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Academic Program

„Scientific challenges in the global village: From climate change, pandemic viruses to multi-resistant pathogens”

Today’s world is characterized by major challenges such as climate change. Besides global warming, emerging pandemic virus diseases such SARS-CoV2 and a steadily increasing number of antibiotic-resistant pathogens appear as major threat in the health care systems. These challenges have been creating major impacts on societal as well economic aspects in a growing globalized society. What all of this implies and how these challenges can be tackled through the combined knowledge of natural sciences and medicine will be discussed in the International Winter University Marburg.

Modules 2024

The program offers four different modules, from which participants will choose one module per week, in weeks 2 and 3.

Module 1: "Multi-drug resistent bacteria - an emerging global problem"

Instructors: Dr. Jan Pane-Farre et al.

  • Seminar Description

    In this course, participants will have the opportunity to gain a solid understanding of both theoretical knowledge and practical skills in the field of antibiotic resistance research. Regardless of your background in molecular biology, rest assured that the curriculum is designed to accommodate varying levels of experience. Guided laboratory sessions will help students develop their ability to work with bacterial cultures and analyze their reactions to different antibiotics. Additionally, the course will introduce the concept of bacteriophages, small agents capable of killing bacteria, offering insights into their functions.

    By mastering fundamental molecular biology techniques, participants will become skilled in purifying and studying proteins and DNA, essential components of living cells. The course also includes a digital component, where modern computational tools will be used to visualize complex biomolecular structures. This exploration aims to enhance the understanding of how antibiotics effectively combat bacterial growth. Complementing the practical aspects, lectures and interactive seminars will provide a strong theoretical foundation in molecular biology techniques and bacterial biology.

    Upon completing the course, participants will have a basic comprehension of antibiotic resistance and will also possess practical skills required in a molecular biology lab.

  • Learning Objectives

    By the end of the course, you'll become familiar with different types of antibiotics, where they come from, and how they work. You'll also understand what antibiotic resistance is from different viewpoints like how it affects people's health and how resentence develops. Lastly, you'll get a glimpse on how powerful structural biology is to describe mechanistic principles of cells at the molecular level and to help develop new strategies in antimicrobial therapy.

  • Prerequisites/Module requirements:

    No pre-requisites required. Just bring a lot of curiosity to explore a subject that may be completely new to you.

    Max. number of participants: 15

Module 2: "Methods in Drug Discovery - Finding the Magic Bullet"

Instructors: Dr. Christof Wegscheid-Gerlach; Prof. Wibke Diederich; Prof. Andreas Heine; Prof. Raphael Reher; Prof. Carsten Culmsee.

  • Seminar Description

    In this course, participants will have the opportunity to gain a solid understanding of both theoretical knowledge and practical skills in the field of drug discovery methods. Seminars give basics on the different methods that lead to a drug. Guided laboratory sessions give an introduction to the laboratory work, such as drug design, pharmaceutical analytics, determination of protein structures and the world of pharmaceutical remedies.

    As a starting point, there will be a "Pharmaceutical Methods" experiment round in the Chemikum hands-on lab, a science center in the former laboratories of Hans Meerwein (Professor of Chemistry). The introduction will provide an overview of the steps involved in drug development. Individual techniques used in the drug design process are presented on the basis of individual course days.

    Day 1: Introduction to Drug Discovery with lab experiments

    Dr. Christof Wegscheid-Gerlach, Department of Pharmacy

     

    Day 2: Principles of Medicinal Chemistry and Structure-based Design with hands-on session

    Prof. Wibke Diederich, Department of Pharmacy

     

    Day 3: X-Ray-Crystallography for protein structure detection

    Prof. Andreas Heine, Department of Pharmacy

     

    Day 4: Identification of Natural compounds with AI

    Prof. Raphael Reher, Department of Pharmacy

     

    Day 5: Molecular NeuroScience -  Venue: Institute for Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy, Karl-von-Frisch-Str. 2

    Prof. Carsten Culmsee, Department of Pharmacy

  • Learning Objectives

    At the end of the course, you get an idea of the drug development process and the interdisciplinary collaboration from the different natural and life sciences. The combination of lecture and laboratory work give an insight into the many tasks during drug development. This creates an idea why the path from an idea to the sale of drugs takes 10-15 years.

  • Prerequisites/Module requirements:

    Basic knowledge of natural and life sciences helps to understand the different aspects of drug development.

    Max. number of participants: 15

Field Trips

The field trips are an important and exciting part of the program. They count towards your total ECTS credits (see above) while they are also a great chance to get to know more about Germany. All trips take place on the weekends. All costs for the trips (travel, accommodation and program) are included in the program fee (except personal expenses).

Preliminary trips:
07.01 - Marburg city trip
13.01. - Kassel, Germany
20.01 - Heidelberg, Germany

See further information in the FAQs.