Course Syllabus

 

 

Course Directors : Dr. Margaret (Peggy) Wallace (peggyw@ufl.edu, 392-3055); Dr. Lei Zhou ( leizhou@ufl.edu . 273-8169)

 

Credits : 1 per semester

 

Course Description : At each class meeting, one student will present one scientific paper in detail, using a Powerpoint format, referring to other literature to provide background and support/refute data in the main paper. The audience (other students and faculty) should ask questions, help critique the science, and provide constructive feedback to the presenter and course directors.  Prerequisit e : Enrolled in a biology- or biomedical-based Ph.D. program at UF, or permission of instructor.

 

Objectives : For students to improve their seminar presentation skills, to learn and be able to teach a new topic, and participate in open discussion of strengths and weaknesses of a paper from genetics  literature.

 

Format : One 50-minute meeting once a week (Wednesdays at 4:00 in ARB room R2-265 or C/G room 451). Occasionally we will have a different type of presentation (e.g. 1st year student Rotation Talks, Genetics Medical Guild competition) or required attendance at an alternative event instead (e.g. Florida Genetics conference in late October). The Fall 2012 schedule for this journal club will be set up at the mandatory student meeting on Wed. August 7 at 3:30 p.m. in CGRC-451.  All students, except those who have informed the course directors that they are graduating in the fall of 2012 (with confirmation from mentor), are expected to give one presentation during the year.  

 

IDP Genetics students are required to take this journal club for the Fall semester.  In the spring, they may choose either continuing with this journal club, or take another journal club as a substitute.  If you are planning to choose a different journal club in the spring, make sure you sign up for presentation in the fall.

 

Choosing the paper (please follow directions completely) :  For each presentation, the student should choose a paper (or papers) that is deemed interesting because it makes a significant contribution to our knowledge of how genetic information controls biological processes, or a dysregulation that contributes to disease.  It can be in your field of research but not from your own laboratory.  It is strongly encouraged that you choose a current (published in the last 24 months) paper from the list of core genetics-related journals (Appendix I). Alternatively you may choose a time-tested “classic” paper (see lists in Appendix II).  You will need to discuss with the course directors if you want to present a current paper from a journal that is not listed in Appendix I.  In choosing the paper, you should discuss your choices with faculty members who are experts in a related area and whom you have access to for help as needed.  The decision has to be made 2- 3 weeks before the presentation date, at which time the link to the paper has to be sent to the course directors.  In the following week, the student should write an introductory paragraph of no more than 150 words, summarizing why you think the paper is interesting (so it is worth reading and discussion).  This introductory summary , as well as links to other information sources (such as a review article) that will facilitate understanding and discussion of the topic covered in the main paper, should be sent to the course directors 2 weeks before the presentation date.

 

Presentation : You are telling a story, teaching about a topic using this paper as culmination of the story. You should present a good background and introduction to the field/topic, followed by discussion of the paper and overall conclusions about the importance of this field and the paper in particular. It isn’t necessary to go into enormous detail about the paper, unless you want to point out a flaw or something particularly interesting or clever. Describe the significance of this work to the field, and to biomedical research and medicine in general.  Make your points clear (putting the conclusion of an experiment as the title of your slide is very useful). If you use figures from other papers in your background, please remember to put the reference below it. Use Powerpoint, and feel free to be creative (e.g. animation to show a model, inoffensive humor, etc). Make sure you have a pointer , and practice with it so you don’t over-use it (don’t circle with it too much!).  Arrive early to set up, to be ready to start at 4:00 (especially when presenting at the Cancer/Genetics building—you are responsible for bringing your own computer and getting the audiovisual set up ). Remind your own mentor about the talk. You won’t know everything about the topic, so be prepared to acknowledge that, if you can’t answer some questions, but try to think on your feet to come up with logical guesses. Or ask the audience if anyone else knows that answer.  After presentation, please meet briefly with the course directors and any other faculty in attendance for informal feedback. Also, make a note to bring snacks for the next week (see below).

 

Readers: For each presentation, 4 students will be assigned as readers. Each readers must read the paper and research related information.  She/he is also required to bring up 1-2 questions/comments during the discussion/presentation.  This will be recorded by the monitoring faculty and counted towards final evaluation. 

 

Audience : Please read the paper ahead so you are prepared to ask questions about the topic, methods, or ideas related to it. Or provide extra insight from your own knowledge or thoughts. Senior students often have useful contributions—don’t be bashful. We want to generate open discussion about the topics and papers.   Any negative feedback during the meeting should be directed at the science (e.g. pointing out flaws in controls or interpretation, etc), not the speaker or audience (it can be communicated to the course directors as needed). Feedback to the speaker about his/her presentation skills should wait until after the meeting.

 

 

 

Grading : Grades are based on attendance as well as fulfilling the requirements listed above.  You must sign in on the attendance sheet each time.  Do not sign up for anyone else—that is fraudulent. If you can’t attend due to reasonable circumstances, please contact the course director ahead of time. Missing journal club because you are doing experiments is not an acceptable excuse—you can plan your lab work around that hour. If you miss a meeting, and haven’t contacted the course director about it, it is considered an unexcused absence. You are allowed three such absences per semester without penalty. If you have more than three, you will receive a “U” grade at the end of the semester (calculated as “failing” for GPA). You may also be subject to a “U” grade or other penalty (such as having to present a second journal club that year or the next) if your own presentation is missed or is considered to be of very poor quality. Also, you MUST stay for the entire time.

 

Useful suggestions :

        It may be more difficult to prepare short papers that contain a lot of data with short explanations and fewer figures (e.g. Science ), so it is best to aim for articles with at least 4 figures and is straightforward to follow (often, the Supplementary Material is very useful). 

        Feel free to contact the author(s) to clarify a point or answer a question ahead of time; most will respond quickly to an email, and it shows initiative.

        Ideally, practice the talk at least once in front of a few colleagues or mentors to get feedback and practice answering questions.

        Engage the audience (use speaking skills such as surveying the audience, or pausing to ask if there are any questions occasionally). Have some fun with it-- a relaxed atmosphere helps stimulate discussion and interest. Aim for a 40-45 minute talk, to allow time for discussion.

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities : Students requesting classroom accommodation must first register with the Dean of Students Office. The Dean of Students Office will provide documentation to the student who must then provide this documentation to the Instructor when requesting accommodations.

Disclaimer: Recording of the Journal Club sessions in any format is NOT allowed.

Appendix I :  List of core genetics-related journals:

Cell (and Cancer Cell, Cell Stem Cell, Developmental Cell, Molecular Cell).

Science

Nature (and Nature Genetics, Nature Medicine, Nature Cell Biology, Nature Immunology)

New England Journal of Medicine

PNAS

Genes and Development

PLoS Genetics

American Journal of Human Genetics

Human Molecular Genetics

Genome Research

Epigenetics

Gene Therapy

Human Gene Therapy

BMC Genetics, Genomics, Medical Genetics, Medical Genomics,

 

Appendix II: List of “Classic” Genetics Papers:

1.) Genetics discovery that was recognized by Nobel prize.

2.) The History of Genetics series at the Welcome library.

3.) Dartmouth History of Genetics .

ESP has a large collection of scanned copies of classic papers.