Food Forward: Innovations that will Feed the World
One of the major current challenges of science and society is to find sustainable solutions that meet the dietary needs of the rapidly growing human population and its increasing standard of living. The United Nations has predicted that the world food demand will rise by 70% by 2050. Current food systems are not sufficient to
Bioinformatics and Genomics
In this course, attention is paid to understanding and working with large amounts of data as has been obtained in recent years with genetic and molecular research. These technological developments require new skills and concepts to be able to understand and conduct life science research. Successively work with mutations and sequencing data will be used.
The Science of Food Systems
The Science of Food Systems course is an introductory course that takes place in the third period of the first year of the Bachelor’s programme Global Sustainability Science. In 2024 the course will run for the first time from February (week 6) to April (week 15), during 10 weeks. This is a track-specific course embedded
Genome Bioinformatics
Complex biological systems arise from interactions between molecules, cells, organisms, and their environment. The genome serves as the blueprint for these interactions and is shaped by 4 billion years of evolution. With advances in sequencing technologies, researchers can now collect large-scale genomic datasets from species, populations, and environments. In this course, students explore how such
Plant-Microbe Interactions
Plant-microbe interactions will be introduced in a general lecture, highlighting recent developments and the importance of the reviewing process. For a set of recent manuscripts the students will act as reviewers and editors following the format provided by high standard international journals. Editor decisions will be presented and discussed.
Plant Development & Environment
Plants are continuously challenged by sometimes life-threatening changes in their environment. These can severely impact their development and even kill plants. Interestingly, plants can flexibly adjust their development to deal with these environmental changes. They can for example adjust root anatomy to resist drought, overall root architecture to forage for nutrients, and shoot architecture to
Design thinking, leiderschap in duurzaamheid, transitions/interdisciplinary collaboration
Life-long learning: Courses of 4-10 weeks with in-person meetings
Modeling Life
Have you ever wondered how cells “know” which genes to express at a given time and place, or how a plant seed “decides” when is the best time to germinate? Or would you like to know what the stripes of a zebra, the fingers on your hand, and the patterning of vegetation in dry ecosystems
Structural Bioinformatics & Modelling
Computational structural biology is a mature field of research whose contribution to life sciences is becoming increasingly more appreciated. The aim of this course is to provide a solid basis of computational structural biology methods, with an emphasis on practical protein modelling and simulation. Further, this course is designed to have a smooth learning curve
Computational Biology
This course focuses on using computational modelling to explore biological systems and test specific hypotheses. Students learn to construct exact models and analyse their behaviour to gain insight into the original biological system. The course draws on a broad range of biological questions across evolutionary, developmental, ecological, and molecular biology. Topics include evolutionary dynamics such