Molecular Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases

Course goals

At the end of this course, participants will

• Understand the molecular basis of comparative and universal strain typing methods
• Be able to construct and interpret simple phylogenetic trees
• Appreciate the value and limitations of molecular methods in demonstration of causal associations and direction of pathogen transmission
• Understand the value of the application of molecular data in mathematical modelling of infectious diseases
• Know the basics of coalescent theory and the use of molecular data in outbreak analysis
• Have seen examples of genome-wide association studies and epidemiological studies regarding the microbiome
• Understand the basic concepts of mathematical models of pathogen evolution and epidemiology

Content

Contact details: Educational Office Epidemiology
E-mail: msc-epidemiology@umcutrecht.nl

Registration:
You can register for this course via Osiris Student. More information about the registration procedure can be found here on the Students' site. NOTE Students of the MSc Epidemiology (Post Graduate) that register in time (i.e. at least two weeks before the start of a course) will always be admitted to the course unless it is completely full. Other students will receive information about their application two weeks before the start of the course.

Course coordinator:
Dr. A.L. (Aldert) Zomer,  UU Utrecht, Veterinary Medicine, Infectious Diseases & Immunology, Utrecht, the Netherlands

Course description:
The rapid growth of advanced molecular methods has revolutionized our understanding of epidemiology of infectious diseases. This course will introduce you to basic molecular typing tools, but also to next-generation sequencing and will illustrate applications of these tools in epidemiological studies. In this course, you will work with whole genome sequences, learn about sequence alignment and construct phylogenies. You will get an introduction to coalescent theory and see examples of the use of molecular epidemiology in outbreak analyses. Examples of genome-wide association studies and microbiome studies will be presented. The application of mathematical modelling of pathogen evolution and epidemiology will be discussed.

Literature/study material used:
-
  
Mandatory for students in own Master’s programme:
MIght be for a specialization programme of Epidemiology & Epidemiology Postgraduate
 
Optional for students in other GSLS Master’s programme:
Yes
 
Prerequisite knowledge:
Introduction to Epidemiology