Category Archives: Past courses and activities

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Summary of Mosquito-borne Pathogens and their Vectors course 2022

The NDPIA mosquito-borne pathogens and their vectors course was held during 7-10 of June 2022 at Umeå University. The course was conducted in a hybrid format, allowing some of the lecturers and students to participate online.  

This course aimed at providing an in-depth understanding of pathogen-vector interaction and transmission dynamics of mosquito-borne pathogens, providing better understanding of mosquitoes as vectors of arboviruses and parasites most of which are zoonotic in nature and affect both humans and animals. We had twelve national and international experts covering various aspects of the mosquito vector including ecology, biology, population genetics, competence, capacity and how these factors influence transmission to the susceptible host. The course also covered vector surveillance, identification, diagnostics, prevention and control, as well as application of high-throughput sequencing platforms in virus discovery. 

“I got the opportunity to learn a lot about the mosquito vector in both theory and the practical aspect by experienced researchers.”
-Anonymous participant
Group photo of some of the participants at the Mosquito-borne pathogens and their vectors course in 2022. Photo: Kristoffer Ahlm.

In addition to the lectures, this course included a field trip with mosquito trapping, a Swedish mosquito identification workshop, and a computational workshop on informatic workflow after barcoding and comparison of mosquito sequence data. Course participants were also given the opportunity to give a short presentation of themselves and their research activities, to further promote discussions and networking.  

“The strength of this course was the high-quality presentations, well organized and efficient field work, communication and the flexibility for networking.” 
-Anonymous participant  
Collection of photos from the course including: lecture on “Swedish mosquito vectors” given by Anders Lindström, the Swedish National Veterinary Institute (SVA); laboratory practical on the morphological identification of mosquitoes; and field demonstration. Photo: Kristoffer Ahlm.

 

To see the full course program, please visit:  The mosquito-borne pathogens and their vectors course is finally happening! | NDPIA

Many thanks to the organizing committee: 
 
Olivia Wesula Lwande, Umeå University, Course Organizer 
Debra Milton, Umeå University, NDPIA National Coordinator 
Hanna Eriksson, Umeå University, NDPIA Project Coordinator 
Clas Ahlm, Umeå University  
Kristoffer Ahlm, Umeå University  

Summary of Antibiotics and Antibiotic Resistance course 2022

The antibiotics and antibiotic resistance course in 2022 was held during 4-8 April at Hjortviken Konferens in Mölnlycke, Gothenburg. This course was co-organized by NDPIA and the Norwegian PhD School in Infection Biology and Antimicrobials (IBA).  

Antibiotic resistance is a global public health concern that threatens the use of modern medical therapies to fight infectious diseases. The aim of this course was to introduce antibiotic resistance from a microbial perspective and from a clinical – One Health perspective. The fruitful collaboration between NDPIA and IBA made it possible to invite twenty-three national and international lecturers covering wide expertise in this field. The course provided an overview on the modes of action of antibiotics and how microbes resist the effects of antibiotics, on diagnostic methods to detect known and novel resistance genes, on the origins of resistance genes and the biological cost of resistance for the microbe, and on new antibiotic development and alternative therapeutics for infectious disease. In addition, ethics of antibiotic resistance management was also discussed.  

Group photo of the participants and organizers of the Antibiotics and Antibiotic Resistance course in 2022. Photo: Hanna Eriksson.
“The opportunity to interact with the top-class lecturers in such a small group was amazing! Very high quality of the talks, I’m impressed!”
-Anonymous participant

Both NDPIA and IBA put a high value on the networking opportunities during their activities and the lectures were thus combined with poster sessions enabling the participants to present and discuss their own research. In addition, time was provided for informal discussions and to build national and international scientific networks between participants and lecturers. 

“The enthusiasm of all the participants, both students and speakers, was amazing. All the topics were relevant and important to understand antibiotic resistance. It is a very insightful and complete course, which I believe is the most important strength of it. I also appreciated a lot that international speakers attended the talk, as well as some people from outside academia.”
-Anonymous participant 

To see the full course program, please visit:  Antibiotics and Antibiotic Resistance course 2022 | NDPIA

Many thanks to the organizing committee: 

Michael Koomey, University of Oslo, IBA National Coordinator
Tina Svingerud, University of Oslo, IBA Project Coordinator
Debra Milton, Umeå University, NDPIA National Coordinator
Arnfinn Sundsfjord, University of Tromso -The Arctic University of Norway
Carl-Fredrik Flach, University of Gothenburg, NDPIA Director of Studies
Diarmaid Hughes, Uppsala University
Helen Wang, Uppsala University, NDPIA Director of Studies
Johanna Ulrica Ericson, University of Tromso -The Arctic University of Norway
Ørjan Samuelsen, University of Tromso -The Arctic University of Norway
Hanna Eriksson, Umeå University, NDPIA Project Coordinator

Summary of Infection and Cancer course 2021

Banner NDPIA Infection and Cancer course 2021

During the week of 23-27 August 2021, NDPIA offered its first course on infection and cancer which was held online.  

Infections due to certain viruses, bacteria, and parasites are strong risk factors for the development of specific cancers. Approximately 20% of cancers worldwide are attributed to infections. Conversely, a subset of pathogens preferentially lyse tumor cells, leading to tumor regression and improved anti-tumor immunity. In addition, the intestinal microbiota influences our response to anti-cancer therapy. This course was a combination of introductory lectures on infection and cancer, an international workshop on principles by which viruses and bacteria subvert the cellular micro-environment to cause cancer, poster presentations, and practical group assignments. 

“Small group of participants to ensure participation and discussion and the atmosphere where one felt comfortable for discussion. Also, the fact that the course organisers attended all the sessions and gave us very useful feedback and participated in our discussions as well, it felt very fruitful from a scientific point of view.” 
-Anonymous participant  

In the group assignment, students were asked to identify one relevant issue that is still poorly characterized within the field of infection and cancer and proposed how to address this problem experimentally. This exercise aimed to stimulate critical thinking and the process of identifying scientific questions, as well as designing hypothesis-driven experiments to address these issues. 

“The practical assignment on designing our own research project was really interesting as it made us think outside of our own box and reflect on other research fields.”
-Anonymous participant

To see the full course program, please visit:  Infection and Cancer 2021 | NDPIA

Many thanks to the organizing committee: 
 
Teresa Frisan, Umeå University, UCMR 
Sun Nyunt Wai, Umeå University, UCMR, MIMS 
Saskia Erttmann, Umeå University, UCMR 
Ellen Bushell, Umeå University, UCMR, MIMS 
Debra Milton, Umeå University, UCMR, NDPIA National Coordinator 
Hanna Eriksson, Umeå University, NDPIA Project Coordinator 

Summary of NDPIA Microbiota and Health course 2020

group photo microbiota and health course ndpia 2020
Group photo of the organizers and participants.

During the first week of December 2020, NDPIA offered its first online course on Microbiota and Health. The course introduced the field of microbiomes with a focus on how microbiota affect the health of a host.

It was superb and the level of research presented was of very high qualityAnonymous participant

Twenty international experts in the microbiome field, including Willem de Vos (University of Helsinki, Wageningen University), Nathalie Delzenne (Université Catholique de Louvain), and Erica and Justin Sonnenburg (Stanford University School of Medicine), presented lectures and held discussions on methods used to study microbiomes. Areas that were covered included microbiota associated with hosts, such as humans, farm-animals, and plants, effects of diet and age on the microbiota, interactions of the microbiota with the immune system and drugs, and trends on modifying the microbiota.

High quality in the talks. Small enough number of participants for interaction. Involving people from different areas of research not limited to Sweden but also across European institutions. Breakout rooms with the speakers – this was very unique in the course!Anonymous participant

jürgen harder's lecture during ndpia microbiota and health course
Part of Jürgen Harder’s lecture on microbiota and skin health.

nathalie delzenne's lecture during ndpia microbiota and health course
Part of Nathalie Delzenne’s lecture on prebiotics and probiotics.

phillip pope's lecture during ndpia microbiota and health course
Part of Phillip Pope’s lecture on microbiota of farmed animals.

robert brummer's lecture during ndpia microbiota and health course
Part of Robert Brummer’s lecture on microbiota gut-brain axis.

The lectures were all fantastic. The Zoom format facilitated participation and made it more comfortable to ask questionsAnonymous participant

In addition to these lectures, course participants presented and discussed their research with colleagues during live online poster sessions and free time online was also provided for informal discussions.

student poster collection for ndpia microbiota and health course
Collection of student posters created with aMuze’s iPosterSessions.

student poster presentations during ndpia microbiota and health course
Collection of student poster presentations.

The course was successful in part due to it being online and travel was not needed. As a result, we could engage participants from Sweden, Germany, Norway, and Denmark to build scientific networks with each other as well as outstanding national and international researchers in the field.

Fantastic speakers and a great rounded programmeAnonymous participant

To see the full course programme, please visit: ndpia.se/events/microbiota-and-health/

course organizer's workspace umeå university
Workspace of the course organizers located at Umeå University. Pictured: Debra Milton, Björn Schröder, and Hanna Eriksson.

Live in the dark – recap of the NDPIA course “Live Imaging of Intracellular Infections”

November. The absolutely worst month of the year. Dark and gloomy. To change that, we spent five full days together with other people also passionate about intracellular infections. The course, named Live Imaging of Intracellular Infections was held 12-16 November at Linköping University and attracted students from Kalmar, Linköping, Umeå, Uppsala, Örebro and Tromsø who were encouraged to bring their own cells and bacteria to work with during the course.

Live imaging hands-on
The central element was the new, live cell microscope in Linköping in which e.g. infected cells can be imaged over time in a high throughput fashion.

Continue reading Live in the dark – recap of the NDPIA course “Live Imaging of Intracellular Infections”