Neurodevelopment/Specification of Neuronal Systems

Course manual 2016/2017

Course content

Topics/subjects:

• Lectures in advanced neurodevelopment   
• Lectures in neurodevelopment of the midbrain 
• Practical course in midbrain development 
• Bioinformatics course 
• Expert guest speakers 
• Journal clubs 
• Meet the expert technology workshops

Subjects the student will master at the end of the course:

• The molecular mechanisms underlying general neurodevelopment 
• The molecular cascades underlying dopaminergic midbrain development 
• How to design an experimental setup in order to investigate the role of a transcription factor in midbrain development 
• How to integrate state of the art techniques and current knowledge into the formulation of a research question

Study materials

Syllabus

• Study material and information will be provided at the course and will consist of a selection of excellent scientific papers published in international high-impact journals.

Objectives

At the end of the course, students will be able to:

• distinguish and interpret neurodevelopmental processes.
• criticize and evaluate scientific literature on neurodevelopmental processes.
• independently design and execute an experiment (in a laboratory).
• evaluate experimental results from a self designed experiment.
• design, analyse and criticize an experiment (using bio-informatic tools).
• interpret experimental results and present these in an oral presentation to a scientifically oriented public.

At the end of the three Molecular Neuroscience courses, the students will be able to:

• formulate a relevant research question about a neurological disease, using current literature and technology.
• design an innovative and state-of-art research strategy.
• to present a self designed research strategy, both in a written report and in an oral presentation, to a scientifically oriented public.

Teaching methods

• Lecture
• Seminar
• Computer lab session/practical training
• Presentation/symposium
• Self-study
• Working independently on e.g. a project or thesis
• Supervision/feedback meeting

The courses will be both of theoretical and practical in nature. The student will attend lectures, perform experiments, critically evaluate literature, and give presentations covering the practical work and literature performed and discussed during the course. In addition an assignment covering all three courses will be completed.

Learning activities

Attendance

The programme does not have requirements concerning attendance (OER-B).

Additional requirements for this course:

Assessment

Assignments

Onderstaande opdrachten komen aan bod in deze cursus:

•    Naam opdracht 1 : beschrijving 2
•    Naam opdracht 2 : beschrijving 1
•    ....

Fraud and plagiarism

Dit vak hanteert de algemene ‘Fraude- en plagiaatregeling’ van de UvA. Onder plagiaat of fraude wordt verstaan het overschrijven van het werk van een medestudent dan wel het kopiëren van wetenschappelijke bronnen (uit bijvoorbeeld boeken en tijdschriften en van het Internet) zonder daarbij de bron te vermelden. Uiteraard is plagiaat verboden. Hier wordt nauwkeurig op gecontroleerd en streng tegen opgetreden. Bij verdenking van plagiaat wordt de examencommissie van de opleiding ingeschakeld. Wanneer de examencommissie overtuigd is dat er plagiaat gepleegd is dan kan dit maximaal leiden tot een uitsluiting van al het onderwijs van de opleiding voor een heel kalenderjaar. Zie voor meer informatie over het fraude- en plagiaatreglement van de Universiteit van Amsterdam.www.uva.nl/plagiaat

Course structure

Timetable

Additional information

A course in molecular biology and/or neurobiology is advised

The maximum number of students is 20.

Contact information

Coordinator

• dr. L.P. van der Heide