Elective courses

Course dates

Spring 2025

In Swedish: 28/3, 31/3, 1/4 + 11/4
In English: 2/6, 3/6, 4/6 + 16/6

Autumn 2025

In Swedish: 8/9, 9/9, 10/9 and 19/9
In English: 3/11, 4/11, 5/11 and 14/11

Course Leaders

Jan Lexell jan.lexell@med.lu.se,
Christina Brogårdh christina.brogardh@med.lu.se

Target group

PhD students at the Faculty of Medicine, with priority given to those who have passed their halfway review.

Purpose

The aim of the course is for the doctoral student to deepen their knowledge and skills around the publication process and how to write and review a scientific manuscript.

Outline

The teaching takes place mainly through interactive educational activities. The course includes lectures, reviewing of scientific articles, group work, discussions, practical applications and independent study. The course is given during five days and starts with three course days, then one day of independent work, and ends 2 weeks later with one course day.

Course dates 

Autumn 2025:

24-28 November. Mornings are in class and the afternoons consist of individual work.

Course organizers 

Matteo Bruschettini matteo.bruschettini@med.lu.se

Martin Ringsten martin.ringsten@med.lu.se

Examinator

Stefan Hansson stefan.hansson@med.lu.se

Target group 

The one week course is aimed towards PhD students and researchers at the Faculty of Medicine.
Participation is free for PhD students from European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland. Other external participants might require a fee for participation, see more on Cochrane Sweden’s website for this course.

Description

The course is aimed at PhD students and researchers who wants to increase their knowledge about how to conduct a systematic review or evidence synthesis. The course is also relevant for people who will use systematic reviews, evidence synthesis or results from randomized trials to inform decisions in healthcare (clinicians, decision makers, guideline developers, or policy makers).

The course aims to introduce and increase participants knowledge about the Cochrane methodology to systematic reviews with a focus on systematic reviews of interventions. During the week we will go through the process from the initial idea and research question that can be explored in a systematic review, tools to support the systematic review process, risk of bias, meta-analysis, the GRADE-approach to judge uncertainty, best practice reporting of results in reviews, and the use of systematic reviews in guidelines and decision making.
The course will include lecturers and facilitators from several Cochrane Centers, each within their expert area. Lectures will be mixed with discussions and working in groups with exercises in the mornings, and after lunch participants will work individually within the Cochrane Interactive Learning-modules. There will be time to ask individual questions to our lecturers and facilitators about your own potential reviews or other evidence-related questions during the week.

Location

The course will be aimed to be conducted on campus in Lund for all days.

Examination
To pass the course you will need to attend the days in class, have an active participation in discussions and teamwork during these days, and completion of the module 1-8 and quizzes in Cochrane Interactive Learning.

Credits

The course is rewarded with 1,5 ECTS credits (equal to one week full time studies) for enrolled PhD students. All participants will receive a certificate of attendance for the course.

Resources and literature

Cochrane Interactive Learning modules, available from https://training.cochrane.org/interactivelearning 

Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions, available for free from https://training.cochrane.org/handbook

Additional articles, books and some pre-course work will be handed out before the course starts.

Registration

You can register through the link in the right hand margin. Chose the correct date of the course. If you are an external participant (outside of Lund University), please clearly state this and your affiliation and professional title in “Other comments”, and try to fill the other information in as good as possible (if not relevant leave blank)

Course leader

Lena Uller, Docent, Respiratorisk Immunofarmakologi, Institutionen för experimentell medicinsk vetenskap, Lund

Examiner

Lena Uller

Target Group

This is a compulsory course for doctoral students at Lunds University who aim to work with animals. You will register specifically for the species you aim to work with. No previous qualifications required. The course is equivalent to a FELASA B level but not yet formally certified by Felasa.

Credits 

3 University credits for the full course, 2 credits when the practical part is not completed.

Time & Place 

This is a web-based education using Canvas Catalog. You work on your own time at your own computer.

Content of the course

The course is in English and contains 15 modules

• Module 1: Ethics and Animal Use
• Module 2: Swedish Legislation
• Module 3: Animal Records
• Module 4: Identification Methods
• Module 5: Humane Endpoints
• Self-assessments Legislation, Animal Records, ID & Humane Endpoints
• Module 6: Biology
• Module 7: Ethology
• Module 8: Husbandry
• Module 9: Animal Care and Supervision
• Self-assessments Husbandry, Animal Care and Supervision
• Module 10: Anaesthesia, Analgesia and Euthanasia
• Module 11: Diseases in Laboratory Animals
• Module 12: Animal Experimental Methodology
• Module 13: Genetically Modified Organisms
• Module 14: Alternative Methods
• Module 15: Safety in Biomedical Facilities

To complete the course

Estimated time to complete the course is 40 h. The different modules will be examined continuously with self-assessments. Upon completing the theoretical part, there is a practical part which extent depends on your planned upcoming practical activities. Upon this you will receive a certificate valid for operate with animals.

Course literature

All literature is available on Canvas Catalog with additional links to Internet sites, which contain further information.
If you have questions about the course, please contact: djurutbildning@med.lu.se 

Training in Laboratory Animal Science - to apply (Lund University Staff Pages)

Course leader 
Karin Engström (karin.engstrom@med.lu.se)

Examiner
Helena Persson

Target group: 
Ph.D. students at the Faculty of Medicine

Scope 
The course equals one week (1.5 ECTS credits). Five days are scheduled, as well as self-studies.

Place
BMC E11079 Dialogen 

Time
Autumn 2025 - Week 46 (November 10-14)
Monday-Thursday 9-16. For the last day, attendance on-site is not compulsory.

Number of participants 
24

Language
English

Objectives
The purpose of the course is to provide basic knowledge of the programming language R to facilitate independent future use of applications written and / or implemented in this language, such as statistical analysis programs. 

Learning outcomes
On completion of the course, the student shall be able to:
• perform basic data operations using R
• identify potential pitfalls when handling data with R
• create basic and visually appealing diagrams using R
• identify online resources to independently answer questions and troubleshoot when programming in R

Content 
This course introduces students to the basic terms and concepts used within programming. The focus is on the handling of data with R, e.g., importing it into RStudio/Posit, summarising, cross-referencing, merging, creating new data. Different forms of relevant and graphically appealing visualisations will also be covered, as well as exporting the data and diagrams created in different formats. Packages in the Tidyverse software collection are used.

Design
A pre-course assignment involves installing RStudio/Posit and studying basic programming concepts and terminology with the help of provided course literature. Access to a laptop computer is required. The course consists of four compulsory full days. Teaching methods include lectures, programming demonstrations, and individual exercises. On the final day of the course, students work independently on the examination, with teachers available online. On-site participation is not compulsory during the final day of the course. Students who are unable to participate in the compulsory classes have the opportunity to work on the specified exercises on their own and to contact the teachers according to their scheduled availability.

Assessment
The examination consists of solving assignments using programming in R. The programming scripts that are used to answer the questions are then sent to the teachers for evaluation.

Grades
The grades awarded are Pass and Fail.

Admission requirements
Applicants who are admitted to postgraduate studies at Lund University are given priority. Other applicants affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine can be accepted if there are vacancies.

Required reading 
Literature on programming concepts distributed before the start of the course. 

Course dates

Fall 2025

November 10–14

Course Leader

Märta Wallinius marta.wallinius@med.lu.se

Target Group

PhD students active within compulsory psychiatric or forensic psychiatric fields, or thereto closely related research areas. Postdoctoral researchers may participate depending on availability. The course is part of the national research school COMPFOR, a collaboration between Lund University and the University of Gothenburg, but is offered as an elective course through the Faculty of Medicine, Lund University. Priority will be given to PhD students within COMPFOR.

Credits

3 ECTS credits

Purpose

The course will expand the PhD students’ knowledge about prerequisites and implications for clinically applied, co-created research within the context of (forensic) psychiatric care.

Outline

The teaching is primarily conducted through interactive learning activities. The course includes lectures, seminars, workshops, group work, individual work, practical applications, and self-studies. The course is conducted over ten days, starting with five days on-site in Lund, followed by five days of independent work.

1.5 credits

Course dates

Fall 2025 August 25- 29

This is a full-time course conducted on campus.

Number of participants: 35

Course Leaders

Pauline Mattsson pauline.mattsson@fek.lu.se

Target group

The target group is doctoral students who are at the second half of their studies at the Faculty of Medicine, Lund University. Researchers who hold a doctoral degree and doctoral students from other faculties or higher education institutions may be admitted to the course subject to the availability of places.

Language of instruction 

English

Objective 

The course equips doctoral students with interdisciplinary skills to enhance research impact, foster innovation, and communicate science effectively in addressing societal challenges and sustainability goals (SDGs).

Course design 

The course has a strong focus on teaching methods that stimulate active learning. It includes interactive learning activities emphasizing individual and collective reflection. Doctoral students engage in practical exercises, both oral and written, to argue for and reflect on the importance of their research in relation to societal challenges.

Course content 

The course highlights the growing importance of how research can help address and inspire potential solutions to today’s societal challenges, with a focus on the sustainability goals (SDGs) and the importance of communicating science, both in grant applications and to wider society. Doctoral students are introduced to how interdisciplinary collaborations and engagement with other sectors, such as industry, non-governmental organizations, patient groups, and policymakers, can enhance research outcomes and stimulate innovative ideas. This interdisciplinary approach also prepares doctoral students for future roles as research leaders and for careers beyond academia, particularly in fields that value interdisciplinary expertise.
 

Course dates 

Spring 2025:

Week 11-13, 10^th-28^th of March. Lectures are held in the mornings in class and the afternoons consist of individual work from the 10^th-21^st of March and labs from the 24^th-27^th of March; examination in the form of a presentation on 28^th of March.

Course organizers 

Nils Norlin  Nils.Norlin@med.lu.se

Ritha Gidlöf  Ritha.Gidlof@med.lu.se

Examinator

Gunilla Westergren-Thorsson Gunilla.Westergren-Thorsson@med.lu.se

Target group 

The course is aimed towards PhD students and researchers at the Faculty of Medicine.
Participation is free for PhD students from European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland. Other external participants might require a fee for participation for this course.

Description

The course is aimed at PhD students and researchers who wants to increase their knowledge about how to perform preclinical imaging in general.

At Lund University Bioimaging Center (LBIC) our mission is to combine knowledge in the fields of medical physics, preclinical and clinical medicine, chemistry, technology and applied mathematics in order to provide and develop imaging methods for the advanced study of human morphology, cellular metabolism and physiological function in health and disease.

In the preclinical arena, LBICs infrastructure provides equipment for both in-vivo, ex-vivo and in-vitro imaging. This graduate course aims to give PhD students, post-docs, researchers and others theoretical and practical experiences of LBICs preclinical imaging modalities as well as give an overview about the current state-of-the-art. The course will touch upon advanced light microscopy techniques (confocal, STORM, TIRF), electron microscopy (TEM/SEM) and the in vivo imaging techniques PET, SPECT, CT and MRI and upcoming (imaging based) omics methods for molecular profiling of tissues and cells. The course provides a base which helps to incorporate different imaging technologies into the scientific questions to be answered within biomedical research.

There will be time to ask individual questions to our lecturers about your own potential imaging research questions during the course.

Location

The course will be aimed to be conducted on campus in Lund for all days.

Examination
To pass the course you will need to attend the days in class, have an active participation in discussions and teamwork during these days, and completion of all the labs as well as hold a group presentation as the examination.

Credits

The course is rewarded with 3 ECTS credits (equal to three weeks full time studies) for enrolled PhD students. All participants will receive a certificate of attendance for the course.

Resources and literature

1) Molecular Imaging, Basic principles and Applications in Biomedical Research,

2^nd Edition, Imperial College Press, Markus Rudin

2) Sample preparation - Handbook for Transmission Electron Microscopy,

Springer, Jeanne Ayache.

3) Handbook of Sample Preparation for Scanning Electron Microscopy,

Springer, Patrick Echlin

4) In Vivo NMR Imaging Methods and Protocols,

Humana Press, Leif Schröder and Cornelius Faber editors

Complementary material will be handed out during the course. These will also be available on Libguide.

Registration

You can register through the link in the right hand margin. If you are an external participant (outside of Lund University), please clearly state this and your affiliation and professional title in “Other comments”, and try to fill the other information in as good as possible (if not relevant leave blank)

3 credits

Course dates

Spring 2025 February 10- March 7

This is a part-time course conducted on campus.

Preliminary dates: 10/2, 11/2, 12/2 18/2, 25/2, 26/2 6/3 

Number of participants: 16

Course Leaders

Lina Magnusson Lina.Magnusson@med.lu.se

Target group

The target group is doctoral students who are to conduct qualitative studies within the framework of their third-cycle studies at the Faculty of Medicine, Lund University. Researchers who hold a doctoral degree and doctoral students from other faculties or higher education institutions may be admitted to the course subject to the availability of places.

Language of instruction 

English

Objective 

The course provides an introduction for the participants on how to apply qualitative methodology.

Course design 

The course is made up of lectures, group discussions and seminars. The course concludes with a seminar that includes a presentation of the student’s plan and peer review of another student’s plan for a qualitative study.

Course content 

The course includes study design of qualitative studies and different types of qualitative data collection methods. The course focuses on common qualitative data analysis methods in medical and health sciences research. Reliability aspects in relation to qualitative methodology are introduced and discussed in relation to the various parts of the qualitative research process. The seminars and assignments in the course are designed to enable the students to work according to a plan that includes a research question, data collection method and preliminary analysis of pilot interviews and/or focus group discussions that relate to the student’s own area of research.

Syllabus (pdf 212 kb, new tab)

• Activity balance during health, ill health and sickness
• Collecting and using biobank samples in research
• Applied Epidemiology and statistics III: Causal inference with non-randomized data 
• Approaches to handling of missing data (samarbete med GU - online course)
• Basic Data Handling and Visualization with R
• Clinical proteomics and biological mass spectrometry
• Complex interventions in health care with a special focus on the care of adults and older persons
• Diabetes research
• Drug development and clinical trials 
• Epidemiology I - Introduction to Epidemiology
• Flow cytometry, introductory course
• Flow cytometry, continuation course
• Glycobiology
• Health and Environment with special focus on climate change and sustainability
• Introduction to programming
• MAX IV/ESS-based imaging for medical and biomedical research, experimental setup
• Medical Bioinformatics, Introduction
• Neutron scattering for medical and biomedical research, experimental part.
• Perspectives on gender and intersectionality in medical and health research
• Preclinical imaging
• Applied Epidemiology and Statistics III – Causal inference with non-randomised data
• Applied Qualitative Methodology II 
• Applied Statistics III – Statistical methods for repeated measurements
• Applied Statistics III – Time Series Analysis in Clinical and Environmental Epidemiology
• Applied Statistics III – Survival Analysis
• X-ray micro- and nanoimaging for medical and biomedical research, experimental part