Dramatic progress has been made in the fields of cell and developmental biology in recent years, largely due to the application of new technical approaches to classical problems. This has led to a need for advanced training in the models that have been important in making new discoveries, such as the African clawed frog Xenopus. This grant proposal seeks to continue the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) short course on the Cell & Developmental Biology of Xenopus, which has been taught annually at CSHL since 1993 as part of an integrated portfolio of courses in a number of areas of modern biology. The CSHL Xenopus course provides extensive laboratory exposure over a two week period to the biology and manipulation of embryos from the species Xenopus laevis and Xenopus tropicalis, and in doing so prepares students for independent research in the cell, genetic, and molecular analysis of vertebrate development. The course introduces the unique attributes of Xenopus that allow the functional analysis of developmentally important genes, while at the same time introducing the major technologies of modern molecular and cellular developmental biology in a system that allows direct manipulation of embryos and visualization of developmental processes. It is appropriate for graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and early-career investigators, for those who are experienced Xenopus researchers as well as those seeking a versatile interdisciplinary animal model. The course also provides a rich resource network that students can easily access after they have returned to their home laboratories and initiated research projects using concepts learned in the course.
Research into human development requires the use of animal model systems that share many of the same developmental pathways as Homo sapiens. One important model system is Xenopus, the African clawed frog, which has been extensively used in developmental biology, cell biology, genetics, toxicology, and small molecule screens. The Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory short course on the Cell & Developmental Biology of Xenopus is an intensive two-week experience that provides up-to-the minute training in conceptual approaches and technologies using Xenopus as a model system. The course enables participants to immediately apply advanced techniques in Xenopus to their own research projects, to network with their research peers, and to learn through hands-on access to the latest available equipment and reagents.
