Microbiome in Health and Disease

Course goals

Upon completion of this course, the students will:

• Remember the most important basics of microbiome composition and understand its role in health, disease and environment.
• Remember and understand the fundamentals of experimental design of microbiome studies including study design, sample collection and sequencing techniques.
• Develop practical skills in microbiome research with a focus on data analysis including bioinformatics, statistics and interpret the results.
• Create/design a small microbiome study and critically asses scientific literature and create a hypothesis/research question and analysis plan.
• Get introduced to the application of microbiome analysis in the clinic (or other professional environment)
• Understand the ethical considerations involved in microbiome research including the use of animal subjects, data privacy and informed consent

Content

Period (from-till): 08 February - 19 February 2027 (BMS_P3_A)

Faculty
Annelies Kers

Course description
The aim of this course is to provide students with the right knowledge to understand all aspects of the rapidly evolving microbiome field. The students will learn about the basics of microbiome composition, the relation with health, disease and the environment. The course will provide training in microbiome data analysis, both bioinformatics and statistics. Students will be challenged to critically read microbiome literature and come up with relevant research questions. During the course, formative assessment will be done using short quizzes and discussions. At the end of the course, each student will write a short project proposal addressing a question which can be solved using microbiome analysis. This course will prepare for a career in academia, industry, or governmental agencies.

Registration
You can register for this course via Osiris Student. More information about the registration procedure can be found here on the Students' site. Minimum 7 participants - maximum 20 participants.

Literature/study material used
NA

Mandatory for students in own Master’s programme:
NA
 
Optional for students in other GSLS Master’s programme:
Yes