Course Information
NN
1,5 ECTS
2026-05-01
Other Courses
Swedish and English
12
2026
3
Drug development
5
Inflammation
6
Metabolism
Human cell culture – methods and applications
Course Leader
Patrik Lundquist
Department
Department of Pharmacy
Weeks
May 25-29, 2026
Location
TBD
Duration
5 days
Description
A combined theoretical and practical course in cell culture methods focusing on culture of human primary cells and cell lines. Culture of primary cells as well as cell lines will be covered.
Learning Outcomes
The student should be able to describe, evaluate and analyze cell culture techniques and models of relevance for the student’s own research project. The students should understand and be able to perform basic techniques in cell culture.
Content
Cell culture reflecting stem, transit amplifying, differentiated and terminally differentiated tissue states; Monolayer and organotypic culture involving one or more cell types. Applicability of cell cultures as alternatives to laboratory animal experiments. Mechanisms regulating cell growth and viability, differentiation and apoptosis. Assessment of cell transformation to immortal and malignant phenotypes. Isolation of specific cells, e.g., epithelial cells, characterisation of cultured cells. Handling and sterile techniques, choice of materials and media for cell culture, e.g., serum-dependent vs. serum-free culture conditions. Cell cloning and gene transfer. Practical handling of cultures: thawing/freezing, passage, expansion and long-term storage. Handling of normal and tumor tissue for optimizing obtainment of cultures. Tissue engineering practices. Transcriptomics, proteomics and informatics methods for biomedical research with cell lines. Discussion of participants own culture experience and problems.
Instructions
Lectures, laboratory exercise, individual project, examination seminar.
A significant part of the course will be devoted to an individual work where the student studies and presents on cell culture related to their own research projects.
A significant part of the course will be devoted to an individual work where the student studies and presents on cell culture related to their own research projects.
Examination
Examination seminar where students present their individual project on a cell type relevant for their research. Laboratory exercise .
Literature
Hand-outs, scientific articles
Teachers
Patrik Lundquist
Mikael Sellin
Roland Grafström
Penny Nymark
Pekka Kohonen
Pierre Sabatier
Mikael Sellin
Roland Grafström
Penny Nymark
Pekka Kohonen
Pierre Sabatier