Hands-on metagenomics using Oxford Nanopore DNA sequencing

Welcome to Hands-on metagenomics using Oxford Nanopore DNA sequencing

Description: Microbial communities underpin all processes in the environment and have a direct impact on human health. However, despite their importance, only a tiny fraction of the millions of different microbes is known. This is mainly due to the immense difficulties of cultivating microbes from natural systems in the laboratory.

The field of metagenomics, where DNA is used to study organisms in complex systems, has seen rapid development for many years and together with the last decade of massive improvements in long read DNA sequencing technologies in terms of yield and read quality it has reached a state where getting complete genomes from many organisms is no longer just a dream.

The cheap sequencing platforms provided by Oxford Nanopore Technologies have disrupted the sequencing market with easy access to long read real-time DNA sequencing everywhere enabling more people to analyze the metagenomic information of complex samples.

In this course, the participants will learn to use nanopore based DNA sequencing combined with advanced metagenome binning techniques to discover novel species, recover high quality genomes from complex metagenomes and link extra chromosomal elements using methylation profiles. Hence, overcoming the cultivation bias directly and participants can begin their journey towards addressing global challenges such as climate change and antibiotic resistance.

The course includes hands-on DNA library preparation, and sequencing using the nanopore platform. The obtained data is subsequently used for hands-on bioinformatics including metagenome assembly, binning and genome annotation.

Prerequisites: 

• Basic knowledge of DNA
• Basic knowledge of bioinformatics Evaluation:

Learning objectives: The course addresses PhD students who want to apply nanopore sequencing and metagenomics in their projects.

Organizer: Prof. Mads Albertsen, Email: ma@bio.aau.dk

Lecturers: Søren Heidelbach, Sebastian Møllvang Dall, Rasmus H. Kirkegaard and Mads Albertsen

ECTS: 3.0

Date: 2, 3, 4, 5 November 2026

Place: Aalborg University

City: Aalborg

Maximal number of participants: 25

Open for enrolment: 5 July 2026

Deadline for enrolment: 12 October 2026

Important information concerning PhD courses: 

There is a no-show fee of DKK 3,000 for each course where the student does not show up. Cancellations are accepted no later than 2 weeks before the start of the course. Registered illness is of course an acceptable reason for not showing up on those days. Furthermore, all courses open for registration approximately four months before start of the course.

We cannot ensure any seats before the deadline for enrolment, all participants will be informed after the deadline, approximately 3 weeks before the start of the course.

You may find more information in our FAQ: https://phd.moodle.aau.dk/local/page/faq 

For inquiries not described in the FAQ, please contact the PhD administration at phdcourses@adm.aau.dk. When contacting us please state the course title and course period. Thank you.