Course Overview
Liquid biopsies have the advantage of being largely non-invasive and providing a vast amount of information for the detection and monitoring of diseases such as cancer. This course will provide hands-on experience in the several techniques to detect and analyse circulating tumor cells (CTCs), cell free tumor DNA (ctDNA) and proteins. Participants will have the opportunity to learn all aspects ranging from proper sampling through error free sequencing to data analysis. Lectures will also cover extracellular vesicles and clinical aspects using liquid biopsies, especially in the field of cancer diagnostics.
Audience
This course targets young scientists entering the field of liquid biopsy analysis and wanting to learn about the benefits and limitations of different approaches.
Modules/Resources
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Hands-on experience on ultra-sensitive mutation detection using sequencing
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Applications of digital PCR to the liquid biopsy workflow
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Protein analysis in liquid biopsis
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Data analysis and interpretations
Learning Outcomes
Participants will learn about the complete workflow in liquid biopsies, from sample preparation to data analysis and gain an overview of the current methods. Best practices, pitfalls as well as dos and don'ts will be discussed. After the course, participants should be able to assess the best methods for their application as well as design their experiments.
For an impression of the course check the 2018 course programme.
