Brown-Pfizer

Graduate Instruction &

M.A. Biology Program

November 2, 2009

Nancy L. Thompson, PhD

Associate Dean for Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, Division of Biology and Medicine

Brown Graduate Instruction at Pfizer Facilities (Groton & New London)

• Established in 1993 via contractual agreement

• Accredited by Connecticut Department of Education

• Course offering is a section of an existing Brown course

http://www.brown.edu/pfizer

“The quality of student performance required is at least as rigorous as for the Master of Arts degree now in any Graduate Program in the Division. The basic difference is to make it easier for a student to obtain breadth in Biology in more than one graduate area by not imposing strict requirements for specific courses.”

Objectives

• Graduate instruction within the biological sciences for Pfizer colleagues and contractors who wish to extend their knowledge in discrete areas relating to their employment and/or interests

• Broad-based and rigorous master of arts training in biological sciences

“I have had a great experience taking courses through Brown. I think the Brown-Pfizer program is an excellent one and I feel it has already made me a better scientist in exploring and designing new experiments for future treatment of various diseases.” – Recent Pfizer applicant’s statement

Growing Interest: Over 100 MA Degrees Awarded to Pfizer Colleagues!

Brown-Pfizer MA Program Overview

http://www.brown.edu/pfizer

• Open to Contractors and Colleagues

• Only 1 Prerequisite required: A Bachelors Degree in any field

• All courses held on-site at Pfizer-Groton

• Pfizer employees and contractors register as Special Students via Office of Continuing Studies; standard Brown tuition fees apply. Students apply to Graduate School for the MA program after successful completion of 2 courses

• Pfizer reimburses colleagues only who pass with minimum grade of a ‘C’

Brown-Pfizer MA Program Requirements

• 8 graduate courses • 2 of 8 courses in “core” subjects (cell biology, biochemistry, genetics, pharmacology)

• 6 of 8 courses with grade of ‘B’ or better

• Passing final paper or proposal “culminating experience” on topic approved by Assoc Dean, Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies

• No courses can be transferred from another institution

• Must be actively employed as a colleague or contractor at the Groton/NL Global Research Division

• Pfizer MA students may take courses toward the degree on campus with permission of instructor and Assoc. Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies

• Once colleagues are accepted by the Graduate School, Brown expects they will enroll in courses continually each semester (with the exception of the summer term). If not, a request for a Leave of Absence (LOA) must be submitted one month prior to the start of the term via the GS to avoid billing. Only one LOA is permissible during the course of study.

Brown-Pfizer Graduate School Application Requirements

• Successful completion of two Brown graduate courses (B or better)

• Undergraduate Transcript with date of degree

• Letter of Recommendation from Supervisor at Pfizer

• 1-2 pg. Colleague Statement

• No GRE requirement or application fee!

‘Culminating Experience’

Upcoming Courses

• Spring 2010: Histology

• Summer 2010: Neurobiology

• Fall 2010: Environmental Health & Disease

Examples of Previous Courses

• Advanced Biochemistry, Advanced Microbiology, Cancer Biology, Cell Biology, Developmental Biology, Drug Delivery, Human Physiology, Virology

Spring 2010Histology

Course Director

Marjorie Thompson, PhD

Associate Dean of Biological Sciences

Brown University

401-863-3814

Marjorie_Thompson@brown.edu

Course Objectives

• Understand the origin and development of the four basic tissues (epithelium, connective tissue, muscle and nerve).

• Examine in detail how these contribute to the functional anatomy of all organs and systems.

• Emphasis will be on characteristic developmental,

structure-function and regulatory relationships.

What are the four basic tissues?

• Covers and lines surfaces

• Binds, supports, insulates, protects

• Provides for movement

• Coordination and regulation of function

Connective Tissue

Epithelium

Muscle

Nerve

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The Importance of Histology

Development from germ layers; growth and differentiation

Basis for pathologic alteration

Enhance understanding of physiologic, anatomic and cell level processes

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Topics Covered

• Basic tissues Epithelium Connective Tissue Bone and Cartilage Muscle Nerve Blood

• Organ Systems Vascular Lymphatic Digestive Respiratory Endocrine Urinary Reproductive Skin

Course Detail and Evaluation

• Ideal student background: Basic Biology is expected; also helpful: cell biology, physiology

• Course materials:-Junqueira’s Basic Histology text and atlas. 12th Edition (McGraw Hill)

-Lecture Notes and Powerpoints will be provided on the mycourses site for downloading and printing

-A Cyber lab manual will be available to students for laboratory exercises that simulate a realtime microscope environment.

• Course Assessment: 3 exams, equally weighted, each featuring question of lab practical, clinical and basic sciences nature.

Summer 2010, Neur 1930G Graduate Seminar Course

Disease, Mechanism, Therapy: Harnessing Basic Biology for Therapeutic Development

Justin Fallon, PhDCourse leader

Professor of Medical ScienceDepartment of Neuroscience

Dr. Fallon has a longstanding interest in developmental neurobiology, the mechanisms underlying neurological

disease and drug development

Neur 1930G

• The recent surge in understanding the cellular and molecular basis of neurological disease has opened the way for highly targeted drug discovery and development. In this course we will illuminate mechanistic insights that are being translated into novel therapeutic approaches.

• Focus will be on cutting-edge primary literature• Registrants must have experience in reading and

discussing primary literature and a basic knowledge of neuroscience

• Enrollment limited to 20

Course basics (to be confirmed)

• 2 meetings/wk, 7 weeks, starting mid-May• 3:00 – 6:00 PM• 3-4 literature papers assigned per week• Disease focus areas: Autism, Fragile X,

Parkinsons, ALS, MS, Alzheimer's • Guest faculty researchers• Evaluation components: presentation of research

papers, discussion participation, short written assignments

Fall 2010Environmental Health & Disease 182

Course Director

Volkan Gurel, Ph.D.

Course Objectives

1- To understand the underlying principles governing the interactions of foreign chemicals (xenobiotics) with biological systems.

2- Helping you to develop an understanding of the type of diseases associated with environmental exposures to chemicals.

3- Reinforcing the concepts learned through the course by using case-study approach

What happens when xenobiotics interact with biological systems?

• Voluntarily, knowing the consequences

• Voluntarily, NOT knowing the consequences

• NOT voluntarily, NOT knowing the consequences

• NOT voluntarily, knowing the consequences

Thalidomide (Contegran®)

Alcohol

Methyl Mercury

Dioxin

Environmental Disasters

World Trade Center

Exxon Valdez

Bhopal Disaster

• Set the scene• Impact on Human and

Environmental Health• What we learned • Policy changes and

Remediation

Some of the Topics Covered

• Basic concepts in toxicology Dose-response relationship ADME Molecular mimicry Hormesis

• Carcinogenesis and Aging• Metal Toxicity• Liver & Kidney Toxicity• Neurotoxicology• Nanotoxicology• Reproductive Toxicology• Several Case studies

Hurricane Katrina Seveso, Italy Exxon Valdez Bhopal, India Love Canal

Chemical Weapons, Iran-Iraq War Erin Brokovich, CA Chernobyl Minamata Bay World Trade Center

• Ideal student background: Molecular Biology, Chemistry

• Assigned text: Recommended, not required

1-Mechanistic Toxicology, The Molecular Basis of How Chemicals Disrupt Biological Targets, 2nd Edition, Urs A. Boelsterli, editor. CRC Press Taylor and Francis Group, 2007, ISBN 0-8493-7272-0.

2-Casarett & Doull’s Essentials of Toxicology, Curtis D. Klaassen, John B. Watkins III. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. ISBN 0-07-138914-8.

3-Primary Literature 4-Power Point Slides!

• Course Assessment: 2 Midterms (30% each) and a cumulative final (40%), “multiple choice, short essay questions”

Getting Started………….

1.

Register for course offering via the Brown website:

http://www.brown.edu/pfizer

2.

Colleagues: Apply for ‘Educational Assistance’ via HR Source. Following the successful completion of the course (‘C’ or better), you will be reimbursed by Pfizer to pay off your loan.

Contractors: No ‘Educational Assistance’ available but Ledge Light credit union has individual educational loan options.

3. Mail tuition check to:

Brown University Cashier's Office164 Angell Street Box 1911Providence, RI 02912

Pfizer:

Stacey Boyer, M.A.Scientist/Clinical Assistant; Neuroscience Research UnitChair; Pfizer Connecticut Educational Programs Board PGRD-Grotonstacey.boyer@pfizer.com; 860-715-0268

Contact Information