Evidence-based Clinical Relevance of Biochem and Molecular Bio

Students will work alone or in small groups (2-5 students per group). Each person or group will be given a patient specific question. The main student responsibilities will be to conduct biomedical literature research to find biochemical and molecular biology information relevant to the patient question, to critically evaluate published information, to organize findings, and to formulate answers to the question. Students will meet with the faculty member three times a week (60-90 min each time) to discuss their findings, issues and questions that need to be addressed and answered, respectively.

Assessment methods: Each group will develop and give a 45-min seminar style oral presentation of their findings and answer questions. Students should use the presentation to illustrate how medical relevance of biochemistry/molecular knowledge fits with medical realities using strong evidence.

Course is offered for 2 weeks or 4 weeks depending on depth/intensity of work, per course director.

Course Learning Objectives:

By the end of this course, the student should be able to:

1. Assess the medical application of biochemistry and molecular biology information with case-based medical analysis by systematic research of the biomedical literature.
2. Use clinical analysis skills and relevant biochemical and molecular biology information in answering case-based patient and/or physician questions.
3. Apply evidence-based medicine, including relevant medical literature to address clinically related problems in medical science.