Høst 2019

BIO-8018 Environmental Molecular Genetics - 20 stp

The course is administrated by

Institutt for arktisk og marin biologi

Type of course

Theoretical and practical. The course can be taken as a singular course.

Course overlap

BIO-3134 Applied Molecular Genetics 20 stp

Course contents

The aim of this course is to give a thorough introduction to molecular genetic methods and bioinformatics used in modern biological research. The course will give a basis for advanced studies in different areas of biology and include practical exercises followed by computer analyses of own data sets. The students will isolate DNA and RNA from Arctic samples, and prepare samples for sequencing and bioinformatics in the first part of the course. The second part includes the study on the epigenetic regulation of gene expression in plants. The laboratory and computer work is running for four weeks and the results are discussed in plenum. The students have to write individual laboratory reports. The lectures will be closely connected to the practical problems to be solved in the laboratory. Selected articles from the scientific curriculum are topics for seminar presented by the students.

Application deadline

Registration deadline for PhD students at UiT - The Arctic University of Norway: June 15th.

Application deadline for other applicants: June 1. Application code 9303.

Admission requirements

PhD students or holders of a Norwegian master´s degree of five years or 3+ 2 years (or equivalent) may be admitted. PhD students must upload a document from their university stating that there are registered PhD students. This group of applicants does not have to prove English proficiency and are exempt from semester fee.
Holders of a Master´s degree must upload a Master´s Diploma with Diploma Supplement / English translation of the diploma. Applicants from listed countries must document proficiency in English. To find out if this applies to you see the following list:

Proficiency in English must be documented - list of countries
For more information on accepted English proficiency tests and scores, as well as exemptions from the English proficiency tests, please see the following document:https://uit.no/Content/254419/PhD_EnglishProficiency_100913.pdf

Proficiency in english - PhD level studies

The number of participants is limited to 10. If more than 10 applicants, priority will be given as follows:

Participants admitted to the PhD programme at UiT
Participants in the Associate Professor programme (Førstelektorprogrammet)
PhD candidates from other universities
People with a minimum of a Masters degree (or equivalent), who have not been admitted to a PhD programme

The course will be cancelled if less than four participants.

PhD students at UiT register for the course through StudentWeb. The registration for autumn semester starts in the middle of June. Other applicants apply for admission through SøknadsWeb. Application code 9303. Contact Ingjerd Gauslaa Nilsen at the BFE-faculty if you have troubles or questions regarding registration to the course.

Objective of the course

Knowledge:

Theory of microbial ecology and epigenetics
Theory of gene and gene expression analyses
Critical consideration of scientific literature within the topics for the course
How to write a laboratory report
Critical assessment of own results

Skills:

Isolation of DNA and RNA from environmental samples
Preparation of samples for sequencing
Bioinformatics - analysis of sequencing results, sequence assemblies
Gene expression (qPCR), methylation status analysis
Present objectives, methods and results.
Oral and written discussion of results

General competence:

Theory of environmental genetics
Experimental design
Molecular laboratory work
Evaluation of methods
Discussion of results
Presentation of results

Language of instruction

English

Teaching methods

Lectures 12 hours, laboratory 60 hours during 4 weeks, seminars 16 hours.

Assessment

One report and an oral exam. The final grade for the course is based upon a complete evaluation of the report and the oral exam. The exam will be assessed with a graded scale of five marks from A to E for pass and F for fail. Students require to attain a pass grade (A to E) in the laboratory report in order to be able to take the oral examination.
Coursework requirements: an theoretical essay within the topics of the course must be approved in order to be able to take the exam.

Re-sit exam: There will be a re-sit examination for students that did not pass the previous ordinary examination.

Date for examination

Laboratory report hand out date 01.11.2019 hand in date 15.11.2019

The date for the exam can be changed. The final date will be announced at your faculty early in May and early in November.