Aim and content

This 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. Understand specimen preparation for electron microscopy analysis
2. Understand the principles of TEM and SEM
3. Understand basic operation of TEM and SEM

Content
This course is suitable not only for beginners in electron microscopy, but also for those who already use the electron microscope in their work and now want to extend their knowledge of basic principles and more specialized techniques. The course is run in collaboration with the Royal Microscopical Society (RMS).

Week 1 provides an essential foundation in the basic principles of electron microscopy, focusing on room temperature techniques which are the basis of ultra-structural studies of cellular systems, covering topics such as principles of transmission and scanning electron microscopy, electron sources, vacuum systems, specimen-electron interactions and diffraction, electron optics, and electromagnetic lenses. Biological specimen preparation will constitute a major part of the course, including methods of chemical fixation.

Week 2 provides a comprehensive introduction to cryo EM, an approach which includes structural determination of macromolecules and macromolecular machinery by electron microscopy which in 2017 attracted the Nobel prize in chemistry. The course will cover the technology, practical application and principles of cryo EM, including cryo-preservation by high pressure freezing and single particle analysis. Advanced electron microscope techniques such as immunogold labeling, electron tomography, and data analysis/visualization of molecular structure data will be introduced towards the end of the course.

The state-of-the-art facilities available at CFIM (www.cfim.ku.dk) including a Titan Krios allow for a strong practical element, with time for each student to gain hands-on experience of both transmission and scanning electron microscopes. The course will be run by experienced microscopists in a relaxed atmosphere with the aim of promoting discussion and exchange of ideas between students and tutors.

Participants
PhD students

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:
– Medical and Molecular Imaging
– Neuroscience
– Cellular and Genetic Medicine

Language
English

Form
Lectures and exercises

Course director
Professor Klaus Qvortrup, CFIM, qvortrup@sund.ku.dk

Teachers
Roland Fleck, Kings College London;
Pippa Hawes, The Francis Crick Institute;
Maryna Kobylynska, Kings College London;
Kenton Arkill, University of Nottingham;
Angus Kirkland, University of Oxford;
Bruno Humbel, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST);
Heinz Schwarz, (formerly) University of Tübingen;
Lisbeth Hekking, Thermo Fisher (formerly FEI);
Frederic Leroux, Leica Microsystems;
Andreas Nowak, Leica Microsystems;
Klaus Qvortrup, University of Copenhagen;
Michael Johnson, University of Copenhagen;
Zhila Nikrozi, University of Copenhagen;
Cristiano di Benedetto, University of Copenhagen;
Tillmann Hans Pape, University of Copenhagen;
Nicolas Sophos, University of Copenhagen;
Pablo Mesa, University of Copenhagen.

Dates
October 13-18 and October 21-25, 2024

Course location
The Panum Institute

Registration
Please register before September 8, 2024.

Expected frequency
Once a year (in October)

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.

Note: All applicants are asked to submit invoice details in case of no-show, late cancellation or obligation to pay the course fee (typically non-PhD students). If you are a PhD student, your participation in the course must be in agreement with your principal supervisor.visor.

Disclaimer:
DDSA has explicit permission from Arcanic and the owners of the https://phdcourses.dk/ website to display the courses on ddsa.dk.