Admission requirements
This course is mandatory for and restricted to students who do the Minor ‘Computational approach to Disease Signaling and Drug Targets’ (CADSDT; the entire Minor or only Part 2) or the Elective Module DSDT. The same admission criteria apply to this course as for the respective afore mentioned programs.
Description
This course will discuss the basic concepts of cellular signal transduction. The role of Signal transduction pathways involving (receptor) kinases, adhesion receptors, cytokine receptors and chemokine receptors in disease development, progression and drug development is discussed.
Disease development and progression is largely due to the activation and or modulation of cellular signaling. Mutations in signaling pathways that drive cell proliferation are key to cancer development and progression. In atherosclerosis, immune signaling is essential to promote plaque formation. Given the involvement of perturbed signaling in disease, components of signaling networks are important candidate drug targets. The course will discuss the concepts of cellular signal transduction and focus on (receptor) kinases, cytokine receptors, and chemokine receptors. We will discuss how these receptors are activated and which downstream signaling pathways are subsequently activated. Moreover, we will discuss how these different signaling pathways are also integrated in complex signaling networks that control biological outcome. We will further illustrate in what way these signaling pathways are involved in disease development and progression and how we can make use of this knowledge to develop novel therapeutic strategies using cancer and atherosclerosis as examples.
The aim of the CST course is to provide a strong basis for the understanding of cellular signal transduction, its role in disease, and its application in drug development.
Course Objectives
To gain insight in the basic concepts of cellular signal transduction
To understand the overall concept that alterations in cell signaling pathways are involved in disease development and progression.
To gain knowledge on the functioning and regulation of kinases, phosphatases, adhesion receptors, cytokines and their receptors, chemokines and their receptors.
To gain insight in the role of the various signaling pathways in development and progression of cancer and atherosclerosis.
To understand which elements in the various signaling pathways represent candidate drug targets for treatment of cancer and atherosclerosis.
To understand how the host immune system modulates disease progression.
Timetable
In MyTimetable, you can find all course and programme schedules, allowing you to create your personal timetable. Activities for which you have enrolled via MyStudyMap will automatically appear in your timetable.
Additionally, you can easily link MyTimetable to a calendar app on your phone, and schedule changes will be automatically updated in your calendar. You can also choose to receive email notifications about schedule changes. You can enable notifications in Settings after logging in.
Questions? Watch the video, read the instructions, or contact the ISSC helpdesk.
Note:
Joint Degree students from Leiden/Delft need to combine information from both the Leiden and Delft MyTimetables to see a complete schedule. This video explains how to do it.
Always check the detailed schedule on the Brightspace module of each Course 2-3 weeks before the start of the Course for group-specific meetings, (intermediate) deadlines, etc..
Mode of instruction
The course will use a combination of lectures, discussions of assigned literature. Most of the lectures will be offered in the morning. Literature-based work group discussions will provide direct interaction between students and staff. Students will work in groups on an assignment, where they will implicate a signal transduction pathway and related therapeutic applications in different disease topics.
Assessment method
An assignment report as well as a general written exam. Students will be graded individually for the assignment report and for the written exam. The assignment will account for 25% and written exam for 75%. Active participation in both tutorials is mandatory.
Reading list
Literature will be provided during the course.
Registration
As a student, you are responsible for enrolling on time through MyStudyMap.
In this short video, you can see step-by-step how to enrol for courses in MyStudyMap.
Extensive information about the operation of MyStudyMap can be found here.
There are two enrolment periods per year:
Enrolment for the fall opens in July
Enrolment for the spring opens in December
See this page for more information about deadlines and enrolling for courses and exams.
Note:
It is mandatory to enrol for all activities of a course that you are going to follow.
Your enrolment is only complete when you submit your course planning in the ‘Ready for enrolment’ tab by clicking ‘Send’.
Not being enrolled for an exam/resit means that you are not allowed to participate in the exam/resit.
Contact
Dr. Alexandros Sofias
Remarks
Software
Starting from the 2024/2025 academic year, the Faculty of Science will use the software distribution platform Academic Software. Through this platform, you can access the software needed for specific courses in your studies. For some software, your laptop must meet certain system requirements, which will be specified with the software. It is important to install the software before the start of the course. More information about the laptop requirements can be found on the student website.