CELL/NSCI4200/6200General Endocrinology

CELL/NSCI4200/6200General Endocrinology

Spring 2016Tuesday, Thursday, 9:30am-10:45am

Instructor: Dr. Sara M. Clark

Email:

Office: 1008D Stern

Office Hours: By Appointment

Required Text: There is no required textbook for the course. A number of textbooks will be used as need be, for the courses. Some books are e-books and can be downloaded freely with a Tulane account. Those books not available for download will have the relevant chapters posted onto Blackboard.

a)Molecular EndocrinologyFranklyn F. Bolander, Jr; 3rd edition (2004) Elsevier Inc, NY, NY.
ISBN: 978-0-12-111232-5 (e-book).

b)Signal TransductionBastien D. Gomperts, Ijsbrand M. Kramer and Peter E.R. Tatham; (2002) Elsevier Inc, NY, NY. ISBN: 978-0-12-289631-6. (e-book).

c)Williams Textbook of Endocrinology Kronenberg, Melmed, Polonsky and Larsen; 11th ed (2008). Saunders Elsevier, PA. ISBN: 9781416029113 (e-book).

d)Basic Medical Endocrinology H Maurice Goodman; 4th edition (2009) Elsevier Inc, NY, NY. ISBN: 978-0-12-373975-9.

e)Essential Reproduction. Martin Johnson; 6th ed (2007). Blackwell Publishing, Malden, MA. ISBN: 978-1-4051-1866-8.

f)Hormones. Norman and Litwack (eds); 2nd edition; 1997; Academic Press, San Diego, CA.

Neuroendocrinology in Physiology and Medicine Edited by P.Michael Conn and Marc E.

Freeman. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. ISBN:0-89603-725-8.

Course Overview

This course deals with the basics of hormone action. It will look at hormone interactions with their receptors, with particular emphasis on molecular aspects of homeostasis. Physiological outcomes, using different organs as examples, will be discussed. Every topic will attempt to include a discussion on pathological outcomes of aberrant hormone action.This course will rely on lectures based on the textbooks as well as supplementary material, such as papers and articles. All material (textbook and supplementary material) used during the lectures will be referenced in class for every topic. Whenever needed, lectures will be facilitated by handouts.

Course Objectives

The goal of this course is to improve student understanding of the endocrine system. This course aims to provide the student with the awareness, knowledge, and insight to understand:

a)Various aspects of hormone signaling

b)The feedback mechanisms that control homeostasis

c)The functional consequences of hormone signaling for homeostatic mechanisms

d)Pathological outcomes resulting from aberrant hormone signaling

e)Primary scientific literature and journal articles

Honor Code:

All students are expected to be familiar with and are required to adhere to all tenets of the Honor Code of Tulane University.

Syllabus (Subject to Change as Required)

Lecture: Date Title

1/12 (T)Introduction and Overview

11/14 (R) Molecular Mechanisms of Protein Hormone Signaling

2 1/19(T) Molecular Mechanisms of Protein Hormone Signaling

31/21 (R) Molecular Mechanisms of Steroid Hormone Signaling

1/26 (T)Exam I

41/28 (R) Hypothalamus

52/2 (T)Principles of Neuroendocrine Regulation

62/4 (R) Anterior Pituitary Hormones

2/9 (T)NO CLASS- MARDI GRAS

72/11 (R) Anterior Pituitary Hormones

82/16 (T)Posterior Pituitary Hormones

92/18 (R) Posterior Pituitary Hormones

2/23 (T)Exam II

102/25 (R) Thyroid and Thyroid Hormones

113/1 (T)Thyroid and Thyroid Hormones

123/3 (R) Pancreas: Insulin and Glucagon

133/8 (T) Pancreas: Insulin and Glucagon

143/10 (R)Endocrine Control of Food Intake/Obesity

3/15 (T) Exam III

153/17 (R) Adrenal Cortex

3/22 (T)NO CLASS- SPRING BREAK

3/24 (R)NO CLASS- SPRING BREAK

163/29 (T) Adrenal Cortex

173/31 (R)Adrenal Medulla

184/5 (T)Exam IV

4/7 (R) Estrogen and Androgen Control of Reproductive Cycle

194/12 (T) Estrogen and Androgen Control of Reproductive Cycle

204/14 (R) Pregnancy and Parturition

4/19 (T)Paper Presentations

4/21 (R)Paper Presentations

4/26 (T)Paper Presentations

Exam V: Thursday, May 5, 1pm-5pm

Course Requirements:

Attendance: Attendance at each class meeting is required. Lectures have a corresponding readingassignment in the textbook, or handout, in the form of a journal review article. Reading assignments willcomplement the lectures, but should not be used as a substitute for attending class. Excessive unexcused absence (defined as missing three or more classes) may result in lowering of the grade by one letter.

Exams: There will be 5 exams. Exams are non-cumulative. Exam format will consist of multiple choice, fill in the blank, true/false, short answer, and short essay. Tests for students in the 4200 sections of the course will have more multiple choice and fill in the blank questions than students in the 6200 sections of the course. Students in the 6200 section of the course should expect more short answer and short essay questions.No exam grades will be dropped. However, your highest exam grade will be weighted the most and your lowest exam grade will be weighted the least. See table below.

Make-up Exams

No make-up exams will be given unless a written excuse from the Dean is presented. Failure to take an exam at the scheduled day and time will result in a score of 0 (zero) on that exam.

Presentations: The purpose of the paper presentations is to discuss a recent scientific paper from a high quality journal with a view to understanding the science behind the paper, and the strengthsand weaknesses of the study. Papers will be chosen from top scientific journals and will examine in detail an aspect of the work covered previously in class. Articles will be made available via Blackboard at least one week before presentation date. All members of class are required to read the paper, to attend presentations, and contribute to the discussion.

Participation during Presentations: All students are expected to participate in the discussion of the article. Please come prepared to contribute. Contributions can be in the form of comments regarding suitability of methods, asking questions, or answering questions posed by other participants. The discussion of the article represents an important opportunity to make sure you understand the paper. Remember that there will be questions relating to articleson Exam V.

Information for Journal Club Presentations (Graduate Students): The graduate requirement of thiscourse is a team presentation of a scientific article. Papers for review and presentation will be assigned.

Presentation will account for 15% of the final grade. The presenter is expected to understand in detail:background literature and reason for the study; the methods used; the results; the authors’ interpretation of theresults; limitations of the study. Presenters should understand the study sufficiently well to be able to answerquestions from the class, and from the instructor. If you are having problems with some aspect of the paper,please make an appointment to see me, and I will be happy to help you work through the problem. In late February/early March, I will end class early so that we can go over paper and presentation assignments.

Questions/Concerns:

Please make an appointment to see me. I will be happy to answer questions, or talk about any concerns youmight have. You can best reach me by email at: . My office is located in 1008D Stern, which is located in the basement of Stern off of the kitchen area.