Learning outcomes:
At the end of this course, you are able to:
•       explain in general terms the basic definitions of different types of mammalian stem cells in terms of potency and self-renewal as described in literature, and their difference to differentiated cells.
•       evaluate experimental data discussed in the lecture or from similar experiments regarding the (epigenetic) regulation in pluripotent stem cells and reprogramming.
•       demonstrate the importance of stem cells in biomedical research for understanding development and disease based on the unique properties of stem cells.
•       design experiments to identify mechanisms important for properties of different stem cells and relevant diseases using the molecular tools and technologies as discussed in the lectures.
•       illustrate how various types of stem cells currently used in the clinic, in clinical trials and/or in in clinical studies.
•       reflect on the most relevant ethical issues of using stem cells for research and therapies, and formulate and defend your opinions with arguments by means of oral presentation and scientific discussion.

Summary and objective of the course
This course is a literature review-based lecture series with the following objectives:
a)      to provide an overview of the state-of-the-art of stem cell research, with a focus on stem cell research performed at the Radboud University and the Radboud UMC.
b)      to give a framework for ethical reflection on stem cell research/ therapy and to discuss the moral status of embryos and stem cells.

This course will prepare you for choosing an internship and future research direction by providing an overview of the current technologies and concepts in stem cells biology using recent top-level scientific articles. The lectures will be presented by on-campus scientists who have extensive expertise in research on various types of stem cells.

Lectures and self study

1. Medical  epigenomics
a)      Epigenetics and pluripotency in embryonic stem cells (lecturer: Hendrik Marks)
b)      Reprogramming and iPSCs(lecturer: Jo Huiqing Zhou)

2. Neurobiology
a)      iPSCs and trans-differentiation in neurobiology (lecturer: Nael Nadif Kasri)
b)      Adult neural progenitor cells (lecturer: Yutaro Komuro)

3. Clinical biology
a)      Epidermal keratinocytes in treatment (lecturer:Ellen van den Bogaard)
b)      Haematopoietic stem cells in transplantation (lecturer: Anniek van der Waart)

Guest lecture: Ethical issues (lecturer: Elisa Garcia)

Group discussion of ethical issues in stem cell biology:
Basic concepts of ethical issues and ethical topics relevant to stem cell biology will be discussed. A lecture on ethical issues will be given by Dr. Elisa Garcia-Gonzalez to introduce basic concepts of ethical issues and relevant topics in stem cell biology. Subsequently group discussion of given ethical topics will be performed by students followed by presentations to summarize the discussions.

 
Note: as the lectures cover the most up-to-date literatures, the detailed learning outcomes for each lecture will be announced shortly before the course starts on the blackboard.