Infectious Disease Seminar

TRMD 7020

http://www.tulane.edu/~wiser/seminar/

Student Responsibilities• Prepare an oral report and written abstract

on a scientific paper • Attend class

– >1unexcused absence will lower grade

• Be on time• Actively participate in discussions

– Ask questions if something needs clarification– Share any relevant knowledge or experiences

you have

Choosing a Paper• Infectious diseases and anything related to

infectious diseases (ecology → molecules)

• Published within the last year (2014-15)– If more than 2 years old (2013 or earlier) you

will need to justify

• Something you are interested in or have past experience with

• Something you want to learn more about

• A continuation of a previous presentation

Restrictions• Should be original scientific paper

reporting new observations• No review papers (perhaps meta-

analyses, but justify)• No rapid communications, brief

descriptions, case studies, etc– Generally 4-6 data items (figures and tables)

and has sections (Introduction, Methods, etc)

• Highly methodological papers are discouraged

PUBMED http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/

Register Paper

• Check schedule to make sure no else has already chosen or presented the exact same paper – in both current and previous semester

• Email copy of paper or url link to seminar coordinator– at least 2 weeks before presentation date

• Can’t decide or not sure if appropriate?– send several papers (2-3) and ask for advice

Presentation Components

• Introduction

• Experimental Design

• Results

• Discussion (including critique of paper)

• Possible to combine elements– Intermix experimental design and results– Intermix results and discussion

Introduction• Concisely summarize background

information related to paper

• Does not need to be exhaustive

• Remember the audience (ie, the other students and not the faculty)

• Finish with goals or objectives of the study– Eg: hypothesis, filling in missing knowledge,

testing an application, etc– Why is this study potentially important?

Experimental Design

• Do not give detailed materials and methods

• Briefly explain what was measured and how it was measure

• Outline the experimental approach– How do the authors hope to accomplish their

goals?

• Flow charts and diagrams can be helpful

Results• The most important section• Show and explain the data (ie, figures and

tables)– Not obliged to show all data from long papers

• Should preface with methods (What was done or measured)

• During the presentation point out the relevant aspects of the data– Point out objects in micrographs, bands on

gels, etc, or rows or columns in tables

• Can also discuss significance if beneficial

Figures and Tables• Highlight (eg, boxes, arrows, color, etc)

relevant data in complex tables or figures

• Can redo table to only include relevant data

• Can tabulate data only presented in the text of paper

• Can enhance figures using drawing tools (brightness, contrast, crop, etc)

• Sometimes compatibility issues between Macs and PCs with figures and objects

Discussion• Begin with brief summary of results

• Discuss other studies that support or refute the findings of the presented paper

• State any conclusions and the strength of those conclusions

• Are there recommendations?

• Possible future studies?

• Critique the paper

Critique• Your evaluation of the paper and the

strength of the results and conclusions

• Were the goals and objectives accomplished?

• How original is the work and did it add new knowledge?

• Did the authors sufficiently address other possible interpretations?

• Was the paper clearly written and presented?

Tips on Preparing Slides• Use short phrases and avoid long

sentences• Use font sizes that are sufficiently large

(at least 24)• Make sure tables and figures are clear

and legible• Make sure there is sufficient contrast

between objects and background– Eg, dark type on light background– Avoid red type on dark background

Abstract• Should be a concise summary of the

presentation and include same components

• Do not copy the abstract of the paper• Include bibliographic information of the

paper (authors, title, journal)• Include 2-3 relevant references such as

reviews or related studies• Recommend writing and editing the

abstract concurrently with preparing the presentation

The Presentation• Be prepared and bring presentation in multiple

forms (eg, email and thumbdrive)• Relax and enjoy yourself• Try not to rush; pause occasionally• Do not read the slides• Address the audience--not the board or

podium--as much as possible• Should be at least 20 minutes, preferably 30• Try not to exceed allotted time (depends on # of

presentations)