Course Description
This special course will provide an in-depth consideration of recent advances in molecular biology and genetics that are enhancing the understanding of the pathogenesis of human cancer and other diseases, and impacting on the practice of diagnostic pathology. Topics will be chosen to highlight specific advances in the molecular and cell biology related to disease pathogenesis, with considerations of molecular mechanisms, genetic and cellular signaling pathways, and various methodologic approaches. The program is designed as an update for both practicing pathologists and primary investigators on these specific topics as well as general trends in the field of molecular pathology. In addition to presenting a basic scientific foundation on each topic, these lectures will provide practical information concerning how this information can be applied in diagnostic and therapeutic settings. Therefore, an important overall emphasis of this course will be translational issues that link basic discoveries with the practice of pathology.

The Molecular Pathology of Acute Leukemia James R. Downing, MD, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Upon completion of this presentation, participants should be able to: Review the genetic lesions that underlie acute lymphoblastic leukemia Review the genetic lesions that underlie acute myeloid leukemia Highlight the new insights that have emerged from cancer genome sequencing projects Highlight how next-generation sequencing approaches will impact clinical practice in the coming years

The Hypoxia Inducible Factor Pathway: Molecular Biology and Role in Disease Pathogenesis Frank S. Lee, MD, PhD, University of Pennsylvania Upon completion of this presentation, participants should be able to: Understand how oxygen is sensed by cells via the Hypoxia Inducible Factor pathway Appreciate how dysregulation of this pathway can lead to diseases that include cancer and polycythemia Discuss how analysis of this pathway may have relevance to the practice of pathology in the future

Biomarker development from high throughput studies Matt van de Rijn, MD, PhD, Stanford University, Stanford, CA Upon completion of this presentation, participants should be able to: Describe the development of several clinically relevant diagnostic and prognostic markers developed form high-throughput studies Show the development of several therapeutic targets identified through expression profiling Describe the use of paraffin embedded specimens as a source of DNA and RNA for high throughput analyses

Applications of Next Generation Sequencing in Molecular Oncology Christopher L. Corless, MD, PhD, Oregon Health & Science University Upon completion of this presentation, participants should be able to: Review examples of how massively parallel sequencing (next gen sequencing) is impacting clinical tumor genotyping Be familiar with the platforms being used for next gen sequencing Describe general approaches to library preparations for next gen sequencing Understand the challenges in sequencing data analysis, assay validation, and results reporting

The evolving role of gene fusions in cancer molecular pathology Frederic G. Barr, M.D., Ph.D., National Cancer Institute Upon completion of this presentation, participants should be able to: Summarize how recurrent chromosomal translocations and other chromosomal alterations generate fusion products in cancer Compare and contrast the various methodologies by which these fusion products can be detected Describe the neoplastic categories in which fusion products have been detected and the significance of these findings, including therapeutic implications

Pancreatic Cancer 2013: Advances and Challenges Anirban Maitra, MBBS, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Upon completion of this presentation, participants should be able to: Understand the challenges associated with diagnosis and current treatment standards for pancreatic cancer Learn about the advances made with sequencing of the pancreatic cancer genome and that of its precursor lesions Understand the unique role that will be played by the community as they integrate histology with genomics based approaches in the diagnosis and therapeutic stratification of pancreatic neoplasia