Syllabus
Syllabus
Week Topic 1 Course introduction - Early human development - Embryonic stem cells 2 Somatic cell nuclear transfer - Reproductive cloning - Induced pluripotent stem cells 3 Transdifferentiation - Dedifferentiation - Regeneration 4 Modern genome editing tools - In vitro disease models 5 Stem cell organoids - Embryo-like structures - Xenobots 6 Stem cell therapies - Organ xenotransplantation 7 Mid-course test - Discussion about the next assignment (research proposal or essay) 8 Somatic gene therapies - Heritable genome editing 9 In vitro gametogenesis 10 Invited talk (**) 11 Student group presentations 12 Ethics of stem cell research / future applications - Student feedback - Final discussion
(**) The guest speaker will be introduced in the first half of the course. He/she will give a standard research talk focused on a selected topic relevant to the subject.
Format
• The course (lectures, discussions, assignments) will be held in English
• Unless otherwise stated, all lectures/modules will be online (Zoom meetings)
• All weekly meetings will last ~90 minutes (however, the Q&A session may run a bit longer)
• Maximum number of students per course/semester (in 2022): 30 students
• There is no specific textbook for this course. All readings-mostly original research and review articles-will be shared with students during the course
Annotation
A few months ago, you ordered an organ for your spouse who suffered from renal failure. The new kidney was grown in a genetically engineered pig. Later, to celebrate a successful surgery, the whole family went to Pleistocene Park, where the kids could see woolly mammoths. Many genes had to be changed in those large animals to bring them alive. In comparison, your little daughter carries only one edited allele, saving her from an increased risk of developing breast cancer in her lifetime. You have not let doctors modify your genome yet; however, currently, you are considering an epigenetic heart rejuvenation.
Both your parents—soon turning 100—highly recommend this therapy.
A future like the one described above may not be so far away. To better understand upcoming advances in medicine, it is beneficial to learn a thing or two about pluripotent stem cells and their biotechnological applications. If you find this research area interesting, and if you are willing to know more, taking this course may be a good next step.