Program Curriculum

Program fellows are required to take four courses:

• Responsible Conduct of Research
• Clinical Translation of Nanotechnology
• Two electives from a list of graduate level courses offered at Rice and The University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS)

Additional curricula includes:

• 2-week boot camp in “Cancer Management and Nanotechnology” (CanManageNano)
• A trip to the Nanotechnology Characterization Lab at the NCI in Frederick, Maryland
• An introduction to laboratory and project management
• Seminars, retreats, conferences and journal clubs

Responsible Conduct of Research

MD Anderson Cancer Center and Rice University are committed to the highest ethical standards in conducting biomedical research. All program fellows are required to go through a thorough curriculum before engaging in any activities associated with biomedical studies. Learn more about the program's formal instruction in scientific integrity and the ethical principles of research (pdf).

Clinical Translation of Nanotechnology

• Offered in the second year of the training program as a 3-credit course with lab experience and an independent project
• Covering topics in fundamental and applied nanotechnology, with a specific focus on cancer: 

1. Understanding major aspects of cancer anatomy and physiology
2. Major unsolved problems in cancer health management, from early detection to diagnosis, prognosis, treatment and monitoring
3. Opportunities for nanoscience in cancer: how nanotechnology differs from traditional approaches
4. Nanotechnology and cancer imaging
5. Nanotechnology and cancer therapy
6. Theranostics
7. Translational barriers: toxicology, delivery, biodistribution and pharmacokinetics
8. Back to the drawing board: what needs to be done?

Electives

Trainees and their mentors will meet to develop an individualized education and research plan (the “roadmap”) to fill in personal gaps in knowledge. The electives will be chosen from offerings at GSBS and at Rice.

From the offerings at GSBS, we anticipate that the following programs will be of significant interest to our trainees: (1) biostatistics, bioinformatics and systems biology (GS01 1033 Introduction to Biostatistics and Bioinformatics; GS01 1023 Survival Analysis; GS01 1013 Bayesian Data Analysis; GS01 1131 Introduction to  Biomedical Statistics and Informatics Core Module; GS01 1153 Longitudinal Data Analysis), (2) cancer biology (GS04 1063 Cancer Biology; GS04 1083 Basic Concepts of Tumor Biology; GS04 1133 Cancer Cell Signaling; GS04 1183 Molecular Methods and Biotechniques); (3) translational research (GS21 1014 Design and Management of Clinical Trials, GS21 1093 Topics in Translational Biomedical Engineering; GS21 1132 Human Protocol Research; GS21 1232 Translational Sciences: Bedside to Bench and Back; GS21 1613 Translational Cancer Research); (4) medical physics (GS02 1042 Radiation Biology; GS02 1093 Introduction to Medical Physics I: Basic Introduction; GS02 1103 Introduction to Medical Physics II: Medical Imaging; GS02 1113 Introduction to Medical Physics III: Therapy; GS02 1732 Medical Physics Seminar).

At Rice University, the following courses will be considered to fill in trainees’ gaps in knowledge: BIOE 403 Advances in Bionanotechnology, BIOE 440 Statistics for Bioengineering, BIOE 464 Extracellular Matrix, BIOE 485 Fundamentals of Medical Imaging I, BIOE 486 Fundamentals of  Medical Imaging II, BIOE 498 BioMEMS and Medical Microdevices, BIOE 505 Optical Imaging, BIOE 516 Mechanics, Transport and Cellular Signaling, BIOE 517 Instrumentation and Molecular Analysis, BIOE 522 Gene Therapy, BIOE 560 Cancer Biology, BIOE 585 Translational Bioengineering Seminar, BIOE 587 Optical Imaging and Nanobiophotonics, BIOE 598 Fundamentals and Applications of Medical Microdevices, BIOE 631 Advanced Biomaterials, BIOE 661 Oncology for Bioengineers: Molecules to Organs, BIOE 662 New Techniques for Cancer Diagnosis, CEVE 533 Nanoscience and Nanotechnology.

Cancer Management and Nanotechnology (CanManageNano)

Our CanManageNano "boot camp" is a 2-week-long program consisting of didactical and hands-on training activities at MD Anderson and Rice campuses. The T32 trainees complete an intensive cancer internship that includes curricula in gross anatomy, cancer histology, cancer biology, and cancer medicine integrated with clinical rotations in diagnostic imaging, medical oncology, surgical oncology, and radiation oncology. This includes patient encounters during physician consultation, diagnostic imaging, chemotherapy administration, surgery, and radiation therapy simulation and treatment.CanManageNano is offered during the first year of the fellowship, before the start of the fall semester.

Nanotechnology Characterization Lab (NCL)

The fellows will attend the “NCL Lessons Learned” workshop on translational issues in preclinical characterization of nanomaterials.

Workshop Goals

Educating the nanotech and cancer research communities regarding common issues for nanomaterial translation: biocompatibility, endotoxin contamination, batch-to-batch consistency, controlled drug release, stability, etc.

Providing drug developers (academic researchers, biotech companies, pharmaceutical companies, etc.) with NCL's perspective on important tests for nanomaterial-based cancer drug formulations.

Topics

Methods for nanomaterial characterization, including strategies for determining appropriate tests for batch-to-batch consistency, surface characterization

Nanomaterial ADME/Tox and PK

Sterility and endotoxin contamination

Immunotoxicity

Linking physicochemical characterization to safety and efficacy

Case studies from NCL preclinical characterization, with details on specific nanomaterials, issues/problems encountered during NCL testing (e.g. impurities, agglomeration, unexpected toxicities, immune reactions, etc.), and how these were overcome

Laboratory and Project Management

• Part of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) curriculum “Making the Right Moves” will be adopted to introduce the program fellows to lab and project management skills
• Offered as a 1-credit course for predoctoral fellows and as a lunch seminar for postdoctoral fellows
• Taught by rotating program faculty who are mentoring T32 fellows at the time of course offering
• Introduction to Entrepreneurship

The program leadership established close connections with the Center for Professional Development and Education at MD Anderson and the Texas Medical Center Innovation Institute to foster opportunities for mentorship and consultation with entrepreneurs as trainees explore career options or avenues for translating their ideas into products.

The program leadership also has close relationships with a variety of local start-up companies, including Nanospectra (Houston) and NanoMedical Sciences (Austin). These relationships offer avenues for potential networking and short-term internships for program trainees.

Introduction to Entrepreneurship

The program leadership established close connections with the Center for Professional Development and Education at MD Anderson and the Texas Medical Center Innovation Institute to foster opportunities for mentorship and consultation with entrepreneurs as trainees explore career options or avenues for translating their ideas into products.

The program leadership also has close relationships with a variety of local start-up companies, including Nanospectra (Houston) and NanoMedical Sciences (Austin). These relationships offer avenues for potential networking and short-term internships for program trainees.

• Institutional and Texas Medical Center conferences/seminars
• T32 Program Annual Retreat
• Joint seminars at participating departments
• Research group journal club/laboratory meetings
• Grant writing support and training