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From the office of the Director of Studies in Molecular Biomedicine

University of Copenhagen Molecular Biomedicine

Course information on obligatory courses from the Molecular

Biomedicine curriculum, 1st year

Title:

General Chemistry I (First part of the course “General Chemistry”)

ECTS points (out of a total of 60 ECTS points per year):

7.5 ECTS

Course description:

The course is an introduction to general chemistry and chemical reactions with

special emphasis on areas in chemistry of particular importance for the

understanding of biochemical and biomedical topics.

After following the course the student should

- be able to balance chemical equations and perform stochiometric

calculations.

- have knowledge of central topics of relevance for the understanding of

chemical phenomena relevant for chemical and biochemical laboratory

techniques.

- have knowledge about fundamental chemical structures and chemical

reaction, with special emphasis on the properties and reactions of

organic compounds in biochemical systems.

- should have the necessary basic chemical background for the

understanding of the central biochemical and biomedical topics.

Obligatory Textbooks:

William Brown & Thomas Poon : “Introduction to Organic Chemistry", 4. ed.,

2010. Saunders Golden Sunburst Series. (ISBN: 9780470384671)


W.L. Masterton and C. N. Hurley : "Chemistry, Principles and Reactions", 6. ed.

2008, Thomson. (ISBN: 9780495387732)





Title:

General Chemistry II (Second part of the course “General Chemistry”)


7.5 ECTS

Course description:

The course is a practical laboratory course. The course aims at introducing

basic chemical laboratory techniques and teaching the student good laboratory

skills and practice. The student will learn to use simple laboratory equipment

and work with practical chemical problems in the laboratory. Special emphasis

is placed on methods of relevance for later practical biochemical laboratory

work.

After following the course the student should

- have knowledge about how to work safely and responsibly in a chemical

laboratory.

- have acquired basic skills in chemical laboratory practice and the

practical use of experimental chemical methods.

- be able to interpret and work according to a chemical receipt or

description of an experiment.

- be able to separate mixtures of compounds by means of chromatography

and extraction and should be able to explain the underlying principles.

- be able to keep a well-structured laboratory journal that satisfies basic

requirements of readability and precision.


- be able to carry out simple physico-chemical measurement and perform

simple calculations and data manipulations afterwards by means of

standard software.


William Brown & Thomas Poon : “Introduction to Organic Chemistry", 4. ed.,

2010. Saunders Golden Sunburst Series. (ISBN: 9780470384671)

W.L. Masterton and C. N. Hurley : "Chemistry, Principles and Reactions", 6.

ed., 2008. Thomson. (ISBN: 9780495387732)





Title:

Biochemistry


7.5 ECTS

Course description:

The purpose of the course is to provide a detailed insight into how organisms

receive the necessary energy from their environment and synthesize their

macromolecular building blocks based on an understanding of chemical

reactions. At the conclusion of the course the students should be able to: (1)

Describe the reactions (strategies, substrates, products, reaction types, energy

investment or yield, and balanced reactions) involved in the following

metabolic processes: glycolysis, the citric acid cycle, electron transport,

oxidative phosphorylation, gluconeogenesis, the pentose phosphate pathway,

glycogen metabolism, lipid metabolism, amino acid metabolism and nucleotide

metabolism. (2) Explain how the processes are localized in the cell/organism

and how they are regulated. (3) Describe how metabolic diseases can arise

from blocks in metabolic pathways. (4) Explain how the processes are

integrated and coordinated in the organism.


David L. Nelson and Michael M. Cox: “Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry”, 5.

ed., 2008. W. H. Freeman and Company. (ISBN: 9781429208925)





Title:

Comparative Anatomy


7.5 ECTS

Course description:

The student will get an understanding of how basic biological needs have found

different anatomical and physiological solutions across the biological diversity

found within vertebrates. Th4 course is based on lectures and a number of lab

sessions where a number of representative vertebrates are dissected by the

students followed by a number of lab sessions each focusing at specific organ

systems (e. g. respiratoty, excretory- and sensoryorgans).

Description of obtained skills: After the course the students are expected to be

able to:

- Describe the basic structure of the metazoan tree of life.

- Describe the systematics of vertebrates (to the level of class)

- Fluent in relevant zoological and morphological terminology

- Describe the morphology of selected vertebrates including position,

morphology and function of their organs and organ systems

- Make comparative descriptions across the vertebrates of the position,

morphology and function of selected organs

- Dissiminate their knowledge regarding the above in written form



Hickman, Eisenhour, Keen & Larson: “Integrated principles of zoology”. 14th

ed., 2008 . McGraw Hill (ISBN: 9780071287975)





Title:

Protein Chemistry and Enzymology I


7.5 ECTS

Course description:

Competencies: Students will obtain insight into the correlation between the

physicochemical properties of proteins and their function

Content: A basic theoretical course n protein chemistry and enzymology. A

thorough back ground in the chemistry of the amino acids, levels of protein

structure, protein structure determination, protein stability and folding, protein

dynamics enzyme kinetics and enzyme mechanisms, protein-ligand

interactions as well as protein modifications will be obtained. Special emphasis

will be on the link between protein structure and function and the

understanding of protein-relevant diseases and the treatment of such.




“Problems and Notes for Protein Chemistry and Enzymology I for Molecular

Biomedicine”, Department of Molecular Biology, University of Copenhagen,

2009.





Title:

Protein Chemistry and Enzymology II


7.5 ECTS

Course description:

Competencies: Students will obtain insight into the correlation between the

physicochemical properties of proteins and their function as well as work in

laboratories concerned with protein chemistry and enzymology, including data

analysis and use of laboratory equipment.

Content: A basic theoretical and practical course in protein chemistry and

enzymology. The theoretical part focuses on the following themes: “proteoms:

from sequence to function” and “folding related diseases”. In the practical part

of the course basic skills in protein purification, protein characterization and

steady-state kinetics will be acquired. Among other techniques, the following

will be used: Chromatography, electrophoresis, mass spectrometry,

spectroscopy, fluorescence, protein bioinformatics and molecular graphics.




“Lab-manual and methods for Protein Chemistry and Enzymology II for

Molecular Biomedicine”, Department of Molecular Biology, University of

Copenhagen, 2009.





Title:

Basic Human Biology


15 ECTS

Course description:

The purpose of the course is to give insight in the structures of elements in the

human organism: the cell, selected tissues and organs. The goal is for the

students to be able to:

- describe the structure of the cell and organelles with a specification of

functions

- describe each step in the mitosis

- describe passive and active transport over the cell membrane

- describe subdivisions of selected tissues and structures

- use the Latin terminology to describe body parts, organs, muscles,

nerves, bones, vessels and joints

- describe the skin and associated structures: hair, nails and specialized

sweat and fat producing glands, specialized senses which are associated

with the body’s reaction on pain, pressure, touch and change in

temperature

- describe the motoric apparatus and the structure of muscles, bones,

joints with associated cartilage and ligaments with specification of name

and function of each part; and the importance of providing the body firm

structure and mobility through the joints.


- describe the bones role as storage of minerals and structure and function

of the red bone marrow

- describe structure of striped skeleton muscle both macroscopic and

microscopic. Specify the importance of the attachment of the muscle

related to effect on joints

- describe the subdivision of the nervous system, give examples of

malfunctions after lesions of peripheral nerves and hypo and hyper

function of the autonomic nervous system

- describe the subdivision of the sense apparatus and the different

specialized functions

- describe the hormonal regulation of the cellular functions

- describe the structure of the endocrine system and the physiological role

of the major endocrine systems

- describe the cardiovascular system, the heart’s impulse generation, the

conduction system, the connection between physical activity and minute

volume of the heart, plus to recognize the depolarisation of different

parts of the heart in a electrocardiogram

- describe the importance of the blood transporting nutrients, gasses,

waste products, proteins, hormones and immune competent cells plus

the regulation of the body temperature

- describe the respiratory system and regulation during relaxation and

during activity, the relation between respiration and acid-base balance

plus explain the connection between respiration and circulation

- describe and (under supervision) perform peak flow measurement and

spirometry

- describe the importance of the gastro intestinal system in relation to

digest food plus state basic nourishment and calculate BMI (body mass

index)

- describe urogenital system including the kidneys role in preservation and

regulation of electrolyte, water and acid-base balance

- describe the reproduction system and function in males and females

- describe the individual’s growth and development


- describe the lymphatic system, it’s subdivision and the importance of

transporting lymph, lymphocytes, proteins and fat

- describe the light microscopic principles of developing contrasts in

preparations plus describe techniques of preparation and handling a light

microscope


Shier, Butler & Lewis: Hole’s Essentials of Human Anatomy and Physiology,

10th edition. (ISBN: 9780071283526)




Biomedicine curriculum, 2nd year

Title:

Cell Biology


22.5 ECTS

Course description:

This is a relatively extensive introductory course to cell and molecular biology.

The students are introduced to:

- The cell – structure and function of the dynamic cell, including cellular

structure and function including organelles involved in secretion

(ribosomes, rough ER, Golgi and secretory vesicles) endocytosis

(endosomes and lysosomes) metabolism (smooth ER, mitochondrion,

peroxisome) plus the cytoskeleton. The structure of the nucleus,

including the inner and outer membrane, pores, lamina, chromatin and

nucleoli.

- Organization and maintenance of genetic information, including the

synthesis of DNA and DNA repair. The synthesis and processing of RNA,

including examples of mechanisms for regulation of gene expression and

synthesis and turnover of proteins.

- Control of cell division and apoptosis, and the loss of this control in

malignant cells

- The structure and function of cellular membranes and various classes of

membrane proteins, and their involvement in transport of a diversity

compounds and intracellular signalling. The molecular basis of membrane


conductance and membrane potentials, exability, synaptic transmission

and muscular contraction.

- Tissues, the microenvironment of the cells and their organization,

including the extracellular matrix and its interaction with the cells.

- Examples of the structure of epithelia, connective tissues, muscles,

nerves, vasculature.


Alberts, Johnson, Walter, Lewis, Raff & Roberts: “Molecular Biology of the Cell”

5th ed., 2008. Garland. (ISBN: 9780815341062).

Blaustein, Kao & Matteson: “Cellular Physiology” 1st ed., 2004. Mosby. (ISBN:

9780323013413).

Pawlina & Ross: “Histology”, 5th ed., 2006. Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins.

(ISBN: 9780781772211)




Biomedicine curriculum,2nd year

Title:

Medical Genetics


(Part of 22.5 ECTS Cell Biology course)

Course description:

This course is a theoretical and practical introduction to medical genetics, and

structured to be an integrated part of the cell biology course.

After completing the course the student should:

- be able to understand basic genetics and genetic problems.

- understand the context between genotypes and phenotypes.

- be able to discriminate between different types of mutations, how they

arise and how they affect the person and descendant.

- have knowledge about inheritance and be able to calculate the risks of

inheritance for the next generation.

- understand the interaction between the genetic, epigenetic and

environmental factors that affect the phenotype and thereby modify the

inheritance.

- be able to understand genetic variation.

- have knowledge about methods of genetic diagnosis and gene mapping

of genetic diseases.


Jorde, Carey & Bamshad: “Medical Genetics”, 4th ed., 2009. Elsevier. (ISBN:

9780323053730)





Title:

Ethics and Philosophy of Science


7.5 ECTS

Course description:

Philosophical and ethical issues of relevance to students in Molecular

Biomedicine, both general aspects and aspects specific to the scientific

discipline, will be covered. Relevant themes are scientific method, theory

development, causation, reduction, and the interplay of data, models, theories,

experiments and the real world. History of genetics and molecular biology will

be taught in addition to ethical topics including ethical theories, research ethics

and ethical problems related to biotechnology, stem cells, gene therapy, and

biomedical research in developing countries. In addition to the lecture series

the will be several discussion sessions in smaller groups. One obligatory group

work paper is required in addition to the individual written exam.


Andersen, Emmeche, Norup & Sandøe: Videnskabsteori for de biologiske fag.

1st ed., 2006. Biofolia. (ISBN: 8791319323)

”Videnskabsteori og Etik, Molekylær Biomedicin”. Jan Kyrre Berg Friis,

Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen.





Title:

Molecular Biology


15 ECTS

Course description:

Aim: The course will provide the necessary background to solve basic

molecular biological issues by applying a relevant experimental strategy, thus

giving the student an ability to interpret and communicate original molecular

biological research.

Content: Genomics. DNA-mediated processes such as replication,

recombination, transposition and transcription. Post-transcriptional events such

as RNA splicing, RNA export, RNA localization and translation. Regulatory

mechanisms as observed in studies of experimental organisms.


Weaver: “Molecular Biology”, 4. ed., McGraw Hill. (ISBN: 9780071275484)





Title:

Signal Transduction


15 ECTS

Course description:

Advanced course in molecular biology with specific emphasis on cellular

signalling pathways and networks, their integration with the extra cellular

environment, and the resulting control of the cell cycle and apoptosis. It is one

of the major goals of this course to familiarize the students with the study of

primary literature to be able to follow this rapidly evolving field.

Format: 4 hours of lectures/week, 2 hours of problem solving/week and 3

hours of Journal Club/week.

Aims: After completing this course, the student is expected to be able to:

- Describe several inter- and intracellular molecular signal networks in

detail, and use this knowledge to analyze novel experimental results.

- Describe cell cycle control in molecular detail.

- Describe regulation of apoptosis in molecular detail.

- Demonstrate knowledge of many common methods in molecular biology.

- Read primary literature in the field, and critically relate the reported

experiments to already established theories within the field.


“Signal Transduction” by Bastien D. Gomperts (ISBN: 0-12-289632-7)


“Principles and Techniques of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology” 6.ed. by

Keith Wilson & John Walker, (ISBN: 0-521-53581-6)




Biomedicine curriculum, 3rd year

Title:

Molecular Pathophysiology


15 ECTS

Course description:

This course gives the students present knowledge about fundamental

molecular mechanisms underlying different pathologic conditions. Emphasis is

placed on the different experimental disease models that are used in present

biomedical research. Fundamental biological definitions of disease are

introduced as systematic descriptions of structural and functional changes in

cells and tissues in diseased states and the like (adaptation, degeneration,

inflammation, neoplasia and others).

First, the students are introduced to the terminology of pathobiology, followed

by teachings in fundamental molecular mechanisms, central experimental

methods and present pathophysiological theories within the following main

topics

- Cancer

- Metabolism

- The nervous system

- The musculoskeletal system

- The circulatory system

- Environmental pathology


Still with emphasis on molecular mechanisms, inclusive identification and

validation of molecular targets for diagnosis, prevention and treatment. No

time is spent on directly clinical aspects.

Format: 20 lectures and 18 hours demonstrations of micro- and macroscopic

specimens, 36 hours group discussions and other student-centered activity

based on problem-centered learning


Kierszenbaum: “Histology and Cell Biology”, 2nd ed. Mosby. (ISBN:

9780323045278)

Kumar, Abbas, Fausto & Aster: “Robbins and Cotran: Pathologic Basis of

Disease”, 8th ed. Saunders (W.B.) Co Ltd. (ISBN: 9781416031215)

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