Mechanisms of Cancer
Graduate School of Health and Medical Sciences at University of Copenhagen
This course is free of charge for PhD students at Danish universities (except Copenhagen Business School), and for PhD Students from NorDoc member faculties. All other participants must pay the course fee.
Anyone can apply for the course, but if you are not a PhD student at a Danish university, you will be placed on the waiting list until enrollment deadline. This also applies to PhD students from NorDoc member faculties. After the enrollment deadline, available seats will be allocated to applicants on the waiting list.
Special rules apply for this course
The course is mandatory for PhD students enrolled in the Graduate Programme Clinical Cancer Research.
This means that all applicants will be put on the waiting list upon registration, and after deadline all participants will be notified.
Learning objectives
A student who has met the objectives of the course will be able to:
1. Understand the molecular mechanisms and biology of cancer in general with a focus on key topics such as: oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes, cell death, genome instability, cancer invasion/metastasis, tumor microenvironment, cancer immunotherapy and other novel therapeutic strategies.
2. Understand how knowledge of molecular mechanisms and biology of cancer may be applied in cancer research.
3. Identify pitfalls and challenges of translational cancer research.
4. Critically evaluate scientific presentations and publications.
Content
This course covers the key molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in cancer development and progression, and addresses how our understanding of these mechanisms have impact on the development of novel therapeutic strategies. With a focus on basic research, this one-week course covers selected aspects of the widely accepted “Hallmarks of cancers”, including genome instability and mutation, evasion of apoptosis, tissue invasion and metastasis, and avoidance of immune destruction, all presented by active researchers in the field. A variety of research strategies and technical issues will be presented along with examples from active research projects. Finally, emphasis will be given to the connection between basic cancer research and novel developments within targeted cancer therapy. This course is an updated relaunch of a previous course (“Hallmarks of Cancer: course in tumor Biology”).
Participants
The course is relevant for PhD students and MD-PhD students who work on cancer-related PhD projects and aims to broaden their knowledge on basic and translational aspects of cancer research. As such, PhD students engaged in basic, applied, and clinical cancer research projects are all welcome.
Relevance to graduate programmes
The course is relevant to PhD students from the following graduate programmes at the Graduate School of Health and Medical Sciences, UCPH:
Clinical Cancer Research
Molecular Mechanisms of Disease
Cellular and Genetic Medicine
Language
English
Form
Lectures, group discussions, short student presentations
Course director
Course director: Daniel Hargbøl Madsen, PhD, Group Leader, Professor National Center for Cancer Immune Therapy, Herlev Hospital, daniel.hargboel.madsen@regionh.dk
Henrik Jessen Jürgensen, PhD, Postdoc, The Finsen Laboratory, Biotech Research and Innovation Centre, Univ. of Copenhagen, hjj@finsenlab.dk
Dates
24-28 November 2025
Course location
Panum and Danish Cancer Institute
Registration
Please register before 26 October 2025
Expected frequency
Yearly
Seats to PhD students from other Danish universities will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis and according to the applicable rules.
Applications from other participants will be considered after the last day of enrolment.
Note: All applicants are asked to submit invoice details in case of no-show, late cancellation or obligation to pay the course fee (typically non-PhD students). If you are a PhD student, your participation in the course must be in agreement with your principal supervisor.