Gastrointestinal and Cardiovascular Disease

6 EC

Semester 1, period 2

5234GACD6Y

Owner Master Biomedical Sciences
Coordinator dr. Anje te Velde
Part of Master Biomedical Sciences, track Experimental Internal Medicine, year 1

Course manual 2018/2019

Course content

The Experimental Internal Medicine track is unique because it is fully taught at an academic hospital, the Academic Medical Center, by experts in the different fields covered during the course. When choosing this track you will be exposed to a broad range of basic and applied clinical research, and have the opportunity to meet leading basic and clinical researchers working on diverse topics that are important for human health. This course also serves as an excellent platform to explore internships and careers in biomedical research.

This four week course is divided in two periods. The first two weeks of the course focus on gastroenterology-related topics, while the second half of the course focuses on cardiovascular-related issues.

The liver and intestine are our largest organs, but it is their complexity and importance for many physiological processes that makes them so fascinating. Liver and intestinal diseases are an enormous burden on society, and importantly, the etiology of many gastrointestinal diseases is still unknown. In the first half of this master-level course, students are taken on a journey through the normal function of the intestine and liver. You will not only learn how our digestive system functions under normal conditions but also what happens when inflammatory or metabolic diseases affect proper functioning of these key organs.

The cardiovascular system supplies both the early embryo and the adult with blood containing the nutrients and oxygen vital to development and survival. Although essentially just a muscular pump with a system of tubes, the complexity and diversity of cardiac disorders does not reflect its apparent simplicity of function. Similarly, the vasculature is not merely a collection of tubes through which blood flows; Vascular dysfunction represents an early and critical step in many human diseases, most notably coronary artery disease. Cardiovascular diseases comprise a large biomedical area; Cardiac pump function and heart failure, cardiac excitation and sudden cardiac death, atherosclerosis and ensuing ischemic heart disease.

In this course you will receive up to date state scientific insights into these biomedical areas, the clinical expression of diseases therein, and the experimental techniques, and animal models used to unravel the biological underpinnings of normal and diseased states.

Topics that will be covered in this course are broad and range from genome wide association studies, stem cell biology, metabolism, immunology, electrophysiology to clinical treatment and surgery.

Study materials

Literature

  • scientific articles 

Objectives

After the course, the student should be able to:

  • describe and summarize the gastrointestinal and cardiovascular system in health and disease
  • recognize and describe current issues in gastroenterology and cardiology.
  • describe why and how top researchers are active in Gastroenteroloy and Cardiology.
  • analyze and perform research in these fields.
  • explain why and how basic and applied research can be used to solve issues in gastroenterology and cardiology
  • clearly present scientific data and explain background information.

Teaching methods

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

Learning activities

Activity

Number of hours

Practical lab work

34

Presentation

3

Exam

3

Seminar

49.25

Self study

78.75

Total 6 EC x 28 h

168

Attendance

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

Additional requirements for this course:

All course elements are mandatory. Notice of absence is required from the coordinators.

Assessment

Item and weight Details

Final grade

1 (100%)

Tentamen

The exam is of a multiple choice format based on the cardiovascular portion only. Questions are set by each individual lecturer. The questions are based on the lecturer's whole presentation, and may also represent elements learned during practical work. The exam is not digital and requires only a pen to mark answers. There is no strict policy of pass or fail for this individual component, though students should be aware that low grades may reflect poorly when applying for an internship. 

Inspection of assessed work

Contact your supervisor to make an appointment for inspection.

For personal feedback the student can contact the individual course coordinators: for the first two weeks Anje te Velde (a.a.tevelde@amc.uva.nl) and Jurgen Seppen (j.seppen@amc.uva.nl), the third week Noam Zelcer (n.zelcer@amc.uva.nl) and the forth week Phil Barnett (p.barnett@amc.uva.nl). For overall support the track coordinator is available: Anje te Velde (a.a.tevelde@amc.uva.nl).

Assignments

Practical Dissection Mouse

  • Includes an electronic exam. This will not be assessed.

Mini lab projects, following a PhD student

  • Introduction in lab work with several PhD students.

Abstract

  • Writing an abstract, related to the topic of the mini lab projects.

Presentation lab assignment

  • Presentation of the subject of a PhD student in a movie format.

Presentation proposal

  • In groups, a proposal will be designed and presented of the use of a new therapeutic target.

Practical Heart dysmorphology

  • will not be assessed

Practical ECG

  • will not be assessed

Short multiple choice test

  • Cardiac section only. 30 MC questions covering topics of heart development and function only. Graded.

Fraud and plagiarism

The 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' applies to this course. This will be monitored carefully. Upon suspicion of fraud or plagiarism the Examinations Board of the programme will be informed. For the 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' see: www.student.uva.nl

Course structure

Weeknummer Onderwerpen Studiestof
1Gastroenterology and Liver research various topics, practicum anatomy of the mouse  
2Gastroenterology and Liver research 7 afternoons generating a movie explaining the work of a PhD student in the Tytgat Laboratory, writing an abstract and presentation of movie.  
3Cardiovascular research lectures on cardiovascular diseases, designing and presenting a proposal  
4Cardiovascular research lectures on cardiovascular diseases, practicum anatomy of the heart and ECG, exam covering the content of week 4  tba
5    
6    
7    
8    

Timetable

The schedule for this course is published on DataNose.

Additional information

 Location: Academic Medical Center

 

Contact information

Coordinator

  • dr. Anje te Velde