{"id":332,"date":"2014-04-08T05:22:38","date_gmt":"2014-04-08T03:22:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.microscopycourse.nl\/?page_id=332"},"modified":"2023-06-13T16:26:37","modified_gmt":"2023-06-13T14:26:37","slug":"uva-masterstudy-cell-biology-advanced-microscopy-cbam","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.microscopycourse.nl\/?page_id=332","title":{"rendered":"UvA Master study Cell Biology & Advanced Microscopy (BMS-CBAM)"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

Introduction<\/h2>\n

Cell Biology is the discipline that studies the function of cells in the complexity of tissues and organs in the human body in order to understand mechanisms of disease. The tremendous revolutions in the past decade in light microscopy and biosensors to visualize processes in cells have changed cell biology completely.<\/i><\/p>\n

Cell Biology and Advanced Microscopy (CBAM) is a track within the 2-years Biomedical Sciences Master (BMS) study and a collaborative effort by the University of Amsterdam (UvA) the Academic Medical Centre (AMC) and the Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI), who collaborate in the van Leeuwenhoek Center for Advanced Microscopy (LCAM). These departments are all front runners in studying cell functions microscopically in time, even down to the single-molecule level.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The objectives<\/h2>\n

The major objective of this track is the understanding of fundamental cell biological research in relation to human disease. This understanding comprises:<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0 cell biology in the context of the healthy and diseased human body;
\n2.\u00a0 the cellular basis of major human diseases such as neurodegenerative diseases, infection by viruses, bacteria and parasites, and cancer such as leukemia;
\n3.\u00a0 diagnostics such as cytopathology and prenatal screening & fertility-related disorders; and
\n4.\u00a0 advanced microscopy including live cell imaging, correlative light and electron microscopy, confocal microscopy and the underlying biophysics.<\/p>\n

\"davelabwork\"<\/p>\n

\u00a0To visualize processes in the cell\u00a0at the microscope fluorescent proteins will be used. By recombinant DNA technologies
\nyou can optimize the fluorescent proteins, biosensors that for example\u00a0can monitor intracellular calcium or protein interactions,
\nor couple your favorite protein of interest to a fluorescent label.\u00a0CBAM student\u00a0Dave Huiskens\u00a0created new constructs\u00a0for\u00a0better fluorescent proteins.<\/p>\n

Programme Outline<\/h2>\n

The programme consists of three core courses<\/span><\/strong> and the participation in two or three internship research projects<\/span><\/strong> (9 or 6 months). The research projects lead to the writing of a thesis<\/span><\/strong> manuscript in English that is in principle suitable for publication in a scientific journal. Furthermore, two optional specialized courses<\/span><\/strong> in human disease such as cytopathology, medical microbiology, hematological diseases, fertility & sterility will be offered.<\/p>\n

\"Hood-Orry\"Experiments are performed in single cell or cell organoids cultures. One has to passage the cell lines
\nin order to keep them alive and\u00a0introduce the recombinant DNA by transfection protocols\u00a0into the cells
\nafter which the cells will\u00a0start producing\u00a0the fluorescently labeled proteins themselves.<\/p>\n

Core courses<\/h2>\n

▪\u00a0 The first course is Molecular Biology of the Cell<\/strong><\/span><\/em>. This basic theoretical course of 4 weeks that is the same for all master tracks in the Medical Biology cluster will recap the molecular basis of cell function including proteins, membranes, DNA structure, cell metabolism, protein synthesis and cellular signaling.<\/p>\n

▪ The second course is Advanced Microscopy<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/a>. The aim of this 4-weeks practical course is to get hands-on experience and theoretical background in performing state-of-the-art (light) microscopy applied to cell biology. The microscope setups on which the training is provided, are part of the van Leeuwenhoek Centre for Advanced Microscopy (LCAM) in Amsterdam. During the first three weeks every day you will\u00a0start with a lecture discussing\u00a0a different\u00a0fluorescence microscopy technique\u00a0followed by\u00a0a tutorial session. In the afternoon you will sit\u00a0at the dedicated microscope and\u00a0do the experiments yourself. In the final week you will select and perform a mini-research project in one of the three LCAM laboratories where you can apply and strenghten the acquired knowledge of the previous weeks.<\/p>\n

<\/object> <\/strong><\/em>
\nMovie of AnexinA4-GFP protein dynamics in transfected HeLa cells using confocal microscopy
\nas acquired by CBAM students Cristiaan Wessels, Christiaan Zeelenberg and Tomasz Gora
\nduring the\u00a0mini-research project week of the Advanced Microscopy course 2011.<\/p>\n

▪ The third course is Clinical Cell Biology<\/span><\/em><\/strong>. This theoretical course of 4 weeks starts with a general lecture course treating cellular signaling, the cytoskeleton, mechanism\/regulation of cell division, structure of cells in tissues, apoptosis, fertility, cellular basis of cancer and metastasis, infection by viruses. The majority of the course consists of actual clinical cell biology topics of research groups at the UvA, AMC and NKI. Topics will include: Structure\/function of invapodia, mechanisms of cancer cell migration, role of TRPM7 channels & signaling (NKI); Neurodegenerative diseases, viral\/bacterial infection & cytopathology, DNA-damage\/repair mechanisms in relation to cancer (AMC); GPCR-signalling, cell division machinery, Ca2+<\/sup> signaling, signalosome formation at membranes, biosensors and pharmacology (UvA).\"dataanlysis\"<\/p>\n

After\u00a0the images have been collected the data has to be analysed. You will have to select the appropriate datasets, fitting model, if\u00a0wished write your own
\nanalysis-software and interpret the results. \u00a0Besides the localisation of the protein the\u00a0advanced microscopy techniques nowadays allow you to get much more information
\nout of your\u00a0images\u00a0like concentration, transport speed or the degree of\u00a0interaction with other proteins.
\nHere the mobility of nuclear protein SNAIL is monitored at various sub-cellular locations via Matlab scripts (image from Marten Postma & Ada Dattoli).<\/p>\n

Internship research projects<\/h2>\n

Advanced microscopy applied to clinical cell biology problems will form the backbone for the research projects. The LCAM partners at UvA, AMC and NKI provide the research projects in close collaboration with scientists in which the master students can participate. \u00a0A typical example of such a research project is to create your own genetic encoded sensor (using GFP labeling and cloning techniques), cell transfection & manipulation, performing experiments with living cells using advanced microscopes, interpreting image data, image analysis and processing and finally the design of follow up experiments. It is strongly advised to do at least one research project at one of the three participating departments in LCAM and one research project abroad in one of the many international research labs that collaborate with LCAM.<\/p>\n