Unlocking the Mysteries of Neurodegenerative Diseases: Advances in Research, Diagnosis, and Treatment

About this course

Additional Course Information

• Learning Objectives

  By the end of this course you will have:

  • Basic knowledge on pathology, clinical presentation and disease course of various neurodegenerative diseases.
  • In-depth knowledge on specific research approaches and methods to address various aspects of neurodegenerative diseases.
  • An overview of current limits and future needs for patients suffering from neurodegenerative diseases.
  • An overview of diagnostics and therapy of neurodegenerative diseases.
  • Tools to recognize the value of integration of patient care and research.
  • Knowledge on how to judge research models for neurodegenerative diseases.
  • Experience in presenting a neurodegenerative disease related topic to peers and experts in the field.

• Course overview

  This summercourse will include lectures from multiple expert researchers and clinicians (from both the CNCR (VU Amsterdam) and from Amsterdam UMC) covering various backgrounds to offer a complete overview of the current state of knowledge on neurodegenerative diseases. In addition to lectures, students will be taught to identify and judge in vitro models for neurodegenerative diseases in a "semi wet lab" demonstration, will receive a tour in a molecular lab and a tour in the Alzheimer Center. During the course the students are challenged to deepen their knowledge on a selected neurodegenerative disease or related topic of their choice. The students will do this by working in groups of students with different backgrounds for an integrative way of thinking across disciplines, ultimately resulting in a group presentation at the end of the course. Furthermore, students will be encouraged to develop their own opinions and standpoints regarding research models for neurodegenerative diseases in a debate with their peers. Our aim is to balance theoretical knowledge with hands-on experience and peer-to-peer learning.

• Forms of tuition and assessment

  Forms of tuition

  • Lectures and/or guest lectures.
  • Wetlab demonstration of cell models and pathology. 
  • Tour in Alzheimer Center. 
  • Debate with discussion by all students on best research models to study neurodegenerative diseases. 
  • Workgroup guidance during presentation preparation.  
  • Final presentations by students on course related topic at the end of the course.
     

  
  Assessment
  
  Student groups will be formed based on variation in background to facilitate interdisciplinary exchange of knowledge. Student groups then decide on a shared topic of interest (which can be more clinical or more fundamental), on which they will collect literature and write into a small report (30% grading) in groups of 3-4, ultimately resulting in a powerpoint presentation of 15 minutes for the group of students and the course coordinators (grading 40%). The course coordinators will guide the student groups towards a feasible topic and high-quality presentation. In addition, the course will include a debate among the students on different models used for neurodegenerative disease research (iPSC vs animal models) (30% grading). Both the student's input in the group project, and their contribution to the debate will be individually graded. The report will be graded at the group level. In addition, overall performance during the course will be taken into account.

• About the course organisers

  Willem de Haan is a cognitive neurologist and senior researcher at the Alzheimer Center. His neurology training and PhD were at the Alzheimer Center, and his current research field is the clinical neurophysiology of dementia, with a focus on EEG/MEG and non-invasive brain stimulation.

  Kim de Kleijn obtained her PhD from the Radboud University in Nijmegen studying in vitro models for neuroinflammation for Multiple Sclerosis. Now, at Candidate Center (Amsterdam UMC) she uses an innovative CRISPR/Cas9 screening approach to find new binding partners for specific immune receptors on microglia (the brain immune cells) in the context of brain diseases.

  Femke Feringa obtained a PhD in Cell Biology from the Netherlands Cancer Institute. Now, at the functional genomics department at the Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research (CNCR), Femke uses stem-cell derived brain cell types to study how Alzheimer risk mutations can contribute to disease development. Currently, Femke is starting her own research line to study senescence in Alzheimer’s disease.

  Rik van der Kant is a group leader at the CNCR and will be available for support during this course as he has organized a similar summer course at the VU previously.

  All course coordinators are well experienced and embedded in the VU and Amsterdam UMC in order to arrange high quality guest lecturers and workshops in this summer school course.

• Course syllabus

  Here you are be able to download the course syllabus for 2025.

  ^{*Please note that this is a preliminary syllabus and that it can still change before the start of the course.}