Freshman preference seminar; sophomores admitted if space available.  

3 units | UG Reqs: WAY-SMA | Class # 36733| Section 01 | Grading: Letter or Credit/No Credit | ISF | In Person
09/20/2021 - 12/03/2021 Tue, Thu 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Instructor: Garner, J. (PI)

Preference to freshman. Behavior is what makes animals special (thirsty plants don't walk to water), but why do animals behave the way they do? What does their behavior tell us about their inner lives, and about ourselves? What do lipstick and cuckoos and fireflies have in common? Why would nobody want to be a penguin? What do mice say to each other in their pee-mail? Learning how to think about questions like these gives us a unique perspective on the natural world. Format: Discussion and criticism of video examples, documentaries, and research papers. Topics: History and approaches to animal behavior; development of behavior, from genetics to learning; mechanisms of behavior, from neurons to motivation; function of behavior, from honest signals to selfish genes; the phylogeny of behavior, from domestication to speciation; and modern applications of behavior, from abnormal behavior, to conservation, to animal welfare, and animal consciousness.

His favorite experiments are ones where the animals tell you what's really going on by doing the opposite of what was predicted. He became interested in animal behavior because of its potential to open a window into the experience of the animals that share our world and our lives. He pursued a career in the field because it presents some of the hardest questions and most beautiful answers in science; and because of the great potential for animal behavior to improve both the lives of animals, and also the lives of humans. He serves on the boards of both animal well-being and human mental health advocacy organizations. None of the animal members of his own family are particularly well behaved, but he prefers them that way.

For enrollment information go to Undergrad Introductory Seminar's site

Sophomore preference seminar; first-year student admitted if space available.        

3 units | UG Reqs: GER: DB-NatSci, WAY-SMA | Class # 37141 | Section 01 | Grading: Letter or Credit/No Credit | ISS | In Person
09/20/2021 - 12/03/2021 Mon, Wed 3:15 PM - 4:45 PM at E.D. Stone Edwards Bldg R358 with Nagamine, C. (PI)
09/20/2021 - 12/03/2021 Fri 3:15 PM - 4:45 PM at RAF 1 with Nagamine, C. (PI)                               

Instructor: Nagamine, C. (PI)

Notes:  Introductory Seminar. Preference to sophomores; first-year students admitted if space available. Advance sign-up process and deadlines at http://introsems.stanford.edu.

What is a nude mouse and why is it used in cancer research? How come my mouse pups have a different coat color than their parents? What is a knockout mouse? Answers to these and more are in this introduction to the laboratory mouse, one of the most widely used models in biomedical research. We will explore the natural history and origin of the laboratory mouse; the ethics and regulations on the use of mice in research; the characteristics and nomenclature of commonly used mouse strains; the anatomy, physiology, and husbandry of mice; common mouse diseases and their effects on research; mouse coat color genetics and its relevance to human diseases; immunodeficient mouse models and their uses in research; and the technology for genetically engineering mice (e.g., transgenic mice). Video demonstrations of necropsy, mouse handling, anesthesia and surgery, identification methods, and research techniques will be provided. Each student is expected to read research papers that use the mouse as a research model and give a presentation of a topic of their choice. Students interested in biomedical research and human or veterinary medicine will benefit from this seminar.

He completed his residency in Laboratory Animal Medicine at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2007 and became board certified by the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine in 2008. His research interests include mouse models of dengue virus, the molecular genetics of mammalian sex determination, and mouse infectious diseases. He joined the Stanford faculty in 2008 and is Director of Rodent Services and the Rodent Health Surveillance Program.

To enroll visit the Undergrad Introductory Seminar's site

Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.

1 unit | Class # 40110  | Section 01 | Grading: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory Exception | SEM | Independent Studies
09/20/2021 - 12/03/2021

Instructor:  Case, K (PI); Huss, M. (PI)

Have you ever considered a career in veterinary medicine but are unsure what it would entail? Pre-Vet Advisory fosters a community of veterinary-curious students and connects them with Stanford veterinarians. Periodic group meetings and guest lectures will introduce students to the variety of career options within veterinary medicine. Academic advising, with an emphasis on required coursework and practical experience, will be provided for those students intending to apply to veterinary school.

1 unit | Class # 37381 | Section 01 | Grading: Medical Satisfactory/No Credit | SEM | In Person
09/20/2021 - 12/03/2021 Fri 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM at E.D. Stone Edwards Bldg R358

Instructor: Hestrin, S. (PI)

Participants report on and review scientific articles published in peer reviewed journals. Focus is on manuscripts which report basic and mechanistic discoveries, animal modeling and translational research. The objective is to introduce MLAS students to critical scientific review of hypothesis-based research and experimental design, data analysis and interpretation. Enrollment limited to undergraduate and graduate students currently matriculated or planning to enroll in the MS in Laboratory Animal Science degree program.

Shaul Hestrin, PhD, Professor, received his Ph.D. degree in Physiology from University of California, Los Angeles. Prior to coming to Stanford, Dr. Hestrin held faculty appointments at University of California, San Francisco and University of Tennessee, Memphis.

The main interest of Dr. Hestrin is to understand how the properties of neocortical neurons, the circuits they form and the inputs they receive give rise to neuronal activity and behavior. His approach includes behavioral studies, in vivo imaging and in vivo whole cell recording in behaving animals and optogenetic methods to activate cortical neurons as well as cortical afferents.

2 units | UG Reqs: None | Class # 38647 | Section 01 | Grading: Medical Option (Med-Ltr-CR/NC) | SEM | In Person
 9/20/2021 - 12/03/2021 Thu 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM at E.D. Stone Edwards Bldg R358

Instructor:  Darian-Smith, C. (PI)

We explore the origins and evolutionary trends that have shaped primate brain structure and function. We focus on primates in the context of other mammalian and vertebrate species, as a way of comparing alternate brain plans and evolutionary pressures/trends. Topics include: The peripheral nervous system, brain evolution and the primate hand, vision, vocalization and language acquisition, the intelligent brain, and hominid evolution. We use current analytical approaches, critique papers, and make cross species comparisons to build a deeper appreciation of vertebrate brain organization more broadly, and the primate brain and nervous system more specifically. Prerequisites: preferred but not limited to: basic neurobiology, biology, CompMed 207.

1 unit | Class # 37382 | Section 01 | Grading: Medical Satisfactory/No Credit | SEM | Remote: Synchronous
09/20/2021 - 12/03/2021 Tue 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM at Remote

Instructors: Nagamine, C. (PI)
Notes: Please contact the Department Student Services coordinator if you are having difficulty with enrollment.

Focuses on husbandry, care and diseases of major laboratory animal species (rodents, fish and amphibians, swine, sheep, rabbits, monkeys); regulatory and compliance, applied principals of animal modeling, and factors that influence animal research, animal behavior and research reproducibility. The objective of this course is to provide students with an overview of the history of laboratory animal science, current industry standards and practices, and the fundamentals of laboratory animal diseases. Department consent required for enrollment. May be repeated for credit.

Prior to entering veterinary school, Dr. Nagamine obtained a Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of California, Davis (1979), obtained postdoctoral training in endocrinology, developmental genetics, immunology, and molecular biology of the mouse at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (NYC), Institut Pasteur (France), and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at the University of California, San Francisco and was an Assistant Professor of Cell Biology at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. His research focuses on using mouse models to study murine and human infectious diseases. These collaborative studies include dengue virus, adeno-associated virus, coxsackie virus, enterohepatic helicobacters, campylobacters, and anaplasma.

 2 units | Class # 37567 | Section 01 | Grading: Medical Option (Med-Ltr-CR/NC) | SEM | Remote: Synchronous
09/20/2021 - 12/03/2021 Tue, Thu 3:15 PM - 4:45 PM at Remote

Instructor: Garner, J. (PI)

So you've taken all these stats classes and learned a bunch of equations, but now you have to design and analyze your own experiments, and you're feeling lost and all those equations and classes really don't make sense. DON'T PANIC, we've all been there, and this is the class for you! Try learning these essential skills a different way - conceptually and hands-on without equations. Emphasis is on real-world experimental design and analysis in the life sciences, with particular focus on modern techniques that maximize power and minimize sample size, and avoiding common errors contributing to false discovery and the reproducibility crisis. This is a flipped-classroom. Class time is devoted to discussion of assigned reading (primarily Grafen & Hails 2002 "Modern statistics for the life sciences"), hands on guided work-through of example data sets, and developing analyses for the students' own research data. The objective is to provide students with a foundational conceptual understanding of biostatistics, particularly as applied to the design and planning of animal-based research projects.

For enrollment information go to Stanford University Registrar's site

1 units | Class # 38556 | Section 01 | Grading: Medical Satisfactory/No Credit | SEM | In Person
09/20/2021 - 12/03/2021 Thu 9:45 AM - 10:45 AM at E.D. Stone Edwards Bldg R358

Instructor:  Green, S. (PI)

Focus is on career development for graduate students and trainees enrolled in a trainee program in the Department of Comparative Medicine. Seminar topics include career pathways in laboratory animal science, resume preparation, manuscript preparation and authorship, life in academics, life in industry and biopharma, regulatory agencies, veterinary and medical school. Speakers include faculty, speakers from industry and pharmaceutical companies, veterinary school and medical school graduates, regulatory and compliance professionals, research scientists, and animal research program/laboratory managers. Students may choose to shadow veterinary clinical faculty or rotate through basic science laboratory, by special arrangement. The objective is to introduce students to the multiple career pathways available to individuals with advanced training in laboratory animal science. May be taken up to six quarters.

Sherril Green, DVM, PhD, DACVIM, Professor and Department Chair, Dr. Green received her D.V.M. from Louisiana State University and completed an internship in Equine Medicine and Surgery at the University of Missouri, and a residency in Large Animal Medicine at the University of Florida.

Prior to joining the faculty at Stanford, she was a clinical instructor in Large Animal Medicine at the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, and subsequently completed a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of California, Davis. Dr. Green is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine. Dr. Green’s research focuses on the biology and diseases of the African Clawed frog, Xenopus laevis.