Advanced Trainings for Stem Cell Biology:

1) Developmental and Stem Cell Biology.

This course will be modified from a required core course (BMS225A) for Biomedical Sciences (BMS) graduate students, under the direction of Matthias Hebrok, Ph.D. The class begins with lectures on preimplantation human development, mouse and human embryonic stem cell biology and gastrulation. These lectures are followed by others on fetal development, organogenesis and adult stem cells. Laboratories are focused on mouse development and previously included the first graduate laboratories in human embryonic stem cells in the USA in 2005. Modifications will increase exposure to stem cell types such as mesenchymal stem cells and include an introduction to transplantation biology. Discussion sessions that are focused on current stem cell literature will be added. This course is required of all CIRM scholars unless a similar course has been taken.

2) Human Embryonic Stem Cell Laboratory.

This is a new offering as a stand-alone course and will be offered twice a year. The course will be directed by Drs. Renee Reijo Pera and Susan Fisher and will occupy 14 days. The course will focus on growth and characterization of existing hESC lines, differentiation of hESCs, genetic modification of hESCs and isolation and analysis of differentiated cell types; it will also include modules are derivation of hESCs and somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). The course is optional for all CIRM scholars and will also be open to others at UCSF and affiliated institutions.

3) Regenerative Medicine.

This course will be directed by Drs. Kevin Shannon and Arnold Kriegstein and will include lectures on the genetic basis of disease, transplantation, immunology and mechanisms of graft rejection, assisted reproduction, neurologic injury and neurodegenerative diseases, musculoskeletal degeneration and repair, tumorigenesis and cancer stem cells, and organ regeneration. Each topic will include a review of disease characteristics, molecular and cellular pathogenesis, the benefits and challenges of current therapies, and the potential role of stem cell-based therapeutic approaches. Topics will be taught jointly by scientists and clinicians. This course is required of all CIRM scholars, and will be open to the UCSF community and to collaborating and affiliated institutions on a space-available basis.

4) Ethical, Legal and Social Implications of Stem Cell Biology.

This new course will be directed by Dr. Bernie Lo, Director of the UCSF Program in Medical Ethics as a monthly workshop. This course will include topics such as ethical standards for informed consent, donation of biological materials, issues stemming from technologies such as nuclear transfer, and issues of confidentiality and intellectual property. It is required of all CIRM scholars and will also be open to others in the UCSF community, collaborating and affiliated institutions. A separate course on Ethics and the Responsible Conduct of Research will be mandatory for CIRM pre-doctoral students and any other CIRM scholars who have not had similar courses, with topics such as animals in research, scientific record keeping, publication rules and etiquette, science and industry, and conflict of interest.