General Education Requirements
Course Description
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States and most families will be affected by it at some point in their lives. Cancer has been known for millennia, but research developments in the last century—and last decade—have dramatically improved the cancer treatment landscape. In this course, we will explore the biology of how cancer works, its history, and traditional and cutting-edge therapies that have been developed to treat cancer.
This class will focus on the biological mechanisms that differentiate cancer cells from healthy cells and use this understanding of biology to explain how traditional and novel cancer therapies work. This approach, along with following some of the history of treatment, will allow us to fully recognize the power of techniques like CAR T-cell immunotherapy, a cutting-edge technique that genetically modifies a patient’s own immune cells to recognize cancer cells to destroy them. We’ll also explore aspects of the cellular environment around tumors, along with the unique nutrient requirements of cancer cells, in order to understand how targeting these vulnerabilities can improve cancer treatment. Further, we’ll discuss how biomarkers—characterized through recent developments in bioinformatics—can help inform the development of tailored therapies for cancer. Class sessions will include interactive discussions and guest speakers who are experts in cancer research. This class will build towards a group Student-Led Discussion and final group audio report on a novel cancer therapy. Through this class, we’ll explore how research has revolutionized the treatment of cancer and how that might contribute to a better future.
Meet the Instructor: David Armenta
"Hi! I’m David Armenta, a Lecturer in the COLLEGE program here at Stanford. I grew up in a small, rural town in southern California, and I decided to study biology when my AP Bio teacher got me to realize something awe-inspiring: that every second, everywhere around us, all the plants, the birds, the bacteria—EVERYTHING—is alive, and biology is the study of how organisms continue to survive. I did my PhD research in Scott Dixon’s lab here at Stanford, studying a mechanism by which some cancer cells acquire and use an important nutrient that they need to survive: cysteine. Cancer is such a common and yet misunderstood disease, so I’m excited to teach this class and explore together the ways we treat it. When I’m not in the classroom, I enjoy hiking, birding (a great combo!), cooking, baking, and seeing live music."
