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An intensive and comprehensive laboratory-oriented course in cellular and molecular neurobiology intended for predoctoral students, postdoctoral or clinical researchers, and young investigators beginning independent research careers. Limited to 12 students.
A hallmark of this course is the extensive lab work done in close
collaboration with expert faculty. The course is divided into three
sections: Electrophysiology, Imaging, and Molecular Neurobiology.
These are taught by separate groups of faculty, usually six in each
section, and with many guest lecturers. Each section begins with specific
training in core laboratory techniques; students then undertake one-
to two-week directed or independent projects using the methods they
have learned. Didactic lectures are combined with laboratory experience
in order to establish a strong conceptual foundation for each section.
A typical day has 3 hours of lecture and 10 hours of lab.
Electrophysiological methods focus on patch-clamp and sharp electrode recordings, performed on neurons in a variety of preparations, including tissue culture, brain slices, isolated squid synapses, rat cochlea, or whole fish. Optical methods include calcium imaging, confocal and 2-photon microscopy, videomicroscopy, and electron microscopy. Molecular techniques emphasize the use of forward and reverse genetics in diverse systems such as Drosophila, C. elegans, zebrafish, chick embryos, and primary cells in culture. The impact of genetic manipulations are assayed by real time PCR, laser microdissection, single cell PCR, in situ hybridization, and a variety of immunotechniques in addition to incorporating electrophysiological and imaging techniques.
The goal of the course is to emphasize the strengths of a multidisciplinary approach for studying the function of the nervous system at the cellular and molecular levels.
This course is supported in part by grants from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the Grass Foundation.
2007 Faculty and Lecturers:
Gordon Wang, Stanford University
Christine Beattie, The Ohio State University
Andrew Chisholm, UC San Diego
Kathryn Commons, Children's Hospital/Harvard Medical
Matthew Dalva, University of Pennsylvania
Joe DeGiorgis, NIH
Elva Diaz, UC Davis
James Galbraith, National Institutes of Health
James Galligan, Michigan State University
Paul Henion, The Ohio State University
Kristen Harris, University of Texas, Austin
Christopher Honda, University of Minnesota
Yishi Jin, University of California, San Diego
Yulong Li, Stanford University
Isabel Llano, CNRS
Alain Marty, CNRS
Kristina Micheva, Stanford University
Thomas Misgeld, Technical University Munich
Jorge Moreira, USP, Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine
Alberto Pereda, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Tom Reese, NIH
Stephen Smith, Stanford University Medical School
Michael Szulczewski, Prairie Technologies, Inc.
Mark Terasaki, University of Connecticut Health Center
Wesley Thompson, University of Texas at Austin
Heather Wenk, Gustavus Adolphus College
John Williams, OHSU
Junichi Yagi, Kyorin University
Joshua Zimmerberg, NICHD
Yi Zuo, UC Santa Cruz
Thomas Oertner, Friedrich Miescher Institute
Susan Ackerman, The Jackson Laboratory
Graeme Davis, UCSF
Catherine Galbraith, NIH
John Lisman, Brandeis University
Gail Mandel, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, OHSU
Louis Ptacek, HHMI/UCSF
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