Chromatin biology in development and disease
Graduate School of Health and Medical Sciences at University of Copenhagen
This is a specialised course. This means that 80% of the seats are reserved to PhD students enrolled at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at UCPH and 20% of the seats are reserved to PhD students from other Danish Universities/faculties (except CBS).
The 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.
Learning objectives
A student who has met the objectives of the course will be able to:
1. Have a solid understanding of how chromatin is organized and what is epigenetic memory
2. Understand how chromatin and epigenome dynamics operate during mammalian development
3. Analyse and evaluate how chromatin structure influences gene regulation
4. Assess the advantages, limitations, and biological implications of experimental approaches used to study chromatin biology
5. Have an understanding of how chromatin dysregulation contributes to disease
Content
The course will cover fundamental and advanced concepts in chromatin biology with a focus on how chromatin organisation and epigenetic mechanisms regulate gene expression in development and disease. Participants will be introduced to key principles including nucleosome architecture, histone and DNA modifications, 3D genome folding, enhancer regulation and chromatin inheritance during replication.
The course will explore how chromatin landscapes are established, reprogrammed, or disrupted across developmental transitions, as well as how cells maintain genome integrity by controlling transposable elements. In addition, the course will address how chromatin dysfunction contributes to disease, and how environmental cues shape the epigenome.
Teaching will be delivered by leading international experts and will include lectures and discussions of current literature. This course is focused on molecular mechanisms underlying chromatin regulation rather than purely clinical work.
Participants
The course is open to all PhD students interested in learning about the molecular mechanisms of chromatin regulation. A basic understanding of molecular biology is required but no prior knowledge on epigenetics is necessary.
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:
Molecular Mechanisms of Disease
Cellular and Genetic Medicine
Clinical Cancer Research
Language
English
Form
Lectures, group work, poster presentations.
Course director
Jan Zylicz, Associate Professor, NNF Center for Stem Cell Medicine, BMI; jan.zylicz@sund.ku.dk
Teachers
Jan Zylicz, reNEW
Kathleen Stewart-Morgan, ICMM
Nils Krietenstein, DCI
Anja Groth, DCI
Daniel Martin Messerschmidt, ICMM
Joshua Brickman, reNEW
Jonatan Stelzer, Weizman Institute
Agnese Loda, Imagine Institue Paris
Alex Radzishesskaya, ICR London
Daphne Selvaggia Cabianca, Helmholtz Munich
Dates
28/09 - 01/10/2026
All days 9-16.
Course location
Mærsk Tower 7.15.149
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.