Molecular Scale Biophysics

*Recognition of ECTS depends on your home university.

Physical mobility

The physical mobility part will be running from 2 to 6 June 2025.

The physical component will be held at the IM2B Institute in Marseille (France) and includes the following activities:

1. Lectures and a refresher course on techniques that will be employed by the students during the week and on the study system they will be investigating. This will reinforce their theoretical knowledge of biophysical techniques and their application to biological research.

2. Practical workshops in small groups using state-of-the-art equipment to obtain and analyze data. This will give students a better appreciation of sample requirements, technical needs and practical aspects of the different methods. Students will benefit from privileged access to experts in these various techniques.

3. Guided data analysis sessions to help students organize and present data.

4. A poster session to broaden students understanding of current research themes, to practice scientific communication, and to build a professional network.

Virtual part

The virtual part will be running from 17 February to 18 April 2025.

The virtual component (17 February 2025 -18 April 2025) will offer multiple resources to optimize student engagement and understanding of the various biophysical techniques to study macromolecule structure and function. The component is split in modules corresponding to the different biophysical techniques, including spectroscopic methods (FTIR, EPR, fluorescence, rapid kinetics), hydrodynamic methods (analytical ultracentrifugation, DLS), thermodynamic methods (ITC, DSC, DSF) and atomic force microscopy. This component will contain recorded videos (self-paced learning), online lectures (twice a week) and problem-solving tasks. Moreover:

- The recorded videos and online lectures will provide theoretical knowledge of the various biophysical techniques.

- The problem-solving activities will challenge students to apply theoretical knowledge in practical scenarios, helping them to think critically and understand the strenghts and weaknesses of each technique in the context of understanding molecular function of biological systems.

- To maximize student engagement and learning throughout the virtual component, online quizzes will be implemented on Moodle. In addition, homework assignments will be given after each module. The detailed schedule will be available at a later date.

Requirements

This course is open to Master's and PhD students at CIVIS member universities from the following academic disciplines - scientific fields: Biochemistry, Biophysics, biological macromolecules, Molecular structure and function, Molecular interactions, Medical Biotechnologies, Bioinformatics.

Needed skills required to follow the course:

• A theroretical knowledge or training in areas related to molecular biophysics (Biology, Biochemistry or Physics)
• Backround and a previous experience in the development, implementation and analysis of studies of molecular interactions by using several complementary biophysical techniques
• Practical skills in the preparation of samples and acquisition of data using - current research technology
• Networking
• Critical thinking
• Data analysis
• International collaboration
• Presentation skills 

NB: Visiting Students - Erasmus Funding Eligibility

To be eligible for your selected CIVIS programme, you must be a fully enrolled student at your CIVIS home university at the time you will be undertaking the programme. Click here to learn more about the eligibility criteria.

Students from CIVIS’ strategic partner universities in Africa cannot apply for participation in this course.

Application process

Send your application by filling in the online application form by 31 October 2024, including:

• CV
• Motivation letter

• Level of English (According to CEFR)

Additionally, the following criteria will be taken into account for the student's selection:

• Academic records
• Motivation of the students to follow the course
• Relevance of the course for the student's personal project 
• Other previous experiences in the scientific fields of the course

Apply now

Assessment

Evaluation will be based on:

• Homework assignments, problem sets, and quizzes: 50%
• Poster presentation: 20%
• Practical write-up 15%
• Trainee interviews/Oral examination 15%

Blended Intensive Programme

This CIVIS course is a Blended Intensive Programme (BIP): a new format of Erasmus+ mobility which combines online teaching with a short trip to another campus to learn alongside students and professors across Europe. Click here to learn more about CIVIS BIPs.

GDPR Consent

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