Molecular Biotechnology and Methods BIOR94

Course description

Who should take this course

This course is an advanced course in the subject areas of Molecular Biology and is appropriate for students who focus on Molecular Biology, Biotechnology, Biomedicine and similar topics. There is a special focus on applied aspects within Molecular Biotechnology and Genetics.

Course content

The overall aim of the course is for the student to acquire in-depth knowledge in the field of molecular biotechnology. The course focuses on both theoretical and practical aspects of molecular biotechnology and its use in society. The course includes advanced molecular biology techniques to manipulate and understand biological systems at the molecular level, as well as application of these techniques to create new biotechnological products and treatments.

The theoretical part of the course deals with the underlying theory of molecular biological methods. The methods that will be covered in the course include various genetic engineering methods, molecular analysis methods for detection and characterization of DNA and other macromolecules, separation and quantification of biomolecules and methods for changing genetic material. The course also covers methodology regarding DNA sequencing and transcriptome analysis, mass spectrometry and metabolomics. The latter part of the course focuses on how molecular biology is used in applied biotechnology, including protein production, drug development and genetically modified organisms.

In the laboratory part, some of these methods are practiced. The laboratories will also be evaluated with the help of the method theory that has been covered earlier during the course. To some extent, the students will be trained in independently planning and setting up experiments. During the course, a literature study is carried out where the student practices searching for information in literature databases and analyzing, evaluating, and presenting scientific information regarding molecular methods and molecular biotechnology applications.