GMS 6895 – CTS Journal Club

Spring 2024

Meeting Day & Time:  Thursdays, 2:00-3:30 pm, room CG-56 (Communicore)

Course Directors:    Amanda Elton, PhD, Assistant Professor, Psychiatry

Wayne T. McCormack, PhD, Professor, Pathology, Immunology & Laboratory Medicine

Canvas Website:  https://ufl.instructure.com/courses/499239

Course Objectives:  The emphasis of this course is on reading and critiquing research literature presenting current clinical and/or translational research questions.  Students will be expected to demonstrate the following competencies via student-led paper discussions:

• Describe the mechanism of the clinical problem reviewed in the manuscript.
• Assess strengths and weaknesses of the study design and data interpretation for the given research question.
• Identify potential sources of bias and variations in published studies.
• Identify gaps in knowledge within the research problem.
• Identify future research directions to continue the research along the T0-T4 research continuum.
• Identify translational science principles that are exemplified by the research.
• Identify opportunities to apply additional translational science principles (e.g., missed opportunities or logical next steps) to advance the research.
  • Prioritize Initiatives That Address Unmet Needs
  • Produce Generalizable Solutions for Common and Persistent Challenges
  • Emphasize Creativity and Innovation
  • Leverage Cross-Disciplinary Team Science
  • Enhance the Efficiency and Speed of Translational Research
  • Utilize Boundary-Crossing Partnerships
  • Use Bold and Rigorous Research Approaches
  • Prioritize Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA)

 Session Format:  Students will be expected to present a formal summary of the paper (~20 minutes) and lead a group discussion (~60 minutes) addressing the topics listed above.

Please keep in mind that it will be IMPERATIVE that EVERYONE reads the papers BEFORE each journal club session!

Organizational Meeting:

• Course format
• How close can papers be to dissertation research? Same general field, but not too close.
• Clinical/translational research paper & (strongly recommended) review paper for background
• Send selected paper(s) to faculty for approval at least 2 weeks ahead of presentation
• Faculty discussants – (optional) by student invitation
• Overcoming Barriers to Discussion – handout posted

CTS Journal Club Presentation Schedule

Suggested papers for presentation (posted in Canvas):

• Metarrestin: Frankowski KJ, et al.    Metarrestin, a perinucleolar compartment inhibitor, effectively suppresses metastasis. Sci Transl Med 10(441):eaap8307.
  doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aap8307.
• Thrombosis: Stanger L, et al.    The oxylipin analog CS585 prevents platelet activation and thrombosis through activation of the prostacyclin receptor.  Blood 142(18):1556-1569.
  doi: 10.1182/blood.2023020622.
• Opioid Receptors: Sakamuru S, et al.    Predictive Models to Identify Small Molecule Activators and Inhibitors of Opioid Receptors.  J Chem Inf Model 61(6):2675-2685.
  doi: 10.1021/acs.jcim.1c00439.
• Organs on Chips – Choose a research paper that uses the methods described in this review:
  Low LA, et al.    Organs-on-chips: into the next decade.  Nat Rev Drug Discov 20(5):345-361. doi: 10.1038/s41573-020-0079-3.
• AAV Gene Therapy – Choose a research paper that uses the methods described in this review: Brooks PJ, et al.    The Platform Vector Gene Therapies Project: Increasing the Efficiency of Adeno-Associated Virus Gene Therapy Clinical Trial Startup. Hum Gene Ther. 31(19-20):1034-1042. doi: 10.1089/hum.2020.259.
• Cystic Fibrosis – Choose a research paper that is cited in this review:
  Burgener EB, Cornfield DN.   Delivering a New Future for People with Cystic Fibrosis. Pediatrics 152(4):e2023062985. doi: 10.1542/peds.2023-062985.

Prerequisite:  GMS 6847 – Translational Research & Therapeutics: Bench, Bedside, Community, and Policy

Attendance:  Attendance is required at all sessions.  Course directors must be notified in advance about planned absences, e.g., travel for conferences.  Absences will be excused per university policies (https://catalog.ufl.edu/UGRD/academic-regulations/attendance-policies/).  No make-up assignments are required for missed sessions.

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities:  Students with disabilities who experience learning barriers and would like to request academic accommodations should connect with the disability Resource Center (https://disability.ufl.edu/get-started/).  Please share your accommodation letter and discuss your access needs with the course directors as early as possible in the semester.

Required and Recommended Textbooks:  None.  All readings will be research and review papers from the clinical & translational research literature.

Grading:  This course will be graded as Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U). A grade of S will be earned by participating in all class discussions and co-leading one paper discussion, following the established discussion rubric.  Per UF grading policy, S/U grades option do not carry grade point values and are not computed in the grade point average, but course credits will count toward your degree with a grade of S.  https://catalog.ufl.edu/UGRD/academic-regulations/grades-grading-policies/

Online Course Evaluation:  Students are expected to provide professional and respectful feedback on the quality of instruction in this course by completing course evaluations online via GatorEvals.  Guidance on how to give feedback in a professional and respectful manner is available at https://gatorevals.aa.ufl.edu/students/. Students will be notified when the evaluation period opens, and can complete evaluations through the email they receive from GatorEvals, in the Canvas course menu under GatorEvals, or via https://ufl.bluera.com/ufl/. Summaries of course evaluation results are available to students at https://gatorevals.aa.ufl.edu/public-results/.

Materials and Supplies Fees:  Not applicable.