Basic Mechanisms of Chromosome Biology
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 insight into DNA-related cellular processes
2. Understand fundamental mechanisms of gene expression, DNA replication, and inheritance at an advanced level
3. Understand how cells divide their genomes in mitosis at an advanced level
4. Gain insight into how mistakes in chromosome biology mechanisms lead to human disease
5. Gain insight into current experimental methodologies used to study mechanisms of chromosome biology
Content
The course will describe the major processes that ‘read’ chromosomal DNA and how the products are processed. In other words, students will get high-level insight into the manner in which chromosomes are organised, how they are ‘remodelled’ to enable their use, how transcription of the genes in DNA occurs, how the DNA is replicated, and how different crucial junctures in chromosome segregation, namely meiosis and mitosis occur. The Faculty of Health houses some of the world experts in these fundamental areas of research, meaning that the teaching will not only provide information of the basic mechanisms of chromosome biology, but also contain numerous examples of current state-of-the-art techniques used to address frontline research questions in this area, as well as their relevance for human health and disease.
Participants
PhD students with basic knowledge about DNA and chromosomes, obtained through a Masters or Bachelor degree in topics such as Biology, Biochemistry, or Molecular Biomedicine, will be helpful.
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
Language
English
Form
Lectures and discussion
Course director
Jesper Svejstrup, Professor and Deputy Head of Department (Research), ICMM, jsvejstrup@sund.ku.dk
Teachers<(b>
- Jesper Svejstrup, Professor, Institute of Cellular and Molecular Medicine (ICMM)
- Niels Erik Møllegaard, Associate Professor, ICMM
- Chunaram Choudhary, Professor, Biomedical Institute (BMI)
- Fena Ochs, Associate Professor, ICMM
- Niels Krietenstein, Associate Professor, Danish Cancer Institute (DCI)/ICMM
- Lea Gregersen, Associate Professor, ICMM
- Simon Bekker Jensen, Professor, ICMM
- Peter Haahr, Associate Professor, ICMM
- Henrik Nielsen, Professor MSO, ICMM
- Tom Miller, Associate Professor, ICMM
- Anja Groth, Professor, DCI/ICMM
- Kathleen Stewart Morgan, Associate Professor, ICMM
- Ying Liu, Professor, ICMM
- Ian Hickson, Professor, ICMM
- Marin Barisic, Associate Professor, DCI/ICMM
- Jakob Nilsson, Professor, DCI/ICMM
- Andrew Blackford, Associate Professor, ICMM
- Charlie Swanton, Professor, Crick Institute, UK
Dates
17-20 November 2026
Course location
Panum Institute, rooms to be decided.
Registration
Please register before 17/10
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.