Aims

This Advanced course will give a thorough overview of cardiovascular biology and disease, discussing fundamental, diagnostic, as well as therapeutic issues.  
Appropriate attention is given to the integration of state-of-the-art gene/genome and downstream transcriptome or proteome technologies as well as to the experimental in vitro and in vivo models, each with its possibilities, advantages and drawbacks, that are applied to unravel the molecular and cellular pathways and identify candidate genes involved in the pathophysiological processes discussed.

Previous knowledge

Celbiologie, moleculaire biologie, genetica
 
You should not indicate these choices in your ISP, but these should go through the choice program of the Faculty. More info on this will follow during the first week of the academic year. The final allotment of these courses will be done by the Faculty and announced on Toledo. The maximum number of students that can participate per research track is 20. Students from other faculties who wish to take one of the subjoined courses should submit a request at Anouk Desmet.
Only when the maximum number of students per research track has not been reached, students are permitted.

Content

The following topics will be taught by a team of lecturers that are 
expert in the corresponding clinical and/or basic research topic.
 

• Extracellular
  proteinases: key roles in fibrinolysis, thrombolysis and 
  atherosclerosis
• Haemostasis: platelet adhesion and signal 
  transduction, haemostatic regulation, thrombosis, bleeding disorders
• Angiogenesis:
  blood vessel formation and underlying cellular and molecular 
  mechanisms, novel angiogenic therapeutic strategies
• Lymphangiogenesis:
  formation of the lymphatic system and underlying cellular and molecular
  mechanisms, lymphangiogenesis in health and disease
• Links 
  between vessels and nerves: role of key angiogenesis signals in the 
  nervous system, therapeutic potential of angiogenic molecules in 
  neurodegenerative disease (ALS, MS PD), role of angiogenesis molecules 
  as axon guidance signals, role of axon guidance cues as vessel 
  navigation signals
• Vessel wall biology and disease: cellular and
  molecular pathways underlying atherosclerosis, cholesterol, 
  lipoproteins and atherosclerosis, therapeutic approaches
• Cardiac
  biology: ischemic injury, cardioprotection and repair, cardiac 
  hypertrophy and heart failure, cardiac remodeling, current therapeutic 
  advances in cardiovascular disease (drugs, biologicals, and stem cells)
• Gene
  therapy and stem cell bioengineering in cardiovascular disease: 
  development and characterization of gene delivery vectors, preclinical 
  and clinical studies
• Adult stem cells (MAPC) to study vascular 
  differentiation and regeneration
• Genetic screening of patients 
  with cardiovascular disease: gene-specific screening and 
  disease-specific screening to test the relevance of experimental 
  findings to the patient situation, and to identify novel disease 
  candidate genes

Course material

Articles and literature
Slides, transparencies, courseware
Toledo / e-platform

Order of Enrolment

Mixed prerequisite:
You may only take this course if you comply with the prerequisites. Prerequisites can be strict or flexible, or can imply simultaneity. A degree level can be also be a prerequisite.
Explanation:
STRICT: You may only take this course if you have passed or applied tolerance for the courses for which this condition is set.
FLEXIBEL: You may only take this course if you have previously taken the courses for which this condition is set.
SIMULTANEOUS: You may only take this course if you also take the courses for which this condition is set (or have taken them previously).
DEGREE: You may only take this course if you have obtained this degree level.


NIVEAU(BACHELOR)

The codes of the course units mentioned above correspond to the following course descriptions:

This course unit is a prerequisite for taking the following course units:
E04N6A : Hot Topics in Fundamental and Medical Aspects of Cardiovascular Biology

Is also included in other courses

• Master in de biomedische wetenschappen (Major Subject: Research in Biomedical Sciences) 120 ects.
• Master of Biomedical Sciences 120 ects.