Chromatin biology in development and disease
Learning objectives
A student who has met the objectives of the course will be able to:
- Have a solid understanding of how chromatin is organized and what is epigenetic memory
- Understand how chromatin and epigenome dynamics operate during mammalian development
- Analyse and evaluate how chromatin structure influences gene regulation
- Assess the advantages, limitations, and biological implications of experimental approaches used to study chromatin biology
- Have an understanding of how chromatin dysregulation contributes to disease
Content
The course will cover fundamental and advanced concepts in chromatin biology with a focus on how chromatin organisation and epigenetic mechanisms regulate gene expression in development and disease.
Participants will be introduced to key principles including nucleosome architecture, histone and DNA modifications, 3D genome folding, enhancer regulation and chromatin inheritance during replication.
The course will explore how chromatin landscapes are established, reprogrammed, or disrupted across developmental transitions, as well as how cells maintain genome integrity by controlling transposable elements. In addition, the course will address how chromatin dysfunction contributes to disease, and how environmental cues shape the epigenome.
Teaching will be delivered by leading international experts and will include lectures and discussions of current literature. This course is focused on molecular mechanisms underlying chromatin regulation rather than purely clinical work.
Participants
The course is open to all PhD students interested in learning about the molecular mechanisms of chromatin regulation. A basic understanding of molecular biology is required but no prior knowledge on epigenetics is necessary.
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:
- Molecular Mechanisms of Disease
- Cellular and Genetic Medicine
- Clinical Cancer Research
Language
The course language is English.
Form
Lectures, group work, poster presentations.
Course director
Jan Zylicz, Associate Professor, NNF Center for Stem Cell Medicine, BMI; jan.zylicz@sund.ku.dk
Teachers
- Jan Zylicz, reNEW
- Kathleen Stewart-Morgan, ICMM
- Nils Krietenstein, DCI
- Anja Groth, DCI
- Daniel Martin Messerschmidt, ICMM
- Joshua Brickman, reNEW
- Jonatan Stelzer, Weizman Institute
- Agnese Loda, Imagine Institue Paris
- Alex Radzishesskaya, ICR London
- Daphne Selvaggia Cabianca, Helmholtz Munich
Dates
28 September - 1 October 2026.
Course location
Mærsk Tower 7.15.149
Registration
https://phdcourses.ku.dk/DetailKursus.aspx?id=113925&sitepath=SUND
Deadline: 1 September 2026.
Course responsible
PhD administration, phdkursus@sund.ku.dk
Course contact
MoMed Team, momed@bric.ku.dk