2020 Nord University PhD course: Population Genomics BIO9001

2020 Nord University PhD course: Population Genomics BIO9001

The Faculty of Biosciences and Aquaculture at Nord University takes great pleasure in inviting you to the biannual PhD course “Population Genomics” (BIO9001), 9 – 13 March 2020.

This is an intensive one-week course with lectures (including discussions) and hands-on exercises, Monday to Friday, 9h-17h, with 1 hour lunch break. About half the time will be devoted to lectures, and the other half to exercises. Lectures and exercises are 35 hours in total, and self-study is estimated to 30 hours. Preparation time for written report (home exam) is estimated to 35 hours. The total workload is thus about 100 hours. 

The plan of the five days, with two sessions per day, is as follows:
· Session 1: welcome, practicalities, course introduction (JR)
· Session 2: introduction to command line (unix), data formats, data conversion (BM/MJ/KS)
· Session 3: population genetic theory (OG/ET)
· Session 4: introduction to R (BM/AJ/IS)
· Session 5: analysis of population structure (OG/AJ)
· Session 6: population history, demographic inference, coalescence (ET/JR)
· Session 7: genomic basis of adaptive evolution and inference of selection (ET/MR). 
· Session 8: landscape genomics, gene-environment correlations (KS/OG)
· Session 9: admixture and introgression/hybridization (MR/KS)
· Session 10: Open lab and introduction to the home exam

Students bring their own laptops with the last version of R and RStudio installed. Some R packages will also be needed. The students will receive a reading list and software installation instructions before the start of the course and are expected to prepare well.Learning outcomes and competencies
After having completed the course, the students should:

Knowledge – have acquired in-depth understanding of topics, theories, processes, tools and methods used in population genomics.

Skills – have acquired the tools and abilities to conduct population genomic analyses, including data quality control, analyses, and interpretation of results.

General competencies – 1) be able to exchange views and experiences with evolutionary and molecular biologists and contribute to the development of good practice; 2) develop an understanding of modern scientific research in population genomics. 

Prerequisites 
Basic knowledge of genetics and statistics. Prior experience with command-line programs (in particular R/Rstudio) or Unix will be an advantage.

Assessment
The assessment will be report-based. The students will analyze a population genomic dataset (preferably their own data or data related to their own research topic), interpret and write a report. The students deliver the report within a month after the end of the course (deadline: 16th of April 14:00).

Number of ECTS5 
A detailed ​course description is available here​.

Registration will be open from 1 December 2019.