3 ECTS credits
90 h study time
Offer 1 with catalog number 4013747ENR for all students in the 1st semester
at
a (E) Master - advanced level.
- Semester
- 1st semester
- Enrollment based on exam contract
- Impossible
- Grading method
- Grading (scale from 0 to 20)
- Can retake in second session
- Yes
- Taught in
- Dutch
- Faculty
- Faculty of Sciences and Bioengineering Sciences
- Department
- Bio-Engineering Sciences
- Educational team
- Thierry Vandendriessche
Ken Broeckhoven
(course titular)
- Activities and contact hours
- 26 contact hours Lecture
- Course Content
Partim Physiological Engineering: (Prof. Broeckhoven)
In this partim an answer to two important questions is given: What does the body do to a drug (pharmacokinetics) and what does a drug do to the body (pharmacodynamics). Using basic mathematical models, the time dependant absorption, distribution and elimination of drugs in the body and the quantitative physiological response of the body is modeled. The students also learn the importance of drug dose rate (including the effect of disease states) and administration method, with special attention to controlled drug release techniques.
Partim Cellular engineering: (Prof. VandenDriessche)
Basic aspects of Gene Therapy:
Non-viral gene transfer methods: i) Stable vs. transient transfection (lipofection, calcium phosphate transfection, electroporation, etc.) ii) Technology based on transposons (e.g., Sleeping Beauty)
Viral gene transfer: i) Retroviral vectors ii) Lentiviral vectors iii) Adeno-associated viral vectors iv) Adenoviral vectors v) Oncolytic viruses
- The production methods to generate these different gene delivery vectors will be discussed in detail.
- The characteristics of each of these gene delivery methods will be discussed in detail in terms of efficacy and safety. The safety issues will focus on genotoxicity and the consequences for the immune system of gene transfer.
Advanced concepts in gene transfer and gene editing: i) Gene editing with designer nucleases (ZFNs, CRISPR/Cas9, TALENs): targeted gene correction and integration into "safe harbor" loci; on-target & off-target effects ii) Gene silencing using dominant-negative proteins and RNA interference iii) Genetic modification of somatic cells iv) Genetic modification of stem cells (iPS cells, ES cells, hematopoietic stem cells): pros and cons for regenerative medicine
Examples of preclinical gene therapy studies with different (viral) vectors
- Gene therapy for monogenic diseases (hemophilia, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Leber congenital amaurosis, SCID, thalassemia), diabetes, cancer, etc.
- Course material
- Digital course material (Required) : Fysiologische engineering en cellulaire engineering, Notes
Digital course material (Required) : Handouts of powerpoint presentations, Canvas
Handbook (Recommended) : Pharmacokinetics made easy, Pocket Guide, D. J. Birkett, 2de, McGraw Hill Australia, 9780070285279, 2010
- Additional info
Partim Physiological Engineering: (Prof. Broeckhoven)
Handouts of powerpoint presentations and own notes (canvas)
Additional information (office Professor):
Pharmacokinetics made easy D. J. Birkett, McGraw Hill Australia, 2002, ISBN 0074710729
Basic Transport Phenomena in Biomedical Engineering, Chapter 7 (selected examples) Ronald L. Fournier
Handboek Of Pharmaceutical Controlled Release Technology, Chapters 10,11,22,23 (selected examples)
Donald L. Wise
Pharmacokinetics: Processes, Mathematics, and Applications Peter G. Welling.
Partim Cellular engineering: (Prof. VandenDriessche)
Course material
- Digital course material (Required): Powerpoint slides and articles are available on Canvas
Additional info
PowerPoint slides are accessible via Canvas. The classes take place alternately on Jette and Etterbeek campuses with live streaming, so that students do not have to travel. Discussion and Q&A with the instructor remain possible with this live streaming facility.
- Learning Outcomes
-
General competencies
Partim Physiological Engineering: (Prof. Broeckhoven)
The students learn the most important pharmacokinetic parameters.
The students understand the mechanism of drug transport in the human body.
The students are able to apply the pharmacokinetic parameters to predict the evolution of drug concentration in the human body.
The students can determine the required dose amount and speed of administration of a drug, taking disease states into account.
The students can predict the effect of non-linear pharmacokinetic behavior.
The students understand the relation between concentration and effect of a drug (pharmacodynamics).
The students understand the important of controlled-drug-release.
The students are able to explain the mechanisms that allow controlled-drug-release.
Partim Cellular engineering: (Prof. VandenDriessche)
The students are familiar with (i) the issues related to somatic and germline cell gene transfer/gene therapy (transgenesis) and (ii) the use of embryonic and adult stem cells in biotechnological and biomedical applications.
- Grading
-
The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Oral Exam determines 50% of the final mark.
Written Exam determines 50% of the final mark.
Within the Oral Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:
- Oral exam(written preparation)
with a relative weight of 1
which comprises 50% of the final mark.
Note: Partim Physiological Engineering: oral examination with written preparation
Within the Written Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:
- Written exam on course content
with a relative weight of 1
which comprises 50% of the final mark.
Note: Partim Cellular engineering: written examination
- Additional info regarding evaluation
Final results are the average of the grades obtained on the two parts
In order to pass the course, a miminum score of 10/20 has to be reached for each individual part.
Partim Physiological Engineering: (Prof. Broeckhoven)
Oral exam with written preparation
Partim Cellular engineering: (Prof. VandenDriessche)
Explanation: Knowledge and understanding will be evaluated through a written exam on the content of the course. Examination will be conducted in English or Dutch, depending on whether or not English-speaking students are present.
- Allowed unsatisfactory mark
- The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.
Academic context
This offer is part of the following study plans:
Master of Bioengineering Sciences: Chemistry and Bioprocess Technology: Food Biotechnology (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Bioengineering Sciences: Chemistry and Bioprocess Technology: Chemical Biotechnology (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Bioengineering Sciences: Chemistry and Bioprocess Technology: Biochemical Biotechnology (only offered in Dutch)