Course Identification

This course aims to bridge biological and biophysical aspects of genome structure, organization, and function in cancer, and will focus on:

1. Epigenetic deregulation in cancer: chromatin regulators are often mutated in cancer, conferring cells with plasticity and leading to intra-tumor heterogeneity. We will study how the epigenetic network, which is supposed to fix cellular fates, is deregulated to promote cancer and allow the cancer cells to cope with hostile environments.

2. Mechanisms generating complex genome rearrangements in cancer, with emphasis on catastrophic events such as chromothripsis and gene amplification. This will include DNA damage and repair, chromosome instability, mitotic defects, micronucleation, and more.

3.  Relationship between sequence and function, and how alterations in the genetic code affect the binding of different classes of DNA binding proteins with implications on basic processes such as repair, transcription, and replication.

Students will learn advanced concepts in cancer genetics and epigenetics from both a biological and biophysical point of view. Students will be familiarized with the latest research in cancer genome regulation and state-of-the-art methodologies. Students will practice reading research papers followed by class discussions, gaining skills in critical assessment of scientific work. 

Students will be required to read 3 research papers that will be provided during the course.