One semester at ESTBB | courses in English

ESTBB offers operational and comprehensive courses of biology and biotechnology. With a student-centered pedagogy, the entire ESTBB team has set itself the task of strengthening the knowledge, skills and interpersonal skills of each of them.

Our school offers two Bachelor / License level courses, open to international students for inter-university exchange semesters.

What can you expect from this mobility at ESTBB ?

• Education based on numerous practical works
• Work in small groups with personalized support
• Courses in English (or in French)
• Be part of UCly, a modern human-sized University in the center of Lyon

S6IN1 - Advanced genetic engineering: Molecular Biology, Virology, Cancer Biology

Course learning goals and description

Molecular biology

Molecular biology is the key to all biotechnologies currently developed. During this course, we will discuss methods and techniques of molecular biology using concrete examples. In addition, we will provide a theoretical basis, necessary to understand experiments and concepts used in laboratory projects.

The topic of genome edition will be treated and we will focus on CRISPR/Cas9. The possibilities, limitations and ethics of gene technology will be discussed.

Virology

To acquire knowledge in virology to be able to describe:

• the structure, morphology and life cycle of viruses
• viral vectors and their applications
• the structure and life cycle of Influenza virus and Hepatitis B virus
• cellular transformation by RNA and DNA viruses and links to cancer
• emerging virus and human health

Cancer biology

This course is an introduction to cancer biology. The definition of cancer, the cellular pathways affected the molecular mechanisms and some of the important genes and proteins will be discussed.

Prerequisite

Genetic engineering level 1 and 2

Evaluation

Written exams and coursework

S6IN2 - Cell technologies

Course learning goals and description

The goal is to provide students with theoretical and practical knowledge of the various cellular technologies available today.

The student should know the different types of cultures (primary culture, immortalized cell lines, organotypic culture / 2D or 3D culture), the main guidelines for their implementation and the purposes to use such techniques. This last part will be illustrated using recent scientific publications.

These cellular technologies are also a big challenge in term of cell therapies and because of this, it is important to understand what stem cells are: from embryonic to adult and induced iPS.

The last point will be the genetic modifications of cells in culture (for research and / or production and / or therapeutic purpose), with a particular focus on the CRISPR / Cas9 method.

Laboratory classes:

During laboratory practice, students will become familiar with specific laboratory equipment for cell culture (laminar flow hoods, incubator, microscopy, etc.) and with common handling techniques, in accordance with good laboratory practices and rules. At the end of the training, the student must be able to perform all the expected manipulations on cell lines, such as the maintenance of cells, counting, treatment, freezing and thawing cells.

Prerequisite

Cell biology.

Evaluation

Written exams and coursework

S6IN3 - Bioinformatics

Course learning goals and description

The overall objective is to introduce students to bioinformatics.
This powerful tool is essential to acquire, as it will be the first step for project design and results analysis.
Therefore, students will learn how to decipher the vast amounts of biomedical and genomic data using online tools that will be relevant to their work in the coming decades (from nucleic acid to protein, primary sequences to look for structures and functions)
They will also understand the interest of phylogenetics and comparative genomics.

Prerequisite

Genetic engineering 1 and 2, genetics

Evaluation

Practical examinations:  2h on computer.
Written examinations and continuous assessment.

S6IN4 - Epigenetics

Course learning goals and description

The objectives of the course are:

• To understand what is epigenetics, the different components and mechanisms of the epigenome: chromatin organization, histone modifications, DNA methylation, polycomb repression and non-coding RNAs.
• To acquire knowledge in Epigenetic regulation during normal development and also the implication of an epigenetic dysregulation in a variety of diseases including cancer and behavioral diseases.
• To learn what tools and technologies are performed to decode the epigenome.
• To be introduced to CRISPR mediated epigenome editing and its potential applications.

Prerequisite

Genetic engineering 1 and 2, genetics.

Evaluation

Written exams and coursework.

S6IN5 - Ecology

Course learning goals and description

At the end of this course, the student will be able to understand and analyze the ecological issues of the 21st century.

The student will be introduced to ecological theory, follow a presentation and analysis of mathematical models and sampling strategy in ecology.

A large number of examples will be proposed to better understand :

• the interface between biodiversity and public health and veterinary issues;
• relations between the environmental crisis of the 21st century and human and animal health

Prerequisite

None

Evaluation

Written examination

S6IN6 - Literature review

Course learning goals and description

Bibliographic review on a scientific topic selected by the student with his tutor.

The student will write a scientific review of the chosen topic.

Prerequisite

None

Evaluation

Coursework