Methods in Cancer Neuroscience

Course

Cancer neuroscience is a growing field that incorporates the study of malignancies, the nerves that infiltrate them and neuronal influences on disease initiation, its progression and the overall state of the host. The molecular, biological, immunological and neuronal understanding of these complex interactions requires multi-disciplinary approaches and methodologies that have historically been relegated to non-cancer fields. The Methods in Cancer Neuroscience is a short, intensive sixteen day hands-on course that will provide training in techniques necessary to define the complex influence of nerves in cancer. These techniques will span the areas of modelling cancer through orthotopic or systemic inoculation, viral injections and fiber optic placement for optogenetic, cranial window implantation and two photon video-microscopy, virus injections for neuronal tract tracing, behavioral assays, primary neuron and glia isolation and co-culture with cancer cells/ immune cell, and stable cell line generation, in vivo electrophysiology and data analysis, immunolabeling of co-cultures, functional assays (i.e., neurite outgrowth, clonogenic assays, and others), mouse brain organotypic cultures, advanced analysis of calcium reporters, scRNA-seq and data analysis, among other techniques. Lectures and techniques will be taught by the leaders in the field. Trainees will also benefit from interacting with and establishing fruitful collaborations with instructors.