals

An overview of the primary business aspects involved in the health care product development industry, including company creation, intellectual property, financing, regulatory and clinical affairs, valuations and exit strategies. The principle objective is to develop a general understanding of how these different aspects integrate to form a functioning business.
Course Hours: 1 unit (12 hours)
Prerequisite(s): Admission to the Master of Biomedical Technology program or consent of the Program Director.

Medical Graduate Education 602

Intellectual Property and Licensing

A hands-on look at intellectual property and licensing, including reviews of actual biotechnology patents, licenses, and term sheets. Following an overview discussion on intellectual property, a deeper dive into patent and license construction enables the students to craft their own simple patents and license term sheets.
Course Hours: 1 unit (12 hours)
Prerequisite(s): Admission to the Master of Biomedical Technology program or consent of the program.

Medical Graduate Education 603

Project Management and Corporate Leadership

Presentation of project management tools and techniques and how to build a foundational project plan. Explanation of corporate, personal and team leadership as well as principles applicable to larger organizations will be discussed.
Course Hours: 1 unit (12 hours)
Prerequisite(s): Admission to the Master of Biomedical Technology program or consent of the program.

Medical Graduate Education 604

Finances in Biomedical Technology

Explores how the financial community views and values biotechnology business opportunities, and the concepts and skills required to do the financial analysis. Covers some of the issues surrounding the investment process and expectations when interacting with potential investors, reading and analyzing financial statements, estimating and forecasting cash flows, and value investment and financing proposals.
Course Hours: 1 unit (12 hours)
Prerequisite(s): Admission to the Master of Biomedical Technology program or consent of the program.

Medical Graduate Education 605

Regulatory Affairs

Coverage of the key regulations necessary for biopharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing, how to apply to the regulatory agencies and the consequences of non-compliance in regulatory affairs.
Course Hours: 1 unit (12 hours)
Prerequisite(s): Admission to the Master of Biomedical Technology program or consent of the program.

Medical Graduate Education 606

Clinical Trials

Review of clinical trials strategies and the regulations around them. An emphasis will be placed on regulatory obligations and current trends.
Course Hours: 1 unit (12 hours)
Prerequisite(s): Admission to the Master of Biomedical Technology program or consent of the program.

Medical Graduate Education 607

Communication, Marketing and Sales

Introduction to effective strategies for communication to diverse audiences of investors, corporations and clients in the biomedical technology sector, plus consideration of optimal marketing and sales approaches with appropriate channel selection.
Course Hours: 1 unit (12 hours)
Prerequisite(s): Admission to the Master of Biomedical Technology program or consent of the program.

Medical Graduate Education 608

Business Case Studies

Real life presentations by corporate executives with an emphasis on strategic planning at the highest level, with examples of successes, failures and works in progress. Critical evaluation of publicly traded biotechnology corporations.
Course Hours: 1 unit (12 hours)
Prerequisite(s): Admission to the Master of Biomedical Technology program or consent of the program.

Medical Graduate Education 609

Business Integration

Integrating lessons learned in prior business modules and extrapolating to the corporate environment, plus business pitches.
Course Hours: 1 unit (12 hours)
Prerequisite(s): Admission to the Master of Biomedical Technology program or consent of the program.

Medical Graduate Education 621

Anti-tumour Drug Discovery and Current Cancer Therapies

Understanding the effective use of molecular pathology to identify biomarkers and potential targets for modulation. Explore the concepts of targeting stem cells, identification of small molecular weight inhibitors (drug discovery) and the formulation of clinical trials. Major emphasis will be placed on formulating an effective hypothesis and to design preclinical studies that will include cutting-edge ideas on molecular cancer therapeutics.
Course Hours: 1 unit (12 hours)
Prerequisite(s): Consent of the program.

Medical Graduate Education 622

Proteomics and Metabolomics and Cancer Biomarker Discovery

Proteomics and metabolomics will be covered including the objectives of these disciplines, the technologies, methods and informatics used in biological mass spectrometry as applied to the ‘omics. Examples will be drawn from cancer-related disciplines (research or clinical).
Course Hours: 1 unit (12 hours)
Prerequisite(s): Consent of the program.

Medical Graduate Education 623

Tumour Immunology and Immunotherapy

Introductory topics in tumour immunobiology and immunotherapy will be covered. Fundamental and translational topics including, tumour immunogenicity, tumour immune surveillance and editing, immune escape, active immunotherapy, passive immunotherapy, virotherapy and viral vaccines, therapies targeting immunosuppressive mechanisms, and personalized immunotherapy.
Course Hours: 1 unit (12 hours)
Prerequisite(s): Consent of the program.

Medical Graduate Education 624

Cell Cycle Regulation in Cancer and Aging

The links between cancer and aging, the experimental definition of the cell cycle, major events in G0, G1, S, G2, M, drivers and regulators of the cell cycle including oncogenes and tumour suppressors, cyclins, CDKs, CDIs and links to the cell cycle through tumour suppressors will be covered. An overview of biological and replicative aging including recent developments regarding the role of epigenetic modifications in cancer and aging.
Course Hours: 1 unit (12 hours)
Prerequisite(s): Consent of the program.

Medical Graduate Education 625

Epigenetics and Chromatin Dynamics

Fundamentals of eukaryotic chromatin assembly, dynamic chromatin regulation and post-translational modifications that comprise epigenetics. DNA methylation, histone post-translational modifications, histone variants, regulatory siRNA, nucleosome remodelling and higher-order chromatin organization. Cancer and disease-associated epigenetic alterations will be discussed in detail.
Course Hours: 1 unit (12 hours)
Prerequisite(s): Consent of the program.

Medical Graduate Education 626

DNA Damage Signalling and Repair

DNA repair pathways, highlighting the cellular responses to ionizing radiation will be covered, including: base excision repair, mismatch repair, nucleotide excision repair, and DNA single strand and double strand break repair. The relationship of replication stress and telomere maintenance to genomic instability in a cancer context will be covered.
Course Hours: 1 unit (12 hours)
Prerequisite(s): Consent of the program.

Medical Graduate Education 627

Cancer Cell Biology - Fundamentals and Current Topics

An advanced discussion-based format featuring analysis of the current literature in cancer cell biology with an emphasis on developmental systems. Background in cancer cell biology and signal transduction is essential. Topics include stem cells, cell polarity and migration, endocytosis and mitochondrial biogenesis, and are selected based on the student's research project to enhance their learning experience.
Course Hours: 1 unit (12 hours)
Prerequisite(s): Consent of the program.

Medical Graduate Education 628

Cancer Cell Invasion, Metastasis and Angiogenesis

Angiogenesis, cell invasion and metastasis will be discussed from molecular, cell biological and clinical perspectives. Methods of experimental modelling of metastatic behaviour and angiogenesis, as well as their respective advantages and limitations will be discussed. There will be lab demonstration of available in vitro and in vivo invasion/metastasis/angiogenesis models.
Course Hours: 1 unit (12 hours)
Prerequisite(s): Consent of the program.

Medical Graduate Education 629

Signal Transduction Pathways and Cancer

Fundamental principles of receptor-mediated and intracellular signalling pathways that have implications in cancer biology. Topics focus on receptor tyrosine kinases, serine/threonine kinase receptors and G-protein-coupled receptors.
Course Hours: 1 unit (12 hours)
Prerequisite(s): Consent of the program.

Medical Graduate Education 630

Ethics of Data Analysis and Clinically-Oriented Research

Issues of scientific ethics as it relates to cancer research. Students learn how clinical trials involving human subjects and tissues are designed to gain ethical approval, as well as issues surrounding genomic data analysis and use. The topics of unethical data manipulation, detecting falsified data, experimental replicates and typical cancer research assays will be covered.
Course Hours: 1 unit (12 hours)
Prerequisite(s): Consent of the program.

Medical Graduate Education 631

Neural Development

Fundamental principles of central nervous system development. The course encompasses the first unit of Medical Science 619.01, which is a core course for all Neuroscience graduate students. It will cover basic principles of neural induction and neurogenesis, regionalization of the neural tube, neuronal migration, circuit formation (axons and dendrites), neurodevelopmental disorders, and model organisms.
Course Hours: 1 unit (12 hours)
Prerequisite(s): Consent of the program.
Antirequisite(s): Credit for Medical Graduate Education 631 and Medical Science 619.01 will not be allowed.

Medical Graduate Education 632

Principles of Light Microscopy

Fundamentals of standard wide-field fluorescence microscopy as well as confocal and multiphoton techniques. Key concepts such as the optical light path, spatial resolution, and sampling will be emphasized. In addition, students will have the opportunity to assemble basic bright-field and fluorescence microscopes using optical “lego”.

Course Hours: 1 unit (12 hours)
Prerequisite(s): Consent of the program.

Medical Graduate Education 633

Advanced Techniques in Optical Microscopy

Advanced techniques in optical microscopy covered though a combination of lectures and activities. Topics include total internal reflection (TIRF) microscopy, superresolution, light sheet techniques and other rapidly developing technologies. Also includes one or more selected topics in targeted illumination including fluorescence recovery after photo activation (FRAP).
Course Hours: 1 unit (12 hours)
Prerequisite(s): Medical Graduate Education 632 or consent of the program.

Medical Graduate Education 634

Digital Imaging for Optical Microscopy

The concept of the digital image and its relevance to optical microscopy will be introduced. The workflow from image acquisition to image analysis and presentation of data for publication will be covered. Good practices and pitfalls will be emphasized at every step. Students will gain experience in image processing and analysis using the standard open source package FIJI.
Course Hours: 1 unit (12 hours)
Prerequisite(s): Medical Graduate Education 632 or consent of the program.

Medical Graduate Education 651

Microbial Virulence Factors

Virulence factors used by microbial pathogens to cause disease. Topics include microbial adherence mechanisms, toxigenic infections, virulence factor secretion systems, microbial gene expression.
Course Hours: 1 unit (12 hours)
Prerequisite(s): Medical Science 611, Cellular, Molecular and Microbial Biology 431, or consent of the program.

Medical Graduate Education 652

Microbial Interactions at Epithelial Surfaces

Strategies used by microbial pathogens to target mucosal surfaces, and their contribution to disease. Topics include microbial disruption of epithelial barrier function, interactions with the host microbiome, microbial adaptation to host defenses, and invasion and intracellular survival strategies.

Course Hours: 1 unit (12 hours)
Prerequisite(s): Medical Science 611, Cellular, Molecular and Microbial Biology 431, or consent of the program.

Medical Graduate Education 653

Antimicrobials and Resistance

Mechanism of action of antimicrobials, and resistance genes. Topics will also include transmission of resistance and discovery of new antimicrobials.
Course Hours: 1 unit (12 hours)
Prerequisite(s): Medical Science 611, Cellular, Molecular and Microbial Biology 431, or consent of the program.

Medical Graduate Education 654

Infection and Immunity

Interactions with microbial pathogens with the innate and adaptive immune systems. Topics include immune evasion, pathogen clearance, and vaccine development.

Course Hours: 1 unit (12 hours)
Prerequisite(s): Consent of the program.

Medical Graduate Education 655

Autoimmunity and Immunodeficiency

Advanced course focusing on the cellular and molecular mechanisms of systemic and organ-specific autoimmunity, acquired immunodeficiencies including those in the context of organ transplantation, and immunomodulatory therapies.
Course Hours: 1 unit (12 hours)
Prerequisite(s): Consent of the program.

Medical Graduate Education 721

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Scientific Method, Data Analysis and Communication

Covers landmark discoveries in biochemistry and molecular biology (BMB), new and evolving BMB technologies, and how these can be implemented into modern research programs. Application of the scientific method, technical and ethical considerations surrounding data analysis, and essential skills for communicating scientific discoveries in the realm of peer-reviewed publication, presentation and grant application contexts.
Course Hours: 1 unit (12 hours)
Prerequisite(s): Consent of the program.

Medical Graduate Education 722

Nucleic Acids, DNA Replication, Transcription and RNA Signalling

Covers nucleic acid synthesis, utilization and degradation in cells. Understanding of structure-function relationships for nucleic acids, the enzymatic basis of DNA replication, how genes are read, how the transcribed RNA is processed, and how genes are regulated through a coordinated collaboration between proteins and nucleic acid sequences. Reviews emerging technologies in the study of nucleic acids and RNA at a molecular level.
Course Hours: 1 unit (12 hours)
Prerequisite(s): Consent of the program.

Medical Graduate Education 723

Translation, Protein Folding and Post-Translational Modification

Covers cellular proteins synthesis, modification and degradation. Topics include structure-function relationships for amino acids, the enzymatic basis of protein translation, how ribosomes are synthesized and regulated, how proteins are folded and may be modified post-translationally by enzymatic and non-enzymatic means. Emerging technologies in the study of proteins and post-translational modifications at a molecular level are reviewed.
Course Hours: 1 unit (12 hours)
Prerequisite(s): Consent of the program.

Medical Graduate Education 724

Introduction to Bioinformatics Resources

Covers key bioinformatics concepts and practices, as well as the basic knowledge of how to access resources for graduate-level biologists who are not bioinformatics specialists. Introduces essential bioinformatics terminologies, discusses the use of bioinformatics to infer information about an organism from its genome. Provides practical experience with bioinformatics tools and develop basic skills in the collection and presentation of bioinformatics data.
Course Hours: 1 unit (12 hours)
Prerequisite(s): Consent of the program.

Medical Graduate Education 725

Applied Genomics

Covers high throughput DNA sequencing technologies and genome-wide association genetics. Provides an overview of the available genomics technologies and their applications for high throughput discovery in biology (model organisms) and medicine (cancer and Mendelian disease genomics). Discussions will also encompass research ethics considerations for collecting, storing and using human genomic data.
Course Hours: 1 unit (12 hours)
Prerequisite(s): Consent of the program.

Medical Graduate Education 726

Applied Structural Biology

Students will learn how to describe structures of biological macromolecules and explain the most commonly occurring methods for determination and analysis of the three-dimensional structure of biomolecules. Provides an overview of biophysical and structural methods used to study the regulation and function of biomolecules, tutorials on commonly available structural visualization software and resources and how structure-guided drug design is being used for pre-clinical drug discovery.
Course Hours: 1 unit (12 hours)
Prerequisite(s): Consent of the program.

Medical Graduate Education 755

Directed Studies

Lectures, seminars, term papers or training in theoretical and/or laboratory methods at the advanced level in the medical sciences.
Course Hours: 1 unit (12 hours)
Prerequisite(s): Consent of the program.
MAY BE REPEATED FOR CREDIT

Medical Graduate Education 799

Topics in Medical Sciences

Course Hours: 1 unit (12 hours)
Prerequisite(s): Consent of the program.
MAY BE REPEATED FOR CREDIT

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