Fundamentals of Experimental Design and Research Techniques Mini-Course

This six-week virtual course hosted by the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC) introduces modern experimental techniques commonly used in biomedical and cancer research. The series provides trainees with a conceptual framework for how laboratory experiments are designed, executed, and interpreted in contemporary research settings.

Course topics include:

Week 1: Experimental Design & Research Foundations
Week 2: Genome Engineering
Week 3: Cell Models & In Vitro Research
Week 4: Immunofluorescence & Flow Cytometry
Week 5: High-Throughput Screening & Sequencing
Week 6: Modeling Cancer In Vivo

Each session will focus on the principles behind widely used laboratory methods, how and when to apply them, and how to interpret real-world data generated from these approaches. Lectures will incorporate examples from their own cancer research to demonstrate how these techniques are used to answer meaningful biological questions.

The course is intended for undergraduates, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, research technicians, and any trainees who are interested in or beginning laboratory-based research. No prior advanced laboratory experience is required.

Sessions will be led by senior postdoctoral scientists and early-career faculty members with extensive hands-on experience in research methodology. Lectures will be delivered live on Zoom and will include interactive components such as live polling and Q&A to encourage engagement and discussion.

Course details

Dates: June 9 to July 14, 2026 (6 sessions, 1 session per week)
Format: Virtual (Zoom)
45-minute lecture + live Q&A
Registration link: Click here
Deadline to register: June 2, 2026
Capacity: 50

Course directors

Alice Shin, PhD
Karen J. Dunbar, PhD
Hiroshi Nakagawa, MD

Course lecturers

Karen J. Dunbar, PhD
- Week 1
Karen Dunbar, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Pathology and Cell Biology at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Her current research is focused on understanding how fibroblasts shape the tumor microenvironment and how their interactions with other cell types within the tumor microenvironment affect cancer initiation, progression and therapeutic responses. Her current focus is esophageal cancer and the associated precancerous conditions, including Barrett's esophagus. She integrates complex in vitro and ex vivo co-culture platforms with advanced imaging technologies to model cell-cell interactions within the tumor microenvironment. Her work is support by an American Gastroenterological Association Research Scholar Award.
Gizem Efe, PhD
- Week 2
Gizem Efe, PhD is currently an Irving Cancer Early Scholar at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, where she investigates the mechanisms driving cancer metastasis dormancy and organotropism. Her studies focus on understanding how distinct mutations contribute to cancer heterogeneity, metastatic dormancy, and organ-specific metastasis. By integrating genome engineering, functional genomics, and advanced model systems, including patient-derived organoids and in vivo models, she aims to uncover actionable pathways that can be translated into more precise and effective cancer therapies.

She completed her training at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at Columbia University under the mentorship of Dr. Anil K. Rustgi and Dr. Carol Prives. During her doctoral training, she investigated the gain-of-function properties of mutant p53 in gastrointestinal cancers. Her work identified novel mechanisms by which specific p53 mutations actively promote metastasis, underscoring the importance of studying allele-specific effects rather than treating TP53 mutations as a uniform class. This study has contributed to a growing recognition that tumor suppressor mutations can acquire oncogenic functions, reshaping current understanding of cancer metastasis and opening new avenues for targeted intervention.

Throughout her career, she has been supported by competitive fellowships, including NIH/NCI F31 and T32 awards, and has contributed to multiple peer-reviewed publications in high-impact journals. Beyond biomedical innovation, she is deeply committed to fostering collaborative and interdisciplinary work that bridges fundamental research and clinical application. One of the major areas of her current research program builds on this foundation by systematically dissecting how different tumor suppressor variants regulate clonal evolution and organ-specific metastasis, with the ultimate goal of informing translational strategies and improving patient outcomes. Her long-term goal is to integrate cancer research with patient-centered approaches, ensuring that discoveries at the bench are informed by clinical needs and can be effectively translated into meaningful therapeutic advances.
Ricardo Cruz-Acuna, PhD
- Week 3
Dr. Ricardo Cruz-Acuña is an Assistant Professor of Cancer Engineering in the College of Dental Medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. He is also an affiliate faculty member of the Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) at Columbia University and a member of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC). He earned his PhD in Bioengineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology under the mentorship of Dr. Andrés J. García and later conducted postdoctoral research in the laboratory of Dr. Anil K. Rustgi at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. As a Principal Investigator, his research program focuses on two key areas: (1) elucidating how ECM biomechanics influence tumorigenesis through interactions with TP53 mutations, and (2) defining the role of ECM composition and integrin signaling in modulating therapy resistance. His work is supported by the NIH through a K01 Career Development Award, which provides funding to advance biomaterials-based cancer models.

The Cruz-Acuña Lab focuses on integrating aspects of biomaterial engineering, cell and molecular biology, and 3D organoid biology to create engineered 3D organoid platforms that reveal novel mechanisms of tumorigenesis and organ development that can be leveraged for therapeutic studies and personalized medicine applications. Their primary focus is on the oral-esophageal tract, with potential applications to other gastrointestinal organs. Their goal is to (1) help elucidate how cancer progresses within a dynamically evolving extracellular matrix to help inform the development of novel therapeutics, and (2) reveal novel mechanisms important for epithelial developmental patterning and organogenesis.
Robert Hincapie, PhD
- Week 4
Robert Hincapie, PhD, is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Correa Lab at Columbia University. Robert’s research focuses on developing biomaterials for cellular immune engineering. These materials, such as injectable hydrogels, are engineered to present signals that recruit and modulate immune cells. Robert is particularly interested in exploring the roles of glycan-based signals to direct immunity and in developing 3D platforms for tissue cell culture. His research and training is supported by the National Institutes of Health and jointly by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund and the Charles H. Revson Foundation.
Sam Flashner, PhD
- Week 5
Samuel Flashner, PhD is an Associate Research Scientist at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. His overarching research objective is to map and leverage therapeutic vulnerabilities to cure squamous cell carcinoma. Specifically, Dr. Flashner integrates multiomics (e.g. next generation sequencing and metabolomics), high-throughput drug and CRISPR screening, and patient derived organoid models to unwind the intersection of cancer cell metabolism and DNA damage. His work is supported by the American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellowship.
Alice E. Shin, PhD
- Week 6
Alice Shin, PhD, is a postdoctoral research scientist at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Her current research is on colorectal cancer and therapeutic response, with a focus on PI3K/AKT and RAS/MAPK signaling pathways. She develops and applies clinically integrated tumor modeling platforms (e.g., patient-derived organoids, in vivo models, and single-cell genomics) to identify genotype-specific therapeutic vulnerabilities. Dr. Shin leads multi-institutional translational collaborations to integrate experimental systems with real-world clinical and genomic datasets. Her work is supported by the American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellowship.