ENDOCRONOLOGY (Z466)

 

Fall Semester 2003

 

Professor: Dr. Greg Demas

Office:  265 Jordan Hall

Office Hours: Monday 9:00-10:00am or by Appt.

Phone: (812) 856-0158

Email: gdemas@bio.indiana.edu

 

 

Meeting Times: 1:25-2:15 M W F                        Location: Jordan Hall A106

 

 

Textbook: Hadley, M.E. (2000). Endocrinology, 5th Ed., Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ.

 

 

 

            Endocrinology (Z466) is an upper level course intended to cover a range of topics including the structure and function of endocrine glands and the mechanisms of hormone action on physiology and behavior in higher vertebrates.  Coverage of the endocrine glands includes biosynthesis of hormones, control and secretion of hormones, physiological, morphological and behavioral actions of hormones and some common endocrine disorders.  Considerable emphasis is placed on hormonal action at the systems level.

 

 

OBJECTIVES AND POLICIES

 

1.   Attendance.  Attendance is not required but it is strongly encouraged because students will be held responsible for all announcements, assignments and material covered in class whether it is presented orally or in any assigned readings or handouts.  No exceptions are made for students who do not regularly attend class.

 

2.  Examinations.  A tentative schedule of topics is provided below, although the exact dates for some topics may change as the course progresses.  There will three non-cumulative unit exams throughout the semester and an optional cumulative final exam during the university final exam week.  Unit exams will be a mixture of short-answer, fill-in-the-blank, sentence completion, matching, multiple choice, and short essay questions.  No make-up exams will be given for the unit exams.  Students who miss a unit exam are required to take the final exam.  For students who have taken all three of the unit exams, the final exam will be optional.  If a student chooses to take the final exam and the grade is higher than one of unit exams, they may replace the lowest grade with the final exam grade.  There are no projects that can be done for extra credit; the goal of the course is to learn the body of material, as reflected in your test performance.  Scoring and grades will be reported to you as quickly as possible, usually within one week of the exam date. Students wishing to discuss the exam can do so in person by scheduling an appointment.  Exams and grades will NOT be discussed after class or over the phone.

 

3.  Research Presentation.  Each person will be required to read several primary empirical papers in the field of endocrinology.  These papers include “classics” in the field or recent, ground-breaking or controversial findings that have changed the way we think about hormones.  By mid-semester, you will be provided with a list of articles, of which you will select one that most interests you. You will be divided into groups of students based on the article you have chosen and you will be responsible for making a short presentation about the article to the class.  Although you will be expected to have a comprehensive understanding of the paper of your choosing, you will be responsible for reading ALL of the assigned papers and be prepared to ask intelligent and insightful questions in class.  In addition, a brief (2-3 page) critique of the article, including its main points, conclusions, interpretations, etc.) is to be turned in no later than Dec 3rd.  The critique is to be written individually and each student must submit their own critique (i.e., no group critiques).  Your will be graded on both your presentation and your participation in discussion of the other readings, and your written critique of the paper. Also, questions regarding the key points may appear on the unit exams.

 

4. Research Paper.  If you are taking Endocrinology for Graduate credit, an additional ~10 page research paper is required.  The paper can be on a topic of your choosing but it should be a thorough and critical review of the scientific literature on a specific topic of relevance to endocrinology.  The paper is due no later than Dec. 12th by 5:00PM.  The topic of this paper must be pre-approved by the instructor.

 

5.  Grading

 

Unit Exam 1                  30 pts  

Unit Exam 2                  30 pts

Unit Exam 3                  30 pts

Research Presentation   15 pts

 

Research Paper             20 pts

(Graduate only)

                                   

Final Exam (optional)

30 pts-replaces one of the unit exams, cannot be used in substitution of presentation or paper)

 

            Numerical grades will be determined by the difference between earned and total points (105 pts       for undergraduate and 125 pts for graduate students), adjusted to 100%.     

 

   Grade Scale

 

            A+        98-100

            A          93-97

            A-         90-92

            B+        88-89

            B          83-87

            B-         80-82

            C+        78-79

            C          73-77

            C-         70-72

            D+        68-69

            D          60-67

            F             -59

 

 

            *NOTE: grade scale is final; there will be no curving of grades

 

 

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE OF TOPICS

 

 

Date                                                                 Topic                            Readings

 

Sept 1 (M)                     Course introduction                                                                                           

 

Sept 3 (W)                    Historical perspective                                             Ch. 1

 

Sept 5 (F)                      Endocrine system overview                                    Ch. 2

 

Sept 8 (M)                     Endocrine overview (cont.)                                      Ch. 2

 

Sept 10 (W)                   Methods in endocrine research                               Ch. 3

 

Sept 12 (F)                    Methods in endocrine research                               Ch. 3

 

Sept 15 (M)                   Mechanisms of hormone action                               Ch. 4

 

Sept 17 (W)                   Mechanisms of hormone action (cont.)                    Ch. 4

 

Sept 19 (F)                    Mechanisms of hormone action   (cont.)                   Ch. 4

 

Sept 22 (M)                   Pituitary gland                                                        Ch. 5

 

Sept 24 (W)                   Pituitary: adenohypophysis                                     Ch. 5

 

Sept 26 (F)                    Pituitary: neurohypophysis                                      Ch. 6, 7

 

Sept 29 (M)                   Endocrine hypothalamus                                         Ch. 6, 7

 

Oct 1 (W)                      Sexual differentiation/Review for Exam 1                   Ch. 16

 

Oct 3 (F)                       Unit Exam 1

 

Oct 6 (M)                      Sexual differentiation (cont.)                                      Ch. 16

 

Oct 8 (W)                      Male reproduction                                                    Ch. 17

 

Oct 10 (F)                     Male reproduction (cont.)                                           Ch. 17

 

Oct 13 (M)                     Female reproduction                                                 Ch. 18

 

Oct 15 (W)                    Female reproduction (cont.)                                       Ch.18,19

 

Oct 17 (F)                     Female reproduction (cont.)                                        Ch. 19

 

Oct 20 (M)                     Pineal gland and melatonin                                        Ch. 20

 

Oct 22 (W)                    Hormones and biological rhythms                               Ch. 20                                                                                                  

 

Oct 24 (F)                     Endocrine paper presentations                                    Papers

           

Oct 27 (M)                     Adrenal steroids and the HPA axis                             Ch. 15

 

Oct 29 (W)                    Adrenal catecholamines and the SNS                         Ch. 14                                                  

 

Oct 31 (F)                     Endocrine paper presentations                                    Papers

 

Nov 3 (M)                      Endocrine pancreas                                                   Ch. 11

 

Nov 5 (W)                      GI peptides                                                               Ch. 10

 

Nov 7 (F)                       Endocrine Paper Presentations                                   Papers

 

Nov 10 (M)                     Unit Exam II                                                                            

 

Nov 12 (W)                    Thyroid hormones                                                       Ch. 13

                       

Nov 14 (F)                     Endocrine paper presentations                                     Papers

 

Nov 17 (M)                     Thyroid hormones (cont.)                                            Ch. 13                                      

 

Nov 19 (W)                    Parathyroid glands                                                     Ch. 9                                                                           

 

Nov 21 (F)                     Endocrine paper presentations                                     Papers

 

Nov 24 (M)                     Parathyroid glands (cont.)                                           Ch. 9   

 

Nov 26 (W)                    Thanksgiving Break-No Class

 

Nov 28 (F)                     Thanksgiving Break-No Class

 

Dec 1 (M)                      GH and growth factors                                                Ch. 12

 

Dec 3 (W)                     Growth factors/Review for Unit Exam III                         Ch. 12

 

Dec 5 (F)                       Unit Exam III

 

Dec 8 (M)                      Neurohormones and Neuromodulators                          Ch. 21

 

Dec 10  (W)                   Review Session for Final Exam  

 

Dec 12  (F)                    Study for Final  

 

Dec 19 (F)                     Final Exam (optional; students who missed an exam (1, 2 or 3) during the semester are REQUIRED to take final).  The final is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 19th from 10:15 AM to 12:15 PM in JH 106

 

 

ACADEMIC ETHICS

       All students enrolled in courses at Indiana University should be familiar with the University's policy on academic integrity. The instructor is committed to maintaining a fair assessment of student performance in this course. The unit exams and final exam are closed-book exams. No notes may be used during the examination and you may not confer with your fellow students or look at other examinations for answers during the exam period. Prior to the examinations, all students are encouraged to study in small groups to facilitate your preparation for the tests. However, once you enter the examination room, you are expected to work alone.

 

 

ACCOMMODATIONS FOR DISABLED STUDENTS 

     It is the policy of Indiana University to provide every reasonable, appropriate, and necessary accommodation to qualified disabled students. The University's schools and academic centers evaluate and judge applications on an individual basis and no categories of disabled individuals are automatically barred from admission. The privacy rights of each disabled person are honored to the fullest extent possible. The University's interest in a students disabilities only for the purpose of accommodating his/her specific disability, thereby providing an academically qualified disabled student access to programs and activities accorded all other qualified students. Whenever generally accessible facilities do not adequately accommodate a specific disability, the University makes every reasonable accommodation and program or facility adjustment to assure individual access. If you have a registered disability with the University office, then you must identify yourself to one of the instructors by the end of the third week of the quarter so that any accommodations (e.g., large font exams, separate examination facilities) can be made.

 

REFERENCE RESOURCES

 

Bentley, P.J. (1998). Comparative Vertebrate Endocrinology, 3rd Ed., Cambridge University Press.

 

Brown, R. (1994). An Introduction to Neuroendocrinology, Cambridge University Press.

 

Griffin, J.E., Ojeda, S.R. (2000).  Textbook of Endocrine Physiology, 4th Ed., Oxford University Press.

 

Nelson, R.J. (2000) An Introduction to Behavioral Endocrinology, 2nd Ed., Sinauer Press.

 

Norman, A.W. and G Litwack (1997). Hormones, 2nd Ed., Academic Press.

 

Norris, D.O. Vertebrate Endocrinology (1997). 3rd Ed. Academic Press.

 

Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism, Elsevier Science (http://www.trends.com/tem)