MDI Biological Laboratory

MDI Biological Laboratory
HomeEducationCoursesComparative and Experimental Approaches to Aging Biology Research 2018
Biomedical Innovation Course

Comparative and Experimental Approaches to Aging Biology Research 2018

Location: MDI Biological Laboratory (travel information)
Contact Education Office

Comparative and Experimental Approaches to Aging Biology Research is a 2-week intensive research training course using comparative models and approaches to explore biological aging, designed for senior graduate students, postdocs, and new investigators.. Models include C. elegans, Drosophila, mice, and African turquoise killifish (Nothobranchius furzeri).

The course emphasizes the advantages of each model system for addressing mechanisms relevant to the biology of human aging. Participants engage in hypothesis-driven research utilizing experimental methods including CRISPR, mRNA translation profiling, microinjection (worms and fish), quantitative fluorescence microscopy (QFM), and health/survival assays.

Participants get access and training in the use of the statistical programming language R and other software necessary for analysis of big data used in conjunction with modern experimentation [e.g., transcriptomics, translatomics, Quantitative Trait Locus (QTL), and Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS)].

Course programming includes expert guest lecturers with opportunities for professional development and networking within the aging research community. Students will also have the opportunity to present their own research and get critical feedback from experts in the field.

MDI Biological Laboratory is located on Mount Desert Island near Acadia National Park and the popular vacation destination of Bar Harbor, Maine.

Maine Center for Biomedical Innovation, MDI Biological Laboratory

Tuition

$4,000.00

Includes:

All course materials, laboratory supplies, double occupancy housing and meals

Fellowship funding is available to support tuition and may be requested in the online application. No travel funds are available.

Partners

Glenn Foundation for Medical ResearchLeica Microsystems logoMDI Biological Laboratory COBRE: Comparative Biology of Tissue Repair, Regeneration, and AgingMVI, Inc.The Gerontological Society of America

Course Directors

Course Faculty and Invited Speakers

As a result of this course, participants will:

Course Goals
  • Understand current aging research paradigms
  • Design and execute aging-related studies and properly analyze data
  • Gain hands-on experience with models and state-of-the-art techniques used in aging research
  • Receive one-on-one interaction with experts and leaders in aging research
Experimental Design and Techniques
  • Power analysis to determine sample size
  • Selecting a strain background
  • Accounting for sex
  • Inbred vs. outbred genetic considerations
  • Experimental considerations under conditions involving
    • Drug interventions
    • Dietary restriction
    • Knockout and transgenic strains
    • Mated versus non-mated (fly)
    • Reproductive inhibition (worm)
  • Animal welfare considerations in longitudinal studies
Research Skills Training
  • Creation of transgenic animals using CRISPR/Cas9 technology
  • mRNA translation profiling
  • Animal handling, maintenance, and husbandry
  • Assays that involve scoring lifespan, healthspan, and stress tolerance
  • Quantitative fluorescence microscopy
Scientific Software and Data Analysis
  • Introduction to the R statistical programming language
  • Analysis of common aging data types
    • Lifespan and survival analysis
    • Mortality (Cox regression)
    • Age-related measures of health (including invertebrate models)
  • Large data, statistical analysis of transcriptome, translatome, and proteome data
  • Genetic mapping
    • Phenotype to genotype mapping using QTL and GWAS analysis
    • Traditional mapping populations (e.g. F1 hybrids, 4-way cross)
    • Diversity outbred and collaborative cross mice
Lectures and Literature
  • Role of individual genes, gene pathways, and cellular mechanisms in aging
  • Comparative aspects of aging across different model systems
  • Strength of combining models
  • Utility of choosing the right model for addressing specific questions

Students and faculty arrive Saturday, July 28 starting at 5pm.
Students and faculty depart on Saturday, August 11 by 9am.

 

On-Campus Housing

Cottage-style accommodations are assigned double occupancy. Cottage accommodations have shared bathrooms, equipped kitchens, common rooms, high speed wireless internet, and parking. Cottages may be ocean-view, pond-view, or meadow-view.

A few dormitory-style accommodations may be available, double occupancy with shared bathrooms.

A very limited number of single occupancy rooms may be available for an additional charge.

Our on-campus housing is within walking distance of all campus facilities (Note: campus grounds include wooded terrain).

Connect