An Introduction to Human Genome Analysis and Interpretation

Lecturer

Dr. Henrike Heyne

General information

Semester: SO 2026
hrs/wk: 4
ECTS: 6
Registration Time: 01/04/2026 - 30/04/2026
Course type: Lecture/Exercise (L/E)
Lecturer Language: Englisch

Study programs, module groups & modules

M.Sc. Computer Science
- Specialised Studies
  - I Track: Data and AI
    - Deep Dive
      - HPI-CS-DID: Data Integration - Deep Dive
    - Specialization
      - HPI-CS-DIS: Data Integration - Specialization
  - IV Track: Digital Health
    - Specialization
      - HPI-CS-DES: Application Development and Software Engineering - Specialization
    - Deep Dive
      - HPI-CS-DED: Application Development and Software Engineering - Deep Dive
M.Sc. Digital Health
- Scalable Computing and Algorithms for Digital Health (SCAD)
  - Specialization (HPI-SCAD-S)
  - Concepts and Methods (HPI-SCAD-C)
  - Technologies and Tools (HPI-SCAD-T)
- Acquisition, Processing and Analysis of Health Data (APAD)
  - Concepts and Methods (HPI-APAD-C)
  - Technologies and Tools (HPI-APAD-T)
  - Specialization (HPI-APAD-S)
M. Sc. Software Systems Engineering
- Online and Interactive Systems (OISY)
  - Concepts and Methods (HPI-OISY-C)
  - Technologies and Tools (HPI-OISY-T)
  - Specialization (HPI-OISY-S)
- Data-Driven Systems (DSYS)
  - Technologies and Tools (HPI-DSYS-T)
  - Concepts and Methods (HPI-DSYS-C)
  - Specialization (HPI-DSYS-S)
M.Sc. Data Engineering
- Complex Data Systems (CODS)
  - techniques and tools (HPI-CODS-T)
  - Specialization (HPI-CODS-S)
  - Concepts and methods (HPI-CODS-K)
M.Sc. Cybersecurity
- Security Analytics (SECA)
  - techniques and tools (HPI-SECA-T)
  - Concepts and methods (HPI-SECA-K)
  - Specialization (HPI-SECA-S)

More information

Description

The purpose of the course “Understanding Your Genome” is to introduce students to the biological, ethical, computational and analytical aspects of using personal genome information in health care and biomedical research.

The content of the lecture series covers a wide range of human genetics related topics ranging from biological background and analytical/computational aspects to reaearch and clinical application. We will start with a broad overview including ethical aspects in genetics, continue with "classical" Mendelian Genetics and then learn how human population history and evolution influence our genes and how that can affect our health. We will then dicuss how genetic data can help us to understand disease mechanisms and identify new drug targets. We also have 2-3 guest speakers discussing additional topics such as pharmacogenomics, machine learning in clinical genetics and genotyping techniques. Overall, the course will also discuss medical aspects: how to interpret disease-causing genetic mutations, how to predict diseases such as diabetes based on genomic data, and how genetic information can be used to recommend clinical treatments.

In the practical semianr, we will use publicly available individual and population genomic data to understand the predictive character of genomic variants and their significance for diagnosis, prognosis and therapy in medicine. Here, students will have the opportunity to explore a selection of their own genomic data.