Admission requirements
This course is open to MSc students in Molecular Genetics and Biotechnology, Biology, Life Science & Technology (LST), Chemistry, and related fields.
Description
The Master Course Multi-Omics for Drug Discovery explores the cutting-edge integration of different multi-omics approaches to discover and/or optimize bioactive compounds. Organisms such as microbes or plants are presented as "biofactories" of natural products, offering a deep dive into their potential for producing novel bioactive compounds.
Designed for students specializing in Molecular Genetics and Biotechnology or Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences, the course bridges fundamental research and applied science by exploring how genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic data drive drug discovery. Students will learn how molecular biology tools and omics technologies contribute to the identification, optimization, and production of natural products. While rooted in academic research, the course highlights how these discoveries inform pharmaceutical innovation.
The course combines state-of-the-art lectures delivered by top scientists with foundational instruction and a hands-on workshop, where students will analyze multi-omics datasets and write a critical discussion of their findings.
Course Objectives
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
- Analyze genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic datasets to answer scientific questions.
- Evaluate the strengths and limitations of multi-omics approaches when studying natural product-producing organisms, such as microbes, fungi, and plants.
- Explain the molecular mechanisms regulating biosynthetic pathways and discuss their relevance for drug discovery and biotechnology applications.
- Design experimental plans for optimizing natural product discovery based on the interpretation of multi-omics data and propose follow-up experiments.
Timetable
In MyTimetable, you can find all course and programme schedules, allowing you to create your personal timetable. Activities for which you have enrolled via MyStudyMap will automatically appear in your timetable.
Additionally, you can easily link MyTimetable to a calendar app on your phone, and schedule changes will be automatically updated in your calendar. You can also choose to receive email notifications about schedule changes. You can enable notifications in Settings after logging in.
Questions? Watch the video, read the instructions, or contact the ISSC helpdesk.
Note: Joint Degree students from Leiden/Delft need to combine information from both the Leiden and Delft MyTimetables to see a complete schedule. This video explains how to do it.
Mode of instruction
The course consists of lectures and a hands-on workshop. A foundational understanding of biochemistry is required.
Assessment method
Written assessment (Exam, 50%) about the content of the lectures.
Workshop Report (50%): Assessment based on the analysis, interpretation, and clarity of the A4 discussion paper.
Both need a minimum of 5.6 to pass the course.
Minimum grade:
Courses require a minimum, unrounded 5.5 grade to complete.
If a course has 2 or more written partial exams, the minimum grade only applies to the weighted average of the exams.
For partial grades from components other than exams (e.g. practicals, seminars, writing assignments), the bottom grade does apply to the individual components.
Please refer to the Student Charter for an overview of regulations.
Reading list
n.a.
Registration
As a student, you are responsible for enrolling on time through MyStudyMap.
In this short video, you can see step-by-step how to enrol for courses in MyStudyMap.
Extensive information about the operation of MyStudyMap can be found here.
There are two enrolment periods per year:
Enrolment for the fall opens in July
Enrolment for the spring opens in December
See this page for more information about deadlines and enrolling for courses and exams.
Note:
It is mandatory to enrol for all activities of a course that you are going to follow.
Your enrolment is only complete when you submit your course planning in the ‘Ready for enrolment’ tab by clicking ‘Send’.
Not being enrolled for an exam/resit means that you are not allowed to participate in the exam/resit.
Contact
Coordinator: Dr. Isabel Nuñez Santiago
Email: i.nunez.santiago@biology.leidenuniv.nl
Remarks
Software
Starting from the 2024/2025 academic year, the Faculty of Science will use the software distribution platform Academic Software. Through this platform, you can access the software needed for specific courses in your studies. For some software, your laptop must meet certain system requirements, which will be specified with the software. It is important to install the software before the start of the course. More information about the laptop requirements can be found on the student website.