The course will introduce students to the applications and requirements for the use of a wide range of animal models (both invertebrates and mammals) in research and biotech/pharma.
The course will be provided by expert lectures by research groups at UCPH and industrial partners with a focus on how each animal model is used in hypothesis-driven research, the future of animal research, industrial applications and potential human translational research.
The model systems covered and industrial partners during the course vary from year to year depending on instructors’ availability; these models may include, mouse, pig, Drosophila melanogaster, marine invertebrates, jellyfish, etc.
Themes may include gut-brain axis, behavior, stem cell biology, immunology, cancer, metabolic regulation, genomics and comparative morphology.

Finally, a discussion on emerging models, ethics, technologies (e.g., CRISPR, organoids) with a focus on transgenic animals will be included.

The course outlines the basis for using animals as model organisms and characterizes the qualities and properties of using whole-organism animal models in comparison to alternatives. Students will not be expected to have mastered these organisms and topics by the end of the course, but we intend to provide – and students will be expected to exhibit – the following general knowledge bases, skills, and competencies.

Knowledge
*the suitability of different models for different scientific topics and methods of investigation in relation to alternatives,
*the different animal models, their biological and scientific properties, and their use in different contexts,
*the most commonly used “core” tools and techniques used within these model systems,

Skills
*understanding the general use of different model-organism systems and to learn about unfamiliar methods and techniques,
*explaining limitations and strengths of each animal model in comparison to alternatives,
*reading, understanding, and presenting the assigned primary literature (i.e., peer-reviewed journal articles).

Competences:
*reflecting on and selecting an appropriate animal model based on a given problem/research question,
*proposing experiments to test models and questions raised in research on model organisms,
*communicating verbally and in writing how research-based animal experimentation studies are conducted and how their results are interpreted (primary literature).