Written Assignment (due in Week 11)
Students will receive a paper containing only an abstract. Students will write a 3-4 page double-spaced paper identifying the key experiment that the authors performed to make their conclusions. Importantly, the students will identify and analyze the appropriate controls for this experiment. Experimental design, types of samples, and results should be discussed. After receiving feedback about the assignment, students will lead an informal discussion (5 minutes) with the class. Students will introduce the abstract and share their proposed experiment.
Oral Presentation (due in the Final Class)
On the final day of class each student will deliver a 15 minute oral presentation, based on a relevant research article chosen by each student during the semester. Students will use PubMed or a similar database to identify papers relevant to the topic of epigenetics and stem cell regulation and then select a paper for critical analysis. Paper selections will be approved by the instructors. Students are expected to critically analyze the key experiments, control experiments, results, and the overall rigor of the paper. The presenter will lead a short class discussion regarding potential follow-up studies at the conclusion of each presentation.