1. Orientation for "2017 Spring Seminar Course" February 22, 2017
Takashi Angata
(IBC, Academia Sinica)

2. Objectives of the course
To help you develop the following skills:
Critically evaluate research reports
Organize presentation materials
Communicate research findings by oral presentation

3. Principles (1)
Student will choose a research article*, and explain its contents to the professors/peers using slides.
*Choose from the articles published in the past 3 years in the following areas:
Dysregulation of post-translational modifications involved in disease
Structural insight into disease process
Key advancement in disease diagnosis or therapy

4. Principles (2)
Student will be evaluated by the professors and peers, based on the following criteria:
Comprehension of the topic
Content organization
Time management
Manner of presentation (e.g., eye contact/body language/the use of laser pointer)
Fluency in English
Performance as "moderator" (coordinator only)

5. Course schedule Overall order: 2nd year students → 1st year students
Date
Class
3/1, 3/8
(Prep week; No class)
3/15
Seminar 1
3/22
Seminar 2
3/29
Seminar 3
4/5
Seminar 4
4/12
Seminar 5
4/19
(Mid-term exam week; No class)
4/26
(Seminar by Prof. Gervay-Hague)
5/3
Seminar 6
5/10
Seminar 7
5/17
Seminar 8
5/24
Seminar 9
5/31
Seminar 10
6/7
(No class)
6/14
(Reserved)
Overall order:
2nd year students →
1st year students
Individual order:
Please decide after this introduction.
(Ask Elve!)

6. SOP
Choose "coach professor" and article ASAP (and get approval from the coach professor!)
Invite "coach professor" and "sit-in professor" (> 10 days before presentation)
Prepare 2-page summary and 30-min presentation
Send the followings (> 7 days before presentation)
Coach/Coordinator/Students/Secretary: Article + Summary
Sit-in professor: Summary only
Remind the professors to attend your presentation (3 days before presentation)
Present at the class

7. In case you need to change the presentation schedule…
Please coordinate the schedule change with your coach professor/sit-in professor/peer (e.g., in case a professor is not available for the scheduled presentation).

8. Penalties for non-attendance (per presentation)
Non-attendance without reason: -2 pts
Non-attendance with reason but without evidence: -1 pt
(exception: 1-day sick leave, staying at home)
Non-attendance with reason and evidence: no penalty
Late arrival without reason: -1 pt

9. "Do"s in article selection
Choose a primary research article.
Choose an article that has NOT been introduced by others or yourself.
Choose a paper that is sufficiently challenging and informative for you (so that you can learn something new).

10. "Do not"s in article selection
Do NOT choose review or protocol (alone).
Do NOT choose a paper already introduced in a previous seminar.
Do NOT choose a paper that is too easy or too difficult for you to understand/explain.
Do NOT choose a paper co-authored by the judges (coach/sit-in/coordinator).

11. How to find an article (example)
Use PubMed (
Use appropriate search terms and formula:
Example 1: Alzheimer's disease AND O-GlcNAc
Example 2: quantitative proteomics AND biomarker AND breast cancer
Example 3: CRISPR AND Doudna J NOT Zhang F
Sample keywords:
PTM: phosphorylation, ubiquitination, histone acetylation, glycosylation, O-GlcNAc, etc.
Structure: cryo-EM, crystallography, etc. (or "structure")
Technology: proteomics, CRISPR, etc.
Disease: Alzheimer's disease, Dengue virus, etc.

12. Useful sources of disease-related information
Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM)
Genetics Home Reference
American Cancer Society "Cancer A-Z"

13. How to prepare "introductory summary"
Use the provided form.
Prepare a "structured abstract" yourself.
Structured abstract typically consists of the following elements, with headings:
Introduction (Background)
Objectives
Methods
Results
Conclusion
(See

14. How to prepare/deliver presentations (Online resources)
"Using Powerpoint and structuring a scientific talk" by Prof. Susan McConnell (ppt & YouTube)

15. Questions?