The Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory proposes to continue three courses in Molecular Biology, Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, whose methodologies are important for modern cancer research, to be held in 2017 ? 2021. These short, intensive courses include Expression, Purification & Analysis of Proteins and Protein Complexes (two weeks), Mouse Development, Stem Cells & Cancer (three weeks) and Chromatin, Epigenetics and Gene Expression (three weeks). Each course prepares the student to enter directly into research that makes use of advanced and/or specialized techniques and concepts that can be applied to studies of growth and regulation of normal eukaryotic cells and their oncogenic counterparts. Each course has a different emphasis and serves a different need. The course in Expression, Purification & Analysis of Proteins and Protein Complexes seeks to train students in the theory and practice of methods of protein expression, purification and analysis. These methods can be used for the characterization and production of proteins and protein complexes implicated in cancer, including oncogenes, tumor suppressor genes, and signaling molecules and cascades. The course on Mouse Development, Stem Cells & Cancer trains scientists to study gene regulation and development in the context of the whole organism, as well as mouse models of human disease such as cancer. The course provides in intensive hands-on introduction to engineering of mouse models, stem cell technologies and tissue analyses. Lectures provide the conceptual basis for contemporary research in embryogenesis, organogenesis in development and disease, embryonic, adult and induced pluripotent stem cells and cancer biology. The course on Chromatin, Epigenetics and Gene Expression aims to expose students to a broad array of methodologies to study gene regulation, chromatin structure and dynamics, including both well-developed and cutting edge methods, such as RNAi, CRISPR and chromosome conformation capture. The faculty is chosen on the basis of their contributions to and knowledge of the field covered in each course. The faculty invite lecturers who give up-to-the-minute reports on current research. The lecturers have all made significant contributions to their fields. The trainees range from graduate students to senior investigators who are chosen by the course faculty from a large number of applicants. Because of the short duration of the courses, senior, as well as junior, individuals can attend and receive an intense period of training in an environment remote from other demands on their on their time and attention. The courses provide an unusual opportunity for scientists to retrain in another specialty or to apply the work of a new field to their own research.
Modern cancer research requires investigators who are skilled in a wide variety of advanced and innovative laboratory techniques in gene expression, protein biochemistry and the development of mouse models. These Cold Spring Harbor annual short courses offer specialized training in a residential setting that immediately impacts the progress of the trainees' research. The courses also promote collaboration and exchange of ideas between faculty and trainees, and thus represent a significant and valuable investment towards accelerating cancer research by educating select cadres of researchers in the latest methods and concepts in these disciplines.
| Lee, Yu-Chen; Block, Gregory; Chen, Huiwen et al. (2008) One-step isolation of plasma membrane proteins using magnetic beads with immobilized concanavalin A. Protein Expr Purif 62:223-9 |
| Phan, D; Han, E; Birrell, G et al. (2001) Purification and characterization of human cell--cell adhesion molecule 1 (C-CAM1) expressed in insect cells. Protein Expr Purif 21:343-51 |
