Course Descriptions

Beginning in the fall of their second year, students participate in "Translational to Clinical Research", which spans years two through four of the program. Students are introduced to clinical trials, pathology reviews, tumor boards, the protocol review process and have an opportunity to interact  with  physicians  who  care  for  cancer  patients  and  conduct  clinical  trials. The student’s physician mentor advises and directs the student in the most relevant activities to attend and discusses the student’s experience with them every semester. Students are required to attend 2 meetings each semester for a total of 12 meetings in addition to discussion with their physician mentors. A short written report of each review meeting of the student’s experience is required. Didactic seminars are not accepted.

These modules provide second and third-year graduate students with an overview of basic and translational cancer research concepts. The full spectrum of the research programs at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center is represented in these modules. The modules highlight how unmet clinical needs are translated into scientific questions and subsequent research programs. Discussions include new therapeutic approaches and emerging research opportunities.

This module emphasizes the state of the art knowledge of each discipline, student participation in a problem-based learning context. Topics include viral carcinogenesis and epidemiology, hepatitis viruses, herpes viruses, Epstein Barr virus, human papillomavirus, Kaposi’s sarcoma, viral-induced lymphomas, viral oncolysis, and mechanisms of antitumor immunity.

This module explores the signal transduction pathways critical for cancer cell proliferation and survival that may provide new therapeutic targets, approaches for identification, and validation of molecular targets within these pathways. Students are introduced to the strategies used in the discovery, design of biological and drug-based therapies, and the implementation of clinical trials.

An important facet of the Cancer Biology Ph.D. Program is the training of students in the interrelationships between basic research and clinical medicine, i.e., translational research. The goal of this advanced course is to expose students to the scientific reasoning and logic underlying problem-solving in clinical cancer research. This course is designed to help students integrate information and develop the thought processes necessary to critically evaluate information in the literature and experimental approaches, conceptualize problems in the field and identify areas for scientific exploration. Students learn how the knowledge obtained from basic research laboratories is applied to clinical problems including prevention, diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic treatment of cancer. Specific examples of translational research, i.e., laboratory to clinic/clinic to laboratory are emphasized. Students also learn the key role of clinical observation in identifying basic research problems.

Prerequisites: MDB665, CAB605, CAB 610, CAB620 & two CAB Special Topics modules