Objectives/ aim
The student:
is aware of the impact of population changes on the occurrence of age related diseases and the possibilities for research in these areas.
will be able to explain the most important biological mechanisms which form the basis of the ageing process and can relate these to the prevailing evolutionary theories.
has insight in the strengths and weaknesses of the materials and methods used in research on age-related diseases.
will be able to exploit his/her knowledge on the biology of ageing by writing and defending a condensed grant proposal in this field.
Content
Four converging trends make the subject of this course highly relevant.
These are
(1) the growing importance of the areas of gerontology and geriatrics caused by the steady growth of the older population,
(2) emerging insights in the relationship between different phases of the life history, such the impact of early development on late life diseases,
(3) the advances in molecular biological techniques which can be used to study both the ageing process and diseases related to ageing, and
(4) the necessity to inform young medical researchers of the potential breakthroughs in the prevention and/or treatment of diseases found among elderly people.
Literature
For each subject, relevant articles are provided by the lecturer.
Form of tuition
The focus of the first two and a half weeks will be on the biological mechanisms of ageing and development, whereby evolutionary theories, experimental data, new technologies and ethical issues will be discussed. This part of the course consists for each subject of an Introductory lecture, a self-study assignment, and a discussion seminar in which the answers to self-study assignments (SSAs) will be discussed and feedback will be given.
Two days will be devoted to symposia on the themes sense and non-sense of animal models and sense and non-sense of human studies.
During the last week each student will work in small tutor groups on a grant proposal based on a research question derived from the course material studied in the first two and a half weeks. At the end of the last week the proposals will be presented and discussed in the tutor groups.
Mode of assesment
This course has no final examination. The mark for this course will be based on:
a. The assessment of SSAs 1-9. Some SSAs consist of the writing of a short essay, a report or a comparable task. Feedback will be given in discussion seminars.
b. The active participation in the tutorials, discussion seminars and working conferences. Active participation implies preparation of the topic and contribution to the discussion. For each discussion seminar some students will be designated who will present their answers to the SSAs.
c. The preparation, the quality of the writing and the presentation of the grant proposal in the last week.
a. and b. together will constitute 50% of the final mark, c. will form the other 50%.
Entry requirements/recommended prior knowledge
Basic knowledge of genetics and evolution theory.
Registration/enrolment
According to the normal procedure.
Remarks
None