Cancer Biology

MSc Coordinator of the Master in Cancer Biology

 Prof. Dr. Massimo Lopes (master.cancer * imcr.uzh.ch)

Study Coordinator 

Dr. Karin Isler (studienkoordination * biol.uzh.ch)

OVERVIEW
The program involves leading experts in various aspects of Cancer Biology, ranging from basic research on genome stability and epigenetics, to cancer animal models and molecular investigations on the onset and therapy of specific cancers in a clinical setting. Laboratories hosting master students belong to three faculties (Faculty of Science, Faculty of Medicine and Vetsuisse Faculty) and are distributed in various Institutes at the Irchel Campus, at the Children’s Hospital and at the University Hospital Zurich. The program operates in close exchange with the programs in Molecular Life Sciences, Immunology and Biomedicine.
 

CANCER BIOLOGY
Cancer is a leading cause of human death and comprises a broad group of diseases involving unregulated cell growth in various organs. The causes of cancer are diverse and only partially understood, representing a complex biological question that requires a multidisciplinary, "holistic" approach. Similarly to cancer etiology, both early diagnosis and effective therapy of most cancers await identification of specific biomarkers and molecular targets, differentiating cancer cells from normal cells in different tissues. As a consequence, the improvement of therapeutic regimens for different cancers strictly depends on deep mechanistic understanding from the earliest molecular events underlying cancer onset to its later stages of progression and invasion. Improving our mechanistic understanding of cancer and potentiating our therapeutic portfolio will thus require training of a new generation of cancer biologists, capable of orienting clinical researchers towards new diagnostic and therapeutic tools, based on mechanistic insight and unbiased molecular investigations.

MASTER'S DEGREE COURSE
Students choosing this Master program are interested in understanding basic molecular pathways that regulate genome instability events underlying cellular transformation, crucial characteristics of cancer initiating cells, their interaction with tumor microenvironment and their molecular characteristics that offer therapeutic opportunities. Each student attends a selected subset of interactive lectures, addressing different aspects of basic cancer research, and focusing on specific cancer types to deduce general concepts in cancer onset and therapy. Choosing among a diversified set of block courses, students learn how to grow cancer cells and/or analyze tumor‐relevant samples, applying a broad range of molecular tools, spanning from in‐silico approaches to in‐vitro biochemistry, single‐molecule analysis, in‐vivo immunostainings, analysis of tissue microenvironments and therapeutic responses in animal cancer models. In doing so, they will be confronted with the analysis and interpretation of the data in the light of molecular, cell biological and medical relevance. In addition, students will use chemical and genetic perturbations to modulate onset and therapy of specific cancers. By the end of the program, each student is expected to have developed a solid foundation leading to a mechanistic understanding of cancer at the molecular level, and is capable of addressing new biological questions inherent to the onset or therapy of specific cancer types.
 

COMPULSORY THEORETICAL COURSES
Students must acquire a minimum of 4 ECTS from the courses below. However, students are strongly encouraged to collect as many ECTS as possible from these courses and to attend some of these courses already during the BSc program:

Additional 4 ECTS can be acquired from any UZH / ETHZ modules. However, choice is recommended from this additional list of modules, which cover important aspects of cancer research or transferable skills: 

Recommended elective modules in the basic studies:
BME 235, BME 247, BCH 202, BCH 215, BIO 390, STA 120

PRACTICAL BLOCK COURSES 

During the Master’s program, a minimum of 12 ECTS have to be acquired from two of the block courses listed below: 

Master’s thesis in Cancer Biology: Module BIO 516.

General instructions - Final Exams BIO520/BIO516 (PDF, 85 KB)
 

RESEARCH GROUPS LEADERS FOR MASTER THESES

Additional groups are possible upon request, providing there is direct significant contribution to teaching activities within the Master’s program.