Exploring the Human Genome
5-9 November 2018
Next-generation sequencing technologies made it possible to sequence our genomes in no time and for an affordable price. Hundreds of thousands of genomes are already sequenced. What kind of information can be retrieved from the genome of an individual? We can ask and find answers to all sorts of questions related to origin and phenotype of this person.
Do you know that our genome stores information not only about our own phenotypes, but also about the phenotypes and the history of our families and populations? For example, we now know that someday Homo Sapiens were living next to Neanderthals and even were able to produce offspring with them. Many of us carry pieces of Neanderthal genome as a footprint of these events. Our genome can give us a lot of information not only about distant past, but also about the present and even the future. We can predict eye colour of a person, gender and very often even a family name. Moreover, genome can tell many things about health and disease risk of an individual.
Aim of the course
To teach the participants the structure and organization of human genome, main classes of polymorphisms and mechanisms of their occurrence. To teach the participants to interpret a personal human genome in terms of the person’s origin, physical appearance and disease risk.
Target group
PhD candidates in biomedical science at the first half of their PhD trajectory. The group is limited to 20 participants
Educator
Michel Georges (GIGA Medical Genomics, ULiège)
Course duration and workload
5 full working days (one week)
Types of course activities
Lectures, project work, self-study
By the end of the course, the participants should be able to:
- Describe the structural and functional organization of human genome
- Discuss and give examples of Mendelian traits and diseases
- Discuss and give examples of complex traits and diseases
Support materials: MOOC “From disease to genes and back”, Coursera platform; research articles
Course program
Day 1. Anatomy of the human genome
9:00 - 10:00 – Self-study. Video lectures from the online course. Week 1
10:00 - 10:30 – Course introduction. Goals, structure, logistics.
10:30 - 12:00 – Anatomy of human genome.
12:00 - 13:00 – Lunch break
13:00 - 14:00 – Anatomy of human genome. Part 2 (genomic browsers)
14:00- 16:30 – NGS
16:45 - 18:00 – Project work. Introduction
Day 2. Population and evolutionary genomics
9:00 - 10:00 – Self-study. Video lectures. Week 2
10:00 - 11:00 – Q&A session
11:00 - 12:00 – Essentials of populational genetics and evolutions I
12:00 - 13:00 – Lunch break
13:00 - 14:00 – Essentials of populational genetics and evolutions II
14:00 - 18:00 – Project work
Day 3. “Mendeliome”
9:00 - 10:00 – Self study. Video lectures
10:00 - 11:00 – Q&A session
11:00 - 12:00 – Mendeliom I
12:00 - 13:00 – Lunch break
13:00 - 14:00 – Mendeliom II
14:00 - 18:00 – Project work
Day 4. “Galtoniome”
9:00 – 10:00 – Self study. Video lectures
10:00 - 11:00 – Q&A session
11:00 - 12:00 – GWAS (multiple testing from Statistics!), GCTA
12:00 - 13:00 – Lunch break
13:00 - 14:00 – Cancer, etc
14:00 - 18:00 – Project work
Day 5. Projects presentations and conclusion
9:00 - 10:00 – Self study. Video lectures
10:00 - 11:00 – Q&A session
11:00 - 12:00 – Project work
12:00 - 13:00 – Lunch break
13:00 - 15:00 – Project work
15:00 - 17:00 – Presentations
