Abstract
Progress in translational biomedical research, whose goal is to translate basic research findings from the laboratory into the clinic to improve patient care, depends extensively upon the use of molecular and cellular concepts and tools. Thus, research activities often focus upon the use of cellular and molecular biology to examine research questions with potential clinical implications. As such, medical physicists may be at somewhat of a loss to comprehend these studies since they are frequently not equipped with an understanding of these applications. This restricts the role for the medical physicist and often limits their participation in conferences and seminars, which is unfortunate since these individuals may be able to provide a key contribution to ongoing research activities. A knowledge of cellular and molecular biology is also important for clinical applications of therapies and diagnostics which rely upon an understanding of the biologic basis behind their effectiveness. The goal of this educational session is to provide medical physicists with a basic working knowledge of the most common and important contemporary cellular and molecular approaches used in translational biomedical research. Educational Objectives: 1. To provide medical physicists with an understanding of the following topics in cellular and molecular biology: a. DNA, RNA and protein structure, synthesis and function. b. Vectors and recombinant moleculesReporter gene assays. c. Genetic libraries. d. Gel electrophoresis. e. Polymerase chain reaction f. Gene analyses; southern, northern and western blots. g. Microarrays. h. Single nucleotide polymorphisms. i. Knockout mice. j. EMSA, ELISA and immunoprecipitation. k. Monoclonal antibodies. l. Gene silencing. m. Detection and measurement of DNA damage.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 2916-2917 |
Number of pages | 2 |
Journal | Medical Physics |
Volume | 35 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 2008 |