| Responsible Department | Department of Veterinary Disease Biology | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Course Dates | Module A: April 17th - April 27th 2012 Module B: April 1st - May 11th 2012 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Course Abstract | Module A: Molecular Microbiology and Cell-interaction. Module B: Bacterial typing and antimicrobial resistance Module C: Course report-only for full course | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Course Registration | To sign up for the course, please send an e-mail to leth@life.ku.dk | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Deadline for Registration | Students are encouraged to enlist for the course before March 1st, but late entrances will be accepted if seats are available. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Credits | 15 (ECTS) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Level of Course | PhD course | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Language of Instruction | English | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Course Content | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| The theoretical and practical teaching is concentrated in a 4-week period and is split in 2 individual modules, which can be taken as separate courses. Lectures and practical exercises will be integrated to obtain a close link between practical and theoretical aspects of the topics covered. At the end of the course, the students who take modules A and B can chose to spend 1-2 weeks producing an essay on a subject within infection microbiology (module C). The essay will form the basis for the evaluation of the course, provided the student has participated in more than 80% of the course activities. Students who take module A and B as individual courses cannot pass if participation has been below 80% The objective of the course is to give the students a thorough understanding of important subjects within infection microbiology. Module A provides theoretical insight and hand-on experience with the most important tools required for addressing basic scientific questions using molecular microbiology and a basic hand-on experience with the use of cell cultures in studies of host-parasite interactions. In addition to a number of practical exercises, the module contains lectures covering the theoretical aspects of the various techniques as well as the potential pitfalls encountered when working with bacteria other than Escherichia coli. The course will cover PCR techniques, DNA cloning and sequencing, gene specific and random mutagenesis, as well as analysis of gene expression using various techniques, including trouble-shooting. In the cell culture part of the module, preparation and maintenance of cell cultures, primary cell cultures, adhesion and invasion assays will be covered. The teacher responsible for this Module is Line E. Thomsen (Department of Veterinary Disease Biology, LIFE) Module B will introduce the participants to basic concepts and current methods of bacterial strain typing and provide them with the knowledge and technical skills necessary to design and carry out research on antimicrobial resistance This module covers up-to-date molecular techniques for bacterial typing, including band-based (PFGE, AFLP and MLVA) and sequence-based (MLST and spa typing) methods. Both phenotypic (antimicrobial susceptibility testing and detection of specific resistance phenotypes of medical importance) and genotypic (plasmid, cassette and gene typing) analysis of antimicrobial resistance will be addressed by lectures and laboratory practicals. Theoretical exercises are planned at the beginning of each morning to activate students in the solution of conceptual and methodological problems. To make the course more interesting and stimulating, the laboratory work will be organized in the form of case stories reproducing real situations and problems in clinical and epidemiological settings (problem-based learning). The case stories will focus on antimicrobial resistant bacteria of clinical relevance such as extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacteriaceae and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Two days will be dedicated to preparation and presentation of posters on topics of interest chosen by the students. The teacher responsible for this Module is Luca Guardabassi (Department of Veterinary Disease Biology, LIFE) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teaching and learning Methods | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preparations (1 week) Module A: seminars and practicals (2 weeks full time) Module B: seminars and practicals (2 weeks full time) Module C: Writing of essay (1-2 weeks) Modules A and B can be taken individually as separate courses. Module C is the obligatory evaluation report for the full course, and cannot be taken as a separate course. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning Outcome | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| The main objective of the course is to provide a theoretical and practical introduction into the main subject areas within molecular microbiology, with emphasis on tools to investigate host-pathogen interactions and typing. After completing the course, the student should be able to: Knowledge: Describe the different tools used to investigate bacteria Describe aspects of pathogenic bacteria, including Skills: Work in the laboratory with selected experimental techniques and methods with are applied when working with bacteria Compare and apply methods to solve microbial problems Competences: Cooperate with fellow students about carrying out and evaluating laboratory experiments Carry out molecular microbiology experiments on other bacteria | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Course Material | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Course material will be send prior to course start | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Course Coordinator | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Line Elnif Thomsen, leth@life.ku.dk, Department of Veterinary Disease Biology/Section for Microbiology, Phone: 353-32754 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other Lecturers | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Staff from responsible department as well as scientists from other research institutions in Denmark and in other countries. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Course Fee | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| All ph.d students will be charged DKK 3,000 for materials for module A and DKK 3,000 for module B. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Type of Evaluation | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| The full course: Active participation (80% participation in each module) and writing of an essay. Students who take module A and/or B as individual courses cannot pass if participation has been below 80% | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Work Load | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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