The poster part of the project should include, at a minimum, the following information (5 points per section): • Introduction and general characteristics of the disease (take-home message). • Special susceptibility to suffer this cancer (i.e., white skin for melanoma, immunocompromised (HIV) for Kaposi sarcoma, etc.) Carcinogens involved? Chemical? Physical? Biological? Explain the mechanism in detail. Does this cancer have a hereditary component? If so, explain. • General characteristics of the tumor (where it originates, driver genes, subtypes, etc) • The signs and symptoms of the disease. Disease progression. Preferred sites of metastasis. What organ system(s) do metastasis affect? • Tests used to monitor the population as a preventive measure. Laboratory tests used to absolutely confirm the identity of the disease, i.e. biopsy with immunohistochemistry. Be specific for this cancer! • Methods used to reduce the incidence of the cancer (ie. Prevent second hand smoking, ban tobacco ads, etc.). • Treatment for the disease (talk about how it works and side effects). Life expectancy in 5 or 10 years after diagnosis with/without treatment. Is there a novel treatment available? If so, discuss the treatment, side effects etc. If no novel treatment is available, why not? Is work being done to develop one? • Current cases locally (San Diego/California/US when available) and globally (with incidence) B) Be VERY careful when referencing online sites. Each underscore, period, or capital letter must be exact, or we will not be able to find the site. Always check your references before reporting them by using the OPEN feature on your browser. If your reference will not open, it will not be counted toward your grade. It is important that the above information be complete, and that it be presented in a logical and orderly manner. If you don’t it will be obvious, and you will end up losing points (quality and effective communication: 10 of the 80 points). I do look at all of the posters in great detail. Your poster must be presented on a large, tri-fold, standing poster board. When selecting online references remember that not all information on the Internet is reliable. Always try to use journal articles or governmental documents as the “authority,” and not rely on commercial sites (.com). Wikipedia, WebMD, Healthline, Mayo Clinic are NOT an acceptable references. Two references with the same URL except for the last part will be considered the same reference, like different pages in a book. Include all sources used; reference books and periodicals by a standard format. Be sure that you reference all photos/charts that you use on or below the item on the poster. A minimum of five reliable, scientific references (books, publications or Internet) plus any other references used. (10 of the 80 points) To report your sources, prepare a bibliography at the end of your poster presentation and number all references used. Then in the body of your poster, provide the number of the reference you used for information. This is called end notes, which you have probably used for other research papers. As with any report, be sure that you are not directly copying or simply paraphrasing material that you use. If you choose to use direct quotes from the article, you must use quotation marks. I will be checking the references, so be sure NOT to plagiarize! Any phrase longer than 5-6 words in length taken from the source, which is then copied and pasted in the presentation might be considered plagiarism. A one-page handout (brochure) that would be suitable to explain the critical aspects of the disease to the general public (15 points). Example of brochures are available at the bottom of this document. This brochure should include useful information starting with a brief introduction about the cancer and the organ affected, risk factors, information or aid for the identification of that tumor (need to know…), preventive tests you can take if you are at high risk, what if you are diagnosed with this cancer (tests to confirm diagnosis, treatment, …), etc. AIM: Try to think on a person that might have just discovered an abnormal growth on any site of his/her body. This person has zero knowledge about cancer or biology of cancer but he/she will need useful information about that cancer, diagnostics, what to do if the symptoms match with the description and what if he/she is finally diagnosed with cancer. THE POSTER PRESENTATION WILL TAKE PLACE AT THE END APRIL/ BEGINNING OF MAY (Please, get it done ASAP since you will be pretty busy at that point with other exams/finals). Specific dates will be announced after spring break. Late projects will not be accepted. You must be able to explain the poster in detail to other students (including non-Biol316 students, since posters will be displayed to the general public). There are five required parts of an Internet reference in order to receive full credit: • the author of the article, if available. • title of the article • the date written/updated • Internet address (URL). For example, https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/index.htm is the URL or reference for this page, which should show in your browser heading. An easy way to get this reference is to copy it from your browser and paste into your word processing program, so typos will not be made. • the date you visited the site. Guidelines for Poster Presentation Your presentation is an important means of exchanging information with your fellow students. We will be learning information from these presentations that they will be tested on at the end of the semester. Therefore, it is important that you do an effective presentation. Make an outline of the information you need to present, decide how you will arrange the poster for each point you need to make. Do not write in complete sentences; use short phrases as a memory jogger of the points you need to make. Use visual aids when possible *do not forget to explain at the bottom of each picture/chart your point and reference the original source. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE! Due to the time constraints, it is very important that you practice delivering your presentation (5 minutes) and time it to see how long it takes. Adjust the content accordingly during practice to fill the allotted time. Be prepared! Your aim is to attract the interest of the general public. Therefore, the poster needs to be well structured and appealing. There is an ideal balance between too little and too much information on a poster. The poster should require some explanation in order to hold the interest of the audience, but visual aids are pretty helpful in providing the most important information in a very effective manner. Use fonts that will be large enough to read; Differentiate main titles from the body on each section (use bold, underline, bigger fonts, etc.)