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Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutritional Sciences
Division of Human Nutrition University of Alberta
AFNS 601
Seminar in Human Nutrition and Metabolism
Course Outline Winter 2016AFNS 601 is a required course for all MSc and PhD students.
Course coordinator:
Dr. Cathy Chan, Professor of Human Nutrition Office: 6-126B LKS.
Email: [email protected] Office phone: 780-492-9939
Office hours: Arranged by email or phone.
Term: Fall or Winter
Meeting time and location:
Wednesday 12:00-1:00, ECHA L1 150 Credits: 1
Course description:
Covers specialized topics of current interest to graduate students in AFNS.
Presentations will be given by students, faculty and invited speakers. Students register in one of four sections - Animal Science, Plant Science, Food Science or Human Nutrition. Attendance is required of all graduate students throughout their program. MSc students normally register for one term in year 2, and are required to present one seminar; PhD students normally register for one term in each of year 1 and 3, and are required to present one seminar per term.
Only open to graduate students in AFNS.
Objectives:
1. To provide students with opportunities to present on their thesis topic;
2. To provide students with advice and feedback in preparing oral presentations;
3. To use these opportunities to develop skills in evaluating research and public speaking.
Students will engage in the following activities:
• Attend all scheduled Wed noon seminars in the Fall 2016 term that are coordinated by the Division of Human Nutrition (AFNS). These seminars
2 provide an opportunity to learn about research in human nutrition and related areas such as diabetes, cancer, obesity, lipid metabolism, infant and child health, population health. Students should attend as many nutrition-related seminars that are held at times outside of the Wed noon time slot as possible.
• Attend additional seminars on such topics as the basics of research methodology including formulation of research questions and objectives;
study design; selection and evaluation of endpoints; sample/model selection; appropriate methodology; summarizing and explaining results;
interpretation of results; comparing and contrasting studies.
• Discuss current research relevant to human nutrition.
• Write a research abstract.
• Present a research seminar, either as a research proposal or as results from your own research.
Grading
This is a Pass-Fail course
§ MSc students must register for 1 term (normally during the 2nd year of their program). PhD students must register for 2 terms (normally during the 2nd and 4th year of their program).
§ Requirements:
o Students are expected to attend at least 75% of the seminars during the term in which they are registered.
o PhD students must present 1 seminar during each of the 2 terms in which they are registered.
o MSc students must present a seminar during the term in which they are registered.
o Students must chair at least one research seminar during the term in which they are registered.
o Students must invite and ensure attendance to their seminar by at least two Faculty members (preferably from their committee).
o Students must receive a passing grade for their seminar as determined by the course instructor and two other Faculty members who are in attendance.
§ Seminars will be evaluated by the course instructor and the Faculty members invited by the students as well as other 601 students. See AFNS 601 Presentation Feedback Form. Oral feedback will be provided to you immediately following the seminar you give and written evaluations will be returned to your supervisor for discussion at a suitable time.
§ Students who attend 75% of the seminars during the term in which they are registered, chair presentations for which they were assigned, and successfully complete 1 (MSc) or 2 (PhD) research presentation(s) following the criteria outlined will be assigned a “pass” in the course.
Failure to meet the requirements as outlined above will result in a
“fail”.
3 Academic Integrity
“The University of Alberta is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity and honesty. Students are expected to be familiar with these
standards regarding academic honesty and to uphold the policies of the University in this respect. Students are particularly urged to familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Code of Student Behaviour
(www.ualberta.ca/secretariat/appeals.htm) and avoid any behavior, which could potentially result in suspicions of cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation of facts and/or participation in an offence. Academic dishonesty is a serious offence and can result in suspension or expulsion from the University.” (GFC 2003)
Plagiarism and Cheating
The University of Alberta is committed to highest standards of academic integrity and honesty. Students must be familiar with standards regarding academic honesty and uphold policies of the University. Academic dishonesty is a serious offence and can result in suspension or expulsion from the University.
All students at the University of Alberta are subject to the Code of Student Behaviour, as outlined at
http://www.governance.ualberta.ca/en/CodesofConductandResidenceCommun ityStandards/CodeofStudentBehaviour.aspx. Students should familiarize
themselves with the current version of the code and ensure they do not
participate in any inappropriate behaviour as defined by it. Key components of the code specific to this course include the following statements. Plagiarism:
no student shall submit the words, ideas, images or data of another person as the student’s own in any academic writing, essay, thesis, project, assignment, presentation or poster in a course or program of study. Cheating: no student shall represent another’s substantial editorial or compositional assistance on an assignment as the student’s own work. The most recent version of the Code of Student Behaviour can be found on line on the University of Alberta web site.
Students should speak with the course instructor about any questions or
concerns about the code. Students should be particularly aware of the code as it pertains to internet and library research, use of previous class notes,
reclamation plans of former students and interviews or discussions with others.
4 Course Format and Processes
Seminar Topics:
The purpose of this course is to provide students with the opportunity to present, discuss, and critically appraise research, and to highlight current research activities conducted by members of the Division of Human Nutrition, AFNS, and their guests. Students may also present at “Journal Club” on a regular basis, as time allows.
Seminar Presentation Guidelines Seminar Abstract:
§ Prepare a short abstract (< 250 words) summarizing the content of your seminar.
§ Send the abstract to your supervisor for approval at least 2 weeks before your presentation.
§ After approval by your supervisor, send the date, title, abstract and name of your supervisor(s) to Stephanie Ramage
([email protected]) and Laurie Drozdowski ([email protected]). The deadline for information going to Stephanie and Laurie is 4 p.m., two Mondays before your seminar].
[Stephanie will advertise to the nutrition division and Laurie will
advertise to all members of the Centre for Health and Nutrition, which reaches a broader audience.]
Seminar Content:
§ Seminars should be 30-35 min (PhD) or 20-22 min (MSc) in length followed by 5-10 minutes of questions.
§ The following elements may be addressed during each presentation.
o Note: that these are suggestions, and are not required content o Background:
§ Provide information about the importance of the topic
§ Summarize the work conducted thus far by others and by you or your research group
• (eg. describe TCA cycle, grounded theory)
• What is known about this topic?
• What is not known about this topic?
• Why is this study needed?
• What is unique about this study compared to other studies in the same area?
§ Outline the specific objectives and hypotheses (if appropriate) o Methodology:
§ Describe the research or study design (eg. RCT, cohort)
§ Research subjects/model and basic approach
• the participants/model used and its suitability to answer the research question
• Describe the patient population, reasons for inclusion/exclusion, baseline characteristics, differences between control and test groups
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§ Describe the methods used
§ Summarize the process, how it works, the science behind the methods
§ Describe the analysis of data (eg. coding of qualitative data, measurement of plasma glucose levels)
• Briefly describe the process
• Describe the selection and suitability of endpoints
• Discuss strengths, limitations, alternate methodologies
• Define and describe key statistical concepts o Results
§ Define key terminology (eg relative risk, HOMA IR index)
§ Summarize main findings
§ Present key tables, figures o Discussion:
§ Restate the overall question and objectives, and the major findings with respect to each one
§ Were the study objectives met?
§ Describe how these results compare to the findings of others, and why results were similar/dissimilar
§ Discuss the suitability of the study design to answer the research question, strengths, limitations, suggestions for improvement
§ Discuss the suitability of the methods to answer the research question
§ Discuss strengths, limitations, alternate methodologies
§ Implications of findings for research, clinical care, etc.
Student Chair Role:
§ Contact the presenter for a title and CV. Deadline is 1 week before the seminar.
§ Write a brief introduction to introduce them (name, educational background, supervisor, thesis project, presentation title).
§ Fill in the name of the speaker and title of the presentation on the AFNS 601 Presentation Feedback Form. Make 6 copies (talk to Tracy about getting copies made for the AFNS 601 class) and distribute them to AFNS students and the instructor at the seminar.
§ Seminar duties:
o A/V: assist with A/V set-up and take down.
o Evaluation (for AFNS 601 student presentations only): distribute AFNS 601 Presentation Feedback Forms at the beginning of the seminar, ask the audience to fill them out and return them to you before leaving, collect feedback forms and return to course
instructor.
6 o Seminar: introduce the speaker, thank speaker, initiate and close
discussion time.
o Time: the Student Chair is responsible to ensure the seminar runs on time. Seminars should begin at 12:05pm, and the discussion time must finish no later than 1:00pm.
A/V:
§ The classroom for the seminar is a moderately smart classroom but does not have a computer.
§ Speakers are responsible for the operation of the A/V equipment, however the Student Chair should provide assistance.
§ A/V Instructions:
o Reserve a laptop and a cord to connect to the projector from AFNS Technical Support if needed. You must specifically ask for this cord if you need it.
o Instructions for running the A/V equipment are located on the podium.
o Load speaker presentation. Have A/V ready to go 10 min early.
o Draper button (for screen) push ‘up’, ‘down’, or ‘stop’.
o When finished push ‘off’ button.
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Schedule:
The roster of speakers will be determined during the second week of class.
Fall Semester
Date Activity/Presenter Host
September 7 First day of class September 14
September 21
September 28 LKS 1040 not available
October 5 October 12 October 19
October 26 No class November 2
November 9 No class – Reading week November 16
November 23 November 30
December 7 Last day of class
Winter Semester
Date Activity/Presenter Host
January 11 No class
January 18 First day of class January 25
February 1 Guest speaker P. Brauer C. Chan & R. Bell February 8
February 15
February 22 No class – Reading week March 1
March 8 March 15 March 22 March 29 April 5
April 12 Last day of class
