FRM9550 - Photobiology
Course content
The course aims to give the participants an overview of the interaction of light with living organisms and medical use of light. Light has been used for medical purposes for several thousands of years. However, only for the last 50 years light has had an important role in medicine for use in diagnosis, phototherapy alone or in combination with photosensitizing drugs. In recent years it has also been shown that several medicines are photodegraded by light.
Light has many important biological functions as in photosynthesis and vitamin D synthesis. On the other hand, ultraviolet light (UV) may be harmful, e.g. by inducing DNA damage that may result in sundamaged skin and cancer. A reduced ozon layer in the atmosphere will increase the exposure of most living organisms to UV and thereby increase the cancer incidence and will have a major environmental impact.
Learning outcome
The main goal is to give the students a broad overview of the most important scientific fields of photobiology and photomedicine with a focus on photophysics and photochemistry, penetration of light in tissue, photomedicine including photodynamic therapy, photodiagnosis, UV effects on tissue (DNA damage, photocarcinogenesis, photoimmunology, UV cell signaling and vitamin D synthesis), photosynthesis, environmental photobiology and photosensory biology. The lectures will be devided into a genereal part that needs to be followed by all students and a more in-depth part where the students select 3 out of 9 lecture alternatives. The course will provide a good basis for further studies in photobiology and photomedicine.
Admission
PhD candidates from the University of Oslo should apply for classes and register for examinations through Studentweb.
If a course has limited intake capacity, priority will be given to PhD candidates who follow an individual education plan where this particular course is included. Some national researchers’ schools may have specific rules for ranking applicants for courses with limited intake capacity.
PhD candidates who have been admitted to another higher education institution must apply for a position as a visiting student within a given deadline.
The examination in this course is not available for external candidates. Only students admitted to the course may sit for the examination.
Prerequisites
Formal prerequisite knowledge
Id does not exist in shared textThe course is only available to students who have passed the MSc in pharmacy or other natural sciences or medicine.
Overlapping courses
2 credits against FRM5540/FRM9540 - Photoreactivity of medicines
Teaching
This subject is primarily a self study.
If you choose to sit for the exam in Italy, the lectures are manditory. These will take place in in Brixen/Bressanone, South-Tyrol, Italy at the ESP - Photobiology School, approx one week in late june.
If you choose to sit for the exam i Norway, there are no lectures, only self study.
Access to teaching
Id does not exist in shared textStudents who are registered for a PhD programme at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the University of Oslo or have a status as visiting PhD student, and are registered for the course.
Examination
Written exam (2 hours) in English for those attending the lecatures/summaries in Italy or oral exam at the School of Pharmacy, University of Oslo (norwegian).
Examination support material
No examination support material is allowed.
Language of examination
Id does not exist in shared textGrading scale
Grades are awarded on a pass/fail scale. Read more about the grading system.
An external auditor regularly evaluates the academic quality of the course, including the form of exam used on the course.
Explanations and appeals
Id does not exist in shared textA student may appeal against an awarded grade and/or file a formal complaint about exam procedures.
Resit an examination
You can usually resit an exam, but the conditions depend on whether you had a valid reason for absence from the regular exam. Read more about resitting an exam.
Withdrawal from an examination
Id does not exist in shared textSpecial examination arrangements
If you have a disability or a health problem that entails significant inconvenience in an examination situation, you may be considered for special examination arrangements. Mothers who are breastfeeding may apply for extra time to complete the exam.