Phys 4620: Reproductive and Endocrine Physiology
Background
Phys 4620: Reproductive and Endocrine Physiology. I took this course in the first semester of 2011.
The course was taught by Drs. Andy Babwah and Andrew Watson. The course runs for 1 semester (2 hr/week). Lectures are usually divided into time for course material (regular lectures) and paper critiques where the professor asks the class to read a research article beforehand and will go through the methods and key findings with the class. During the critique, they share their thoughts on the authors’ findings and suggest pros and cons of the paper. On weeks that you are assigned a research article to read, you may or may not have a quiz that week on it.
Dr. Babwah is an engaging professor who is very passionate about what he does research and lectures on. He taught the first 4 lectures by giving us an overview of the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Gonadal (HPG) Axis. Although you may have heard of GnRH and LH/FSH, that is only part of the story. Dr. Babwah will talk about other key players that affect the HPG axis, namely, Kisspeptin/GPR54 signalling. As much of what we know about this has only been discovered in the last few years, most of what you will learn in class come from research papers in the field of endocrinology/reproduction. He also talks about why these physiology concepts are applicable e.g. he gave a lecture on delayed puberty and puberty disorders are diagnosed and treated. After Dr. Watson lectures, Dr. Babwah came back to wrap the course up with several lectures on the placenta and its associated abnormal conditions and treatments.
Dr. Watson is a well-known research scientist at the university. He gave lectures on sexual differentiation and determination (how sexes are specified and develop), fertilization and preimplantation embryo development, and contraception and fertility. Again, the basic physiology is explained and clinical applications are discussed.
Evaluations
Quizzes – 5%
Quizzes are based on the assigned research article for the week. Our quizzes were made of 1 very short question. The quizzes were very straightforward: they’re intended just to check if you read the paper.
Paper Critique – 15%
After you’ve seen the professors do a critique, it will be your turn. This is a short written assignment where you summarize the hypothesis, objective, methods and key findings. You also state advantages and disadvantages of the research methodology of the paper.
Midterm Exam – 35%
The midterm exam featured short- and long-answer type questions. Short answer questions are maximum half a page and long answer questions are maximum 1 full page. Our exam breakdown was as follows:
Dr. Babwah’s section: 2 short answer (S) and 2 long answer (L) questions
- S question on differentiating between types of hypogonadism
- S question on what would happen if there was continuous kisspeptin administration
- L question on describing evidence that Kisspeptin is a direct regulator of the HPG axis
- L question on difference between mouse and human GnRH neuronal development and describing the HPG axis.
Dr. Watson’s section: 1 short answer and 1 long answer
- S question on describing a feedforward mechanism
- L question on describing an experiment to determining the testis determining factor (see lecture notes for how to approach this)
Final Exam – 45%
Dr. Babwah’s section: 6 short answer questions
- A few questions similar to practice exam
Dr. Watson’s section: 1 short and 1 long answer question
- S question on contraception mechanism
- L question on different “checkpoints” in the sperm and egg interactions where abnormalities could arise
The course is unique because it focuses on both basic physiology and clinical application. You also have a chance to learn about how research experiments are set up in the real world and more importantly, how to analyze experimental findings. I found the evaluations very fair. I thoroughly enjoyed this course and I would highly recommend it to all students interested in a more application-based course on endocrine/reproduction physiology.
Advice
Read the research papers and understand why the authors proceed with a certain type of test or experiment. What research questions are they asking? Why do they use this particular method to test their hypothesis? Specific details of the papers will not be tested though as this is more of a thinking exercise.
Once you have understood the content from lectures, organize the information by making connections and categorizing similarities and differences. You are expected to organize the data presented from lectures in a meaningful and structured way during exams. For example, fertilization could be separated into a few key steps e.g. sperm-zona, sperm-oolemma, and sperm-oocyte interactions. There are also many events happening during early embryo development. In addition to knowing what happens on each day after fertilization, split up this process into several key events e.g. development of chorionic villi, development of smooth and villous chorion.
Memorize details that can strengthen your answers. A good answer will incorporate some of those key details that were covered in class e.g. a very important finding from a particular study. Throwing relevant details into your answer can help you.
For exams, make sure to be concise. Do not throw in irrelevant material. This is not your typical essay exam where you write about everything you know on the topic and throw in random things that are somewhat related to the answer. You are marked for your conciseness and ability to communicate what you know. If you think you have sufficiently answered a long answer question in ¾ of a page, that’s fine. You don’t need to fill about the remaining ¼ of the page with extraneous details. At this level of your undergraduate career, professors are looking for concise responses that DIRECTLY answer the question. Adding in other irrelevant points that do not directly answer the question shows that you do not fully understand the concept and you may lose marks for it.
When preparing for exams, practice actually writing out your answers from beginning to end. This could include creating a short outline for yourself with the key points you want to hit. For example, if the question asks about describing the evidence for Kisspeptin as a direct regulator of the HPG axis, you would make a point form list of key experiments that show this.
Disclosure and Contact Information
See the About page.
Phys 4620: Reproductive and Endocrine Physiology. I took this course in the first semester of 2011.
The course was taught by Drs. Andy Babwah and Andrew Watson. The course runs for 1 semester (2 hr/week). Lectures are usually divided into time for course material (regular lectures) and paper critiques where the professor asks the class to read a research article beforehand and will go through the methods and key findings with the class. During the critique, they share their thoughts on the authors’ findings and suggest pros and cons of the paper. On weeks that you are assigned a research article to read, you may or may not have a quiz that week on it.
Dr. Babwah is an engaging professor who is very passionate about what he does research and lectures on. He taught the first 4 lectures by giving us an overview of the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Gonadal (HPG) Axis. Although you may have heard of GnRH and LH/FSH, that is only part of the story. Dr. Babwah will talk about other key players that affect the HPG axis, namely, Kisspeptin/GPR54 signalling. As much of what we know about this has only been discovered in the last few years, most of what you will learn in class come from research papers in the field of endocrinology/reproduction. He also talks about why these physiology concepts are applicable e.g. he gave a lecture on delayed puberty and puberty disorders are diagnosed and treated. After Dr. Watson lectures, Dr. Babwah came back to wrap the course up with several lectures on the placenta and its associated abnormal conditions and treatments.
Dr. Watson is a well-known research scientist at the university. He gave lectures on sexual differentiation and determination (how sexes are specified and develop), fertilization and preimplantation embryo development, and contraception and fertility. Again, the basic physiology is explained and clinical applications are discussed.
Evaluations
Quizzes – 5%
Quizzes are based on the assigned research article for the week. Our quizzes were made of 1 very short question. The quizzes were very straightforward: they’re intended just to check if you read the paper.
Paper Critique – 15%
After you’ve seen the professors do a critique, it will be your turn. This is a short written assignment where you summarize the hypothesis, objective, methods and key findings. You also state advantages and disadvantages of the research methodology of the paper.
Midterm Exam – 35%
The midterm exam featured short- and long-answer type questions. Short answer questions are maximum half a page and long answer questions are maximum 1 full page. Our exam breakdown was as follows:
Dr. Babwah’s section: 2 short answer (S) and 2 long answer (L) questions
- S question on differentiating between types of hypogonadism
- S question on what would happen if there was continuous kisspeptin administration
- L question on describing evidence that Kisspeptin is a direct regulator of the HPG axis
- L question on difference between mouse and human GnRH neuronal development and describing the HPG axis.
Dr. Watson’s section: 1 short answer and 1 long answer
- S question on describing a feedforward mechanism
- L question on describing an experiment to determining the testis determining factor (see lecture notes for how to approach this)
Final Exam – 45%
Dr. Babwah’s section: 6 short answer questions
- A few questions similar to practice exam
Dr. Watson’s section: 1 short and 1 long answer question
- S question on contraception mechanism
- L question on different “checkpoints” in the sperm and egg interactions where abnormalities could arise
The course is unique because it focuses on both basic physiology and clinical application. You also have a chance to learn about how research experiments are set up in the real world and more importantly, how to analyze experimental findings. I found the evaluations very fair. I thoroughly enjoyed this course and I would highly recommend it to all students interested in a more application-based course on endocrine/reproduction physiology.
Advice
Read the research papers and understand why the authors proceed with a certain type of test or experiment. What research questions are they asking? Why do they use this particular method to test their hypothesis? Specific details of the papers will not be tested though as this is more of a thinking exercise.
Once you have understood the content from lectures, organize the information by making connections and categorizing similarities and differences. You are expected to organize the data presented from lectures in a meaningful and structured way during exams. For example, fertilization could be separated into a few key steps e.g. sperm-zona, sperm-oolemma, and sperm-oocyte interactions. There are also many events happening during early embryo development. In addition to knowing what happens on each day after fertilization, split up this process into several key events e.g. development of chorionic villi, development of smooth and villous chorion.
Memorize details that can strengthen your answers. A good answer will incorporate some of those key details that were covered in class e.g. a very important finding from a particular study. Throwing relevant details into your answer can help you.
For exams, make sure to be concise. Do not throw in irrelevant material. This is not your typical essay exam where you write about everything you know on the topic and throw in random things that are somewhat related to the answer. You are marked for your conciseness and ability to communicate what you know. If you think you have sufficiently answered a long answer question in ¾ of a page, that’s fine. You don’t need to fill about the remaining ¼ of the page with extraneous details. At this level of your undergraduate career, professors are looking for concise responses that DIRECTLY answer the question. Adding in other irrelevant points that do not directly answer the question shows that you do not fully understand the concept and you may lose marks for it.
When preparing for exams, practice actually writing out your answers from beginning to end. This could include creating a short outline for yourself with the key points you want to hit. For example, if the question asks about describing the evidence for Kisspeptin as a direct regulator of the HPG axis, you would make a point form list of key experiments that show this.
Disclosure and Contact Information
See the About page.