Training and Course Requirments
Formal Training
All CIRM scholars will participate in a unified training program, in which basic science and clinical fellow trainees and mentors will learn together. Pre-doctoral scholars will initially follow the curriculum of their Department/degree granting program (Developmental Biology, Biochemistry, Bioengineering, etc., or the required medical school curriculum for pre-doctoral MD scholars) bringing this knowledge to the CIRM training program activities. In addition to their Departmental/degree core curriculum, ALL CIRM Scholars, including post-doctoral, PhD and clinical fellows will take the required stem cell courses below.
Required Courses
- Medical Ethics II, The Ethics of Stem Cell Research (Med 250B). The integration of ethical theory with applications of theory or conceptual issues in medicine, health care, and the life and social sciences. Topic varies by year. Possible topics include: ethical issues in stem cell research; death and dying; genetics and ethics; concepts of health and disease; the ethics of international research; and ethical implications of new reproductive technology.
- Responsible Conduct of Research (Med 255). Forum. How to identify and approach ethical dilemmas that commonly arise in biomedical research. Issues in the practice of research such as in publication and interpretation of data, and issues raised by academic/industry ties. Contemporary debates at the interface of biomedical science and society regarding research on stem cells, bioweapons, genetic testing, human subjects, and vertebrate animals. Completion fulfills NIH/ADAMHA requirement for instruction in the ethical conduct of research.
- Principles and Practice of Stem Cell Biology, Engineering and Medicine (BioE261/NSur261). Quantitative models used to characterize incorporation of new cells into existing tissues emphasizing pluripotent cells such as embryonic and neural stem cells. Molecular methods to control stem cell decisions to self-renew, differentiate, die, or become quiescent. Practical, industrial, and ethical aspects of stem cell technology application. Final projects include team-reviewed grants and business proposals.
- Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine (Path 296/DevBio 296). Embryonic and adult stem cells, including origin, regulation, self-renewal, differentiation, fate, and relationship to cancer; biological mechanisms and methods to translate findings to therapeutic applications. Medical students must enroll for 5 units; graduate students may choose to take only the basic science part for 3 units. Prerequisites: DBIO 201 and 210, or consent of instructor.
- Clinical Immersion Rotation (required for Pre- and Post-doctoral PhD trainees). This medical immersion will provide non-medical CIRM Scholars an understanding of the unique considerations necessary to translate basic research to the clinical setting. Pre- and postdoctoral Ph.D. CIRM Scholars will acquire a basic knowledge of the clinical discipline most directly related to the trainee’s research focus. A period of directed reading will be followed by a two week clinical rotation during which the trainee will shadow clinical attending surgeons, physicians, residents, and fellows. The Program Director will monitor trainee progress closely, developing an overall outline of what the trainee should learn during their immersion and discussing the plan with the trainee prior to the rotation. In addition, the Program Director will meet with each trainee at the end of the first week to review their experience, modifying the second week’s activities as needed. Finally, the Program Director will meet with the trainee at the completion of the rotation to review the experience.
- Frontiers in Stem Cell Research. This new weekly series will alternate presentations of stem cell-related research by Stanford students and fellows with a seminar series by in-house and visiting faculty. Student presentations will disseminate project-based information within the Stanford research community, and provide trainees in all related programs with an opportunity to receive critiques/suggestions on ongoing projects. In addition, CIRM Scholars will be required to prepare and present a mini-grant proposal on their selected research project early in their training. The accompanying seminar series will include presentations by senior investigators in all areas of stem cell research ranging from fundamental biological and medical principles to novel applications in biotechnology and human disease. To broaden Stanford’s exposure to current trends in stem cell biology, the bi-monthly seminar series will be coordinated with parallel seminars at our sister training program at the Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison. Coordinated remote viewing will allow participants from both campuses to interactively attend the senior faculty seminars presented at either campus.
- Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Journal Club. The goal for this new bi-monthly journal club will be to review and discuss new and relevant advances in stem cell biology. All CIRM Scholars will attend and present.
Optional Courses
CIRM Scholars may take these based on interest and research need.
- hESC Laboratory Course . A one week, hands-on laboratory course. Class participants will learn basic hESC culture, including growth, passaging, freezing, and differentiation. they will also obtain a protocol handout and assistance in designing hESC experiments (if applicable).
- Medical Ethics I (Med 250A). The field of bioethics, including theoretical approaches to bioethical problems. Contemporary controversies and clinical cases. Values that arise in different situations and clinical encounters. Issues include: genetics and stem cell research, rationing, ethical issues in care at the end of life, organ transplantation issues.
- Cost-Benefit Analysis in Health Care (HRP 392). Health Research Policy. The principal evaluative techniques for health care, including utility assessment, cost-effectiveness analysis, cost-benefit analysis, and decision analysis. Emphasis is on the practical application of these techniques. Group project presented at end of quarter. Guest lectures by experts from the medical school, pharmaceutical industry, health care plans, and government.
- Biotechnology Law and Policy (Law 440). An interdisciplinary exploration of legal and policy issues raised by the biotechnology industry.
- Law and the Biosciences (HRP 211/Law 368). Legal, social, and ethical issues arising from advances in the biosciences. Focus is on human genetics; also advances in assisted reproduction and neuroscience. Topics include forensic use of DNA, genetic testing, genetic discrimination, eugenics, cloning, pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, neuroscientific methods of lie detection, and genetic or neuroscience enhancement.
