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Teaching

The Infection Biology Unit is extensively engaged in teaching at Georg-August University Göttingen. The complete list of lectures and seminars offered by the Infection Biology Unit and the respective schedules are available here.
 

Lectures

The lecture Basic Virology (Lecturers: PD. Dr. Michael Winkler, Prof. Stefan Pöhlmann) is directed to bachelor and master students of natural sciences, is delivered in English and provides insights into basic concepts of virology. The students will become familiar with the architecture of viruses and will learn how these agents replicate and evade the immune response of the host. Moreover, it will be discussed how viruses cause disease and how this process can be prevented by antivirals and vaccines. The lectures will focus on important human pathogens, including HIV, influenza and herpesviruses.

The lecture Molecular Biology of HIV Replication and Pathogenesis (Lecturer: Prof. Stefan Pöhlmann) is directed to master and PhD students in natural sciences, but is also suitable for interested bachelor students. The lecture is delivered in English and provides insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying the different steps of HIV replication in infected cells. Moreover, innate antiviral defenses and viral countermeasures will be discussed. In addition, insights into humoral immune responses against HIV and challenges associated with the generation of an effective vaccine will be provided. Finally, concepts and components of antiretroviral therapy will be introduced and the zoonotic origin of HIV will be discussed.

 

Seminars

Within the seminar Current Topics in Molecular Virology, members of the Infection Models Unit, the Infection Biology Unit and the Junior Research Group Herpesviruses will present and discuss virology papers. The presentations will be delivered in English. Interested students in the natural sciences area are invited to join in.

 

Methods courses

Viral vectors can be employed to deliver foreign genes into cells, a process termed transduction. They are important tools for gene therapy and are routinely used to efficiently transduce cell lines or to generate stable cell lines. In addition, viral vectors equipped with heterologous glycoproteins are frequently employed to analyze viral entry into host cells. The course Viral Transduction Systems will introduce various viral vector systems and will demonstrate how they can be employed to transduce target cell lines with high efficiency. Moreover, it will be discussed how vector systems can be used to answer scientific questions on virus entry. The students will:

  • Learn how viral vector systems function
  • Transfect cells with plasmids encoding vector components
  • Transduce target cell lines with viral vectors and measure transduction efficiency
  • Learn techniques employed to increase transduction efficiency
  • Receive an introduction into work in a BSL2 and BSL3 laboratory

 

Lab rotations, bachelor- and master-thesis

Bachelor program Biology

  • Lab rotations
  • Bachelor thesis

Master programs Molecular Biology, Molecular Medicine and Microbiology and Biochemistry

  • Lab rotations
  • Master thesis