Thomas Durant, MD

The Genes and Development course begins with an introduction to foundational genetics principles. Students gain an understanding of how the genome is organized and controls all cellular processes within our cells, the clinical significance of genetic variation among individuals, the available DNA diagnostic tools, and how these tools are utilized in the diagnosis and management of disease. The course then transitions to embryology, presenting how the program for human development is controlled and how deregulation of this program results in birth defects. Students are then introduced to the field of clinical genetics and have the opportunity to apply their genetics knowledge as they learn about common genetic disorders affecting children and adults. This is followed by an overview of the first organ system in the curriculum, the hematologic system. This introduction to benign hematology serves as a foundation for the second part of the course, which focuses on cancer, starting with cancer biology and pathology. In this portion of the course, students are introduced to the types of genetic changes that occur in somatic cells and enable tumorigenesis. Cancer biology and principles of neoplasia are integrated with developmental genetics and embryology, with students gaining an appreciation of neoplasia as a genetically-based aberration of normal development and cellular regulation. This knowledge is further expanded as the students learn malignant hematology before moving on to learning about solid tumors. The course incorporates cancer pharmacology and clinical aspects of drug development and concludes with a broad introduction to the clinical oncology discipline.

Scientific Foundations presents the core concepts and introduces the modes of thinking from several disciplines that are pillars of biomedical science and medicine: Biochemistry, Cell Biology/Histology, Pathology, Physiology, and Pharmacology. Each discipline continues throughout the pre-clerkship curriculum where its content is woven into every integrated course. Scientific Foundations is thus fundamental for students’ subsequent education and development as physician-scientists.