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Masters of Arts in Biology

Masters of Arts in Biology. December 6 th , 2011 Elizabeth O. Harrington, Ph.D. Associate Dean, Office of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies Division of Biology & Medicine. Masters of Arts in Biology. Established in 1993 via contractual agreement.

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Masters of Arts in Biology

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  1. Masters of Arts in Biology December 6th, 2011 Elizabeth O. Harrington, Ph.D. Associate Dean, Office of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies Division of Biology & Medicine

  2. Masters of Arts in Biology • Established in 1993 via contractual agreement. • Accredited by Connecticut Department of Education. • Course offering is a section of an existing Brown University course.

  3. Masters of Arts in Biology • “The quality of student performance required is at least as rigorous as for the Master of Arts degree within any Graduate Program in the Division. The basic difference is to make it easier for a student to obtain breadth in Biology in more than one graduate area by not imposing strict requirements for specific courses.” • http://brown.edu/scs/adult/pfizer/

  4. Masters of Arts in BiologyObjectives • Provide graduate instruction within the biological sciences for Pfizer colleagues and contractors who wish to extend their knowledge in discrete areas relating to their employment and/or interests. • Provide a broad-based and rigorous Master of Arts training in biological sciences.

  5. Masters of Arts in BiologyExperiences • “I have had a great experience taking courses through Brown. I think the Brown-Pfizer program is an excellent one and I feel it has already made me a better scientist in exploring and designing new experiments for future treatment of various diseases.” – Recent Pfizer applicant’s statement

  6. Masters of Arts in BiologyExperiences Over 100 M.A. in Biology awarded.

  7. Masters of Arts in BiologyOverview • Open to Pfizer contractors and colleagues. • Only one prerequisite required: • A Bachelors degree in any field. • All courses held on-site at Pfizer-Groton campus.

  8. Masters of Arts in BiologyOverview • Pfizer employees and contractors register as Special Students via Office of Continuing Studies; • Standard Brown tuition fees apply. • Students apply to Graduate School for the M.A. program after successful completion of two courses. • Pfizer reimburses colleagues only who pass with grade of a ‘C’ or better.

  9. Masters of Arts in BiologyProgram Requirements • 8 graduate courses: • 2 of 8 courses in “core” subjects • cell biology, • biochemistry, • genetics, • pharmacology; • 6 of 8 courses with grade of ‘B’ or better. • Passing final paper or proposal “culminating experience” on topic approved by Assoc Dean, Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies.

  10. Masters of Arts in BiologyProgram Requirements: Culminating Experience • As a culminating experience for the Master of Arts in Biology Program, there are two options: • an NIH style research proposal based on an original hypothesis or • a final paper which, based on the course work taken by the student, represents an original in-depth analysis and literature review of a problem in modern biology.

  11. Masters of Arts in BiologyProgram Requirements: Culminating Experience • Research proposal (written as though you were preparing a NIH RO1 application) will include: • project summary/abstract, • specific aims, • research strategy, • literature cited. • Final paper (10-15 pgs, excluding figures and references) will include: • introduction, • discussion, • conclusion, • literature cited.

  12. Masters of Arts in BiologyProgram Requirements: Culminating Experience • Topics must be discussed with, and approved by the Associate Dean for Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. • The final project may be undertaken following completion of 7 courses, but must be completed no later than one semester following completion of the 8th course.

  13. Masters of Arts in Biology Program Requirements: Culminating Experience • Both projects are designed to demonstrate the student's ability to master and integrate the knowledge gained in the prior course work and to apply that knowledge to a specific problem in modern biology.

  14. Masters of Arts in BiologyProgram Requirements • No courses can be transferred from another institution. • Must be actively employed as a colleague or contractor at the Groton/NL Global Research Division. • Pfizer M.A. students may take courses toward the degree on Brown University campus with permission of instructor and Assoc. Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.

  15. Masters of Arts in BiologyProgram Requirements • Once accepted by the Graduate School, the students are expected to enroll in courses continuously each semester; • with the exception of the summer term. • If not, a request for a Leave of Absence (LOA) must be submitted one month prior to the start of the term via the Graduate School to avoid billing. • Only one LOA is permissible during the course of study.

  16. Masters of Arts in BiologyApplication Requirements • Successful completion of two Brown University graduate courses (B or better). • Undergraduate transcript with date of degree. • Letter of recommendation from Supervisor at Pfizer. • 1-2 pg. Colleague Statement • No GRE requirement or application fee!

  17. Masters of Arts in BiologyUpcoming Courses • Spring 2011: Molecular Genetics • Core course • Summer 2011: The Immune System • Fall 2011: Environmental Health & Disease • Spring 2012: Drug and Gene Delivery • Fall 2012: Advance Biochemistry • Core course

  18. Masters of Arts in BiologyPrevious Courses • Advanced Biochemistry, • Advanced Microbiology, • Cancer Biology, • Cell Biology, • Developmental Biology, • Drug Delivery, • Human Physiology, • Virology

  19. Beth Anne Zielinski, Ph.D. Course Director Drug & Gene Delivery(BIOL 2110) NovozymesBiopharma

  20. Course leader: Beth Zielinski, Ph.D. • Contact information: beth_anne_zielinski@brown.edu • Course days and times:Wednesdays 4-6:20PM (4:00-5:00PM, break, 5:00-5:10PM,5:10-6:20PM) • Course location:Pfizer, Inc. (on-site)

  21. Required readings • Text: Drug Delivery: Principles and Applications, Binghe Wang; Gene Therapy: Treating Disease by Repairing Genes, Joseph Panno • Journals and lay-press:Journal of Controlled Release, Journal of Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, Scientific American, New York Times, Washington Post

  22. Course Goals • The goals of this course are to provide students with a knowledge base in the most recent advances in drug and gene delivery. • Lectures focusing on various therapeutic modalities to treat specific organ-related and genetically-based diseases will allow students to gain comprehensive views of the disciplines of drug and gene delivery. • Students will be able to compare and contrast different therapies and critically analyze the interpretations of these developments in the lay press.

  23. How Will We Approach These Topics? • How are drug and gene delivery systems used to treat disease? • How are drug and gene delivery systems designed and optimized for use in these applications? • How are these systems designed and fabricated? • What are the pro’s and con’s of each system as compared to traditional modes of therapy? • How are developments in drug and gene delivery presented in the high-end lay press and how have these presentations affected their integration into mainstream medicine?

  24. Student Assessment • Students will be required to read assigned text chapters (per week) that pertain to the weekly topics. In addition, reading assignments from the primary journals listed above will be required on a weekly basis. • Number of pages per week may vary depending upon topic (80-100 pages). • Exam 1 35% (non-cumulative) • Final Project 30% (student groups) • Final Exam 35% (non-cumulative)

  25. Reservoir System Matrix System University of Washington Engineered Materials Bioerodible System Sigma-Aldrich Chemicals Langer, R. Science1990, 249, 1527. Kost, J.; Langer, R. Trends in Biotechnology1984, 2, 47. Heller, J.; Sparer, R. V.; Zenter, G. M. Poly(ortho esters) In Biodegradable polymers as drug delivery systems Chasin, M.; Langer, R., Eds.; Marcel Dekker: New York, 1990.

  26. The Promise of Gene Therapy and SCID-X1 • SCID-X1 • Mutation in gene that encodes for the gamma chain of an interleukin receptor found on the membranes of all lymphocytes • Dr. Alain Fischer, Necker Hospital, Paris, France • Combination of gene therapy and stem cell therapy Thursday, 27 April, 2000, 18:14 GMT 19:14 UK Gene therapy frees 'bubble babies‘ BBC News

  27. Stem Cell Therapy/Therapeutic Cloning for Protein Delivery and Gene Therapy Patient uses own healthy cell population to generate stem cells for his own therapeutic use This can also be applied to stored cord blood Nuclear transfer techniques used to generate specific cell populations for re-implantation

  28. Thank You! Questions?

  29. GerwaldJogl, PhD BIOL 1270 S02Advanced Biochemistry Course Time: Thursdays 4:00pm -6:30pm

  30. Course Goals • The overall goal of this course is to study how essential concepts of biochemistry are applied in current biomedical research. • We will review core topics of biochemistry and read one or two recent research articles relevant to these topics. The in-class discussion will (a) examine the experimental approach, (b) how the results of each report fit with prior knowledge, and (c) how these findings moved the field forward.

  31. Reading Assignments Tentative Textbook Biochemistry – The molecular basis of life. Fifth Edition 2011 McKee & McKee, Oxford University Press Two recent research publications for each class. Example: Topic RNA Selbach, M., et al., Widespread changes in protein synthesis induced by microRNAs. Nature, 2008. 455(7209): p. 58-63. Topic Transcription Cheung, A.C. and P. Cramer, Structural basis of RNA polymerase II backtracking, arrest and reactivation. Nature, 2011. 471(7337): p. 249-53.

  32. Reading research papers: How did this paper advance the field? What is the key figure and why? What kinds of experimental approaches were used and why? How do the experimental approaches work? 5) What is the central conclusion of the paper?

  33. Tentative Topics: • Proteins (protein folding, proteomics) • Metabolism • Photosynthesis • DNA (genomics, sequencing) • Transcription (RNA polymerases, regulation) • RNA (small RNAs, ribozymes) • Translation (antibiotics and the ribosome) • Epigenetics (histone and DNA modification and readout) • Signal Transduction (nutrients and the mTOR pathway)

  34. Translation: mRNA decoding A-site tRNA P-site tRNA E-site tRNA mRNA Schmeing … Ramakrishnan, Science 2009

  35. Masters of Arts in BiologyHow to get started???? • Register for course offering via the Brown website: http://www.brown.edu/pfizer • Educational Assistance: • Colleagues: Apply for via HR source. Following the successful completion of the course (‘C’ or better), you will be reimbursed by Pfizer to pay off your loan. • Contractors: None available, but Ledge Light credit union has individual educational loan options.

  36. Masters of Arts in BiologyHow to get started???? • Mail tuition check to: Brown University Cashier's Office 164 Angell Street Box 1911 Providence, RI 02912

  37. Masters of Arts in BiologyPfizer Contact • Jady J. Rugg • Pfizer Global R&D - Groton/New London Labs • Senior Associate Scientist; PDM Bioanalytical Core Group • B220/450F.1 MS: 8220-4560 • Office: 860.686.9344 • Cell: 269.317.8201 • jady.j.rugg@pfizer.com

  38. Masters of Arts in Biology • Good luck!!

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