This workshop provides a hands-on learning experience with a focus on a wider variety of AI tools, their ethical implications and their practical applications. The aim is to facilitate the responsible and efficient use of AI-based tools in research and academia.

Content:

• Understand the importance of using AI in research and academia and assess the benefits and risks involved
• Craft effective prompts for your research tasks
• Develop strategies to integrate AI tools into your research workflow
• Stay informed about and adapt to new developments in the field of AI

At the end of the workshop, you will receive a list of generative AI prompts useful in research and academia. There will be practice sessions during the workshop for which you will need access to AI tools, particularly ChatGPT/GPT-4o. If you do not have an account with ChatGPT/GPT-4o, alternatives like Microsoft Copilot, Google Bard or Claude.ai could also be used.

This course provides a solid ground in neuroscience, including cellular neuroscience, sensory and motor functions, and higher brain functions. It is intended for those lacking a basic neuroscience education. It runs in parallel with the Neuroscince course of the Bachelors programme in biomedicine. The course does not give regular course credits for doctoral students, but can be used to cover the demand of a grounding course in human physiology/pathology.

This course takes you on a journey into the exploration of how the brain shapes and enables our social and affective behaviors. We will examine key questions, such as how we learn from each other, when and in what ways social norms influence us, and how our communication and social decision-making unfold. 

This course provides students with in-depth knowledge in the field of digital health from an entrepreneurship perspective. Domains of digital health, needs-based innovation including prototyping, usability and testing as well as data management, intellectual property, reimbursement, business models, ethics and future trends will be discussed and analyzed.

The Statistics module covers:

Basic test theory; 2-tests for contingency tables; t-Test; non-parametric tests; analysis of variance (ANOVA); multiple testing; power calculations; calculation rules for probabilities and neurobiological applications; guidelines for choice of analysis strategy; software implementations; effect size based hypothesis testing

The Scientific writing module:

• Introduction into general guidelines and rules for scientific writing
• Introduction into the elements of style
• Analysis and discussion of scientific texts
• How to improve and correct a text
• Practices in writing. Students will write their own texts and correct and make suggestions for improvements of the texts of others

Research ethics module covers:

• Main approaches and methods in current research ethics
• Ethical standards of good scientific practice
• Ethical issues related to research with humans
• Ethical issues related to animals
• Ethical issues related to research with biological material

This course covers the concepts of:

• Mechanisms of axonal transport, neuronal cytoskeleton, neurite outgrowth, extracellular matrix, neurotrophic factors
• Mechanisms of synaptic transmission, vesicles, Snare’s, structure, synthesis and inactivation of neurotransmitters, neurotransmitterreceptors, signal transduction pathways; Pre and post synaptic signal modification
• Specific features of non-neuronal cells astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, microglia, Composition, synthesis and function of myelin, biochemistry and function of astrocytes and microglia; Pathobiochemistry of Alzheimer disease, prion diseases, leukodystrophies, polyglutamin diseases and multiple sclerosis

The course aims to introduce students to human sensory perception with a focus on clinical utility and research. The neurological and evolutionary principles underlying vision, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and additional methods of perception will be covered.

The course will introduce the historical and evolutionary context for our senses, so as to provide an understanding for why humans operate and behave the way we do. Beyond the traditional five senses of vision, hearing, taste, smell, and touch, we will discuss several other sensory modalities available to humans, including the vestibular system. The neurological principles guiding the integration of these senses will be outlined, with special reference to subconscious and conscious decision-making. These systems will then be tested through a series of practical experiments, giving students a chance to reflect on blind-spots in human perception and how to implement these in a scientific and clinical setting. Finally, common sensory pathologies will be discussed.

Why doesn't the mammalian central nervous system (CNS) regenerate while many other tissues do? Which cutting-edge technologies and models are most effective for studying CNS repair? What regenerative strategies can be designed to rebuild such a complex tissue? Led by renowned experts and featuring distinguished international speakers, this course will delve into the intricacies of how the CNS responds to injury at a cellular and molecular level, as well as the most advanced research into regenerative therapies ranging from stem cell-based to gene therapies. The curriculum spans from fundamental research to preclinical development, with a particular focus on state-of-the-art approaches for studying CNS injury, degeneration, and repair.

Selection will be based on:
1) the relevance of the course syllabus for the applicant's doctoral project (according to written motivation),
2) start date of doctoral studies (priority given to earlier start date)

Developmental biology lies at the heart of an effort to understanding complex biological systems. By studying how neural circuits are assembled we can extrapolate key aspects of their function as well as devise strategies for their repair. This course is given to deepen the understanding of how molecular and cellular mechanisms underlie neurobiological function and to widen the horizon of students within the strong Karolinska neuroscience community.

Contents of the course: The course will cover the main steps of development from neural stem cells to mature circuits, including the patterning of the neural plate and thus the origin of cell types, the interplay between intrinsic and extrinsic factors, gene regulation including epigenetics, neuro-glia interactions and the role of network activity in shaping the final circuits. Different molecular and tracing technologies, and model organisms will be covered. An important aspect of the course regards molecular technologies for labeling, transcriptional analysis, and genetic manipulation of defined neural populations. Connections between aberrant developmental processes and neurodevelopmental and neurological disorders will be discussed.

Course director

The course is given by four course-leaders: Gonçalo Castelo-Branco, Jens Hjerling-Leffler and Ulrika Marklund all at MBB and François Lallemend at Dept of Neuroscience.