This course is one of the central components of our program. It provides the essentials of hESC biology to individuals with little or no previous experience with hESCs. The training process takes 5 full days of instruction and extensive hands-on experience. The course is offered four times a year with supplementary classes if necessary to meet the demand.
The class is taught at the Shared Research Facility. The curriculum is organized as follows:
hESC Tentative Training Course Outline:
Day 1
- Lectures and presentation made by top stem cell scientists in the field
- Prepare hESC and mouse feeder media
- Passage hESC enzymatically
- Plate irradiated feeders and non-irradiated feeders
- Thaw hESC
Day 2
- Mouse dissection and isolation of primary mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs)
- Feed hESC with fresh media
- Plate irradiated feeders
- Prepare conditioned media
Day 3
- Passage hESC onto matrigel
- Make embryoid bodies
- Count and freeze primary MEFs, if necessary
- Plate irradiated feeders
- Inactivate MEFs with Mytomycin c
Day 4
- Make cutting tools
- Passage hESC mechanically
- Change media
Day 5
- Remove bad (differentiated) stem cell colonies
- Freeze hESC
- Lecture: Review and discuss advanced techniques
- Lecture: human induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Derivation
After successful training, students will go back to their respective labs with first-hand knowledge of hESC culture. If they have any questions and need help in designing their own experiments, they can contact one of our stem cell experts at the Center to receive full support. Those who wish to learn advanced stem cell technique can contact us to schedule a special session.
