The Helminth Tools and Transgenesis Course, held at Case Western Reserve University, was designed to introduce graduate and postdoctoral students to methods with the potential to manipulate basic genetic and metabolic processes in helminths. The course used Schistosoma mansoni as the helminth model to train participants in current helminth transgenic approaches. Transgenesis is a powerful approach to investigate gene function and has been applied to model and nonmodel systems to interrogate genetic pathways. The multi-day course was supported by Burroughs Wellcome Trust and occurred July 9-13, 2018 at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. Training techniques included schistosome transfections using polyethyleneimine and electroporation of adult worms and schistosomula, detection of transcripts using quantitative PCR, gene overexpression approaches and dominant negative genetic strategies, including RNAi. The course also included the collection and shedding of cercariae, cercarial transformation, culturing and growth of schistosomula and collection of adult worms from mice.

For more information or a pdf application, please contact:
Dr. Emmitt R Jolly:
schistocourse@case.edu
phone: 1-216-368-3557