Course catalogue doctoral education - VT24

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Title The future of medicine: the role of "chance" in development, evolutionary adaptation and diseases
Course number 2979
Programme Cellbiologi och genetik
Language English
Credits 1.5
Date 2018-10-29 -- 2018-11-02
Responsible KI department Institutionen för mikrobiologi, tumör- och cellbiologi
Specific entry requirements
Purpose of the course This course is suitable for doctoral students who want to deepen their understanding on the interaction between chromatin structure and the environment in human health and disease.
Intended learning outcomes Following the completion of the course, the students will be able to describe the basic principles of stochastic developmental variation, its role in functional diversity, such as differences in cell types within an organism, physiological and morphological differences among tissues and organs, differences in performance, and changes in behaviour. Moreover, the students will be able to describe the underlying mechanisms that contribute to molecular variation between single cells, with a focus on chromatin-based processes. They will thus get a deeper understanding about the dynamics of chromatin states and how deregulation of such states contributes to ageing and human diseases, such as viral infections, cancer, metabolic, neurological and psychiatric disorders. The students will also be able to design experiments for studying the transcriptome and chromatin marks in single cells and to critically evaluate results obtained with single-cell techniques.
Contents of the course The course covers chromatin-based mechanisms of transcriptome variation, and how this feature relates to cell-to-cell variation in phenotypes. Particular attention will be paid to the function of stochastic epigenetic variation during viral infection, and the deregulation of these processes in cancer, metabolic, neurological and psychiatric diseases.
Teaching and learning activities The learning activities used in the course include lectures by the course organisers and several internationally well-known scientists in the field of chromatin research, research seminars, group discussions, problem-based learning activities and research article presentations by the students. Every student will present a recent publication in the form of a journal club. To encourage active participation, substantial time will be dedicated for discussions after the lectures and research seminars in the form of group discussions and problem-based learning activities.
Compulsory elements The lectures, seminars, group discussions, problem-based learning activities and journal club presentations are compulsory. Absence has to be compensated for in agreement with the course organisers.
Examination Examination is based on the journal club presentations, and on active participation in discussions and problem-based learning activities during the course.
Literature and other teaching material The course literature will contain recent publications in the field of epigenetic inheritance and stochastic cellular processes.

Recommended reading includes:

Feinberg AP, Koldobskiy MA, Göndör A. Epigenetic modulators, modifiers and mediators in cancer aetiology and progression. Nat Rev Genet. 2016 May;17(5):284-99. doi: 10.1038/nrg.2016.13

Book: Chromatin Regulation and Dynamics, Translational Epigenetics Series, Academic Press, Elsevier; 2016. Nov. ISBN: 978-0-12-803395-1
Number of students 10 - 18
Selection of students Selection will be based on 1) the relevance of the course syllabus for the applicant's doctoral project (according to written motivation), 2) date for registration as a doctoral student (priority given to earlier registration date)
More information
Additional course leader The course director is Anita Göndör, Department of Oncology-Pathology tel 08 524 862 03 anita.gondor@ki.se, and the course co-director is Claudia Kutter, Institutionen för mikrobiologi, tumör- och cellbiologi claudia.kutter@ki.se.
Latest course evaluation Course evaluation report
Course responsible Anita Göndör
Institutionen för onkologi-patologi
08 524 862 03
anita.gondor@ki.se
Contact person Matti Nikkola
Institutionen för cell- och molekylärbiologi

Matti.Nikkola@ki.se