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Environmental DNA
Provider: Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

Activity no.: 3606-27-00-00There are 16 available seats 
Enrollment deadline: 01/01/2027
Date and time01.03.2027, at: 09:00 - 05.03.2027, at: 17:00
Regular seats18
Course fee10,440.00 kr.
LecturersKristine Bohmann
ECTS credits4.00
Contact personSofie Gry Laursen    E-mail address: sofie.laursen@sund.ku.dk
Enrolment Handling/Course OrganiserPhD administration SUND    E-mail address: phdkursus@sund.ku.dk

Enrolment guidelines

This is a specialised course. This means that 80% of the seats are reserved to PhD students enrolled at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at UCPH and 20% og the seats are reserved to PhD students from other Danish Universities/faculties (except CBS).

The course is free of charge for PhD students at Danish universities (except Copenhagen Business School), and for PhD Students from NorDoc member faculties. All other participants must pay the course fee.

Anyone can apply for the course, but if you are not a PhD student at a Danish university, you will be placed on the waiting list until enrollment deadline. This also applies to PhD students from NorDoc member faculties. After the enrollment deadline, available seats will be allocated to applicants on the waiting list.


Learning objectives
A student who has met the objectives of the course will be able to:
1. Describe the underlying principles of a metabarcoding and targeted quantitative PCR workflow.
2. Describe and evaluate components of the metabarcoding workflow for environmental DNA (eDNA) studies, e.g. controls, replicates, protocols, bioinformatic and community ecology analysis packages.
3. Judge and compare the strengths and weaknesses of different metabarcoding laboratory set-ups and sequence data processing methods.
4. Design a plan for your eDNA project - from research question to fieldwork, laboratory work, bioinformatics and ecological analyses.


Content
Understanding biodiversity requires us to know which species are where. Organisms leave traces of DNA in the environment, known as environmental DNA (eDNA), which can be used to infer their presence or absence in relation to an environmental sample. The use of eDNA to detect species is an increasingly common approach used by researchers, natural resource managers and commercial organisations to measure ecological communities. Metabarcoding is the most frequently used molecular method to analyse modern eDNA, and can simultaneously identify hundreds of taxa across many samples. In contrast, more targeted approaches like quantitative PCR (qPCR) provide information about specific taxa.


Through real-world examples and discussion-based and interactive exercises and with a main focus on metabarcoding of modern eDNA samples, this course enables attendees to make informed decisions regarding their eDNA project - from sample collection through to laboratory and bioinformatic steps. We focus on the principles of the components of the workflow, rather than instruction in specific tools, with the goal to equip participants to find and evaluate the setup and tools that will suit their specific study, environmental sample type and research question. This will enable participants to make informed decisions when planning their independent eDNA projects.


Participants
PhD students with a background in e.g. biology, ecology or conservation who plan to use eDNA metabarcoding in an upcoming project and want to be able to make informed decisions about the design of the workflow. The course is suitable for participants with basic bioinformatic skills.


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:

Life, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Veterinary, Animal Health and Microbiological Sciences

Public Health and Epidemiology


Language
English.


Form
Lectures, exercises, group work, discussions.


Course director
Kristine Bohmann, Associate Professor, Globe Institute, kbohmann@sund.ku.dk
Luke Earl Holman, Assistant Professor, Globe Institute, luke.holman@sund.ku.dk
Kasun Harshana Bodawatta, affiliated Marie-Curie Fellow, Globe Institute, bodawatta@sund.ku.dk


Teachers
Kristine Bohmann, Associate Professor, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, kbohmann@sund.ku.dk
Luke Earl Holman, Assistant Professor, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, luke.holman@sund.ku.dk
Kasun Harshana Bodawatta, Marie-Curie Fellow, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, bodawatta@sund.ku.dk
Brandon Samuel Whitley, PostDoc, Danish Biodiversity Information Facility, DanBIF, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, bsw@snm.ku.dk
Christina Lynggaard, Assistant Professor, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, christina.lynggaard@sund.ku.dk
Hanxi Li, Postdoc, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, hanxli@sund.ku.dk
Giulia Zampirolo, Postdoc, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, giulia.zampirolo@sund.ku.dk
Lasse Vinner, Chief Consultant, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, lasse.vinner@sund.ku.dk
Philip Thomsen, Professor, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, pfthomsen@bio.au.dk
Steen Wilhelm Knudsen, Guest Researcher, Natural History Museum, University of Copenhagen, swknudsen@snm.ku.dk
Tina Brand, Laboratory Manager, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, tbbrand@sund.ku.dk
Tobias Frøslev, Programme Officer, GBIF / Affiliated Associate Professor, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, tfroeslev@gbif.org


Dates
1-5 March 2027.
Course location
Øster Farimagsgade 5A, CSS Building 7, 1th floor, Rooms 7.1.46 and 7.1.50, 1353 Copenhagen K, Denmark.


Registration
Please register before January 1 2027.


Expected frequency
Approx once per year.


Seats to PhD students from other Danish universities will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis and according to the applicable rules.
Applications from other participants will be considered after the last day of enrollment.

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