MOOC on Biomarkers

Biomarkers are the subject of considerable interest by scientists and researchers worldwide: they determine the use of targeted treatments (a major therapeutic advance in medicine), allow to measure the evolution of a disease or to indicate a particular physiological event.

After a period of enthusiasm, it is clear that the development of reliable biomarkers is long and complex and must respect rigorous methodological constraints. Due to the extraordinary development of genomics and proteomics and the exposure of the Institut Pasteur international network (IPIN) to emerging diseases, the Institut Pasteur is particularly well-positioned to study the interest of biomarkers for diseases diagnosis and prognosis in global health. The aim of this MOOC is to review the interest of biomarkers for public health, based in particular on the research activities of the thirty-three institutes of the Institut Pasteur international network.

This MOOC is organized into four chapters. The first chapter introduces the subject and delas with the definition and methodological aspects of biomarkers; the second chapter, based on targeted examples (HIV, arbovirus, malaria, tuberculosis, etc.), focuses on the use of biomarkers in infectious diseases. The third chapter is dedicated to biomarkers in oncology. The fourth chapter sheds light on the use of biomarkers in the context of non-communicable diseases (rare diseases, Alzheimer's disease, liver disease, etc.).

This MOOC revolves around two important points: first, the undeniable diagnostic, prognostic and / or therapeutic interest of biomarkers. At each stage of a patient’s care, from the diagnosis of a disease to its treatment, biomarkers are useful and make it possible to hope for a "personalized medicine". The second important point refers to the limits of most biomarkers: insufficient sensitivity or specificity; possible application to a subgroup of patients only, for a given pathology; short duration of their half-life, reducing their clinical relevance (due to the emergence of more effective biomarkers or therapeutic progress). Research on biomarkers remains essential to overcome these limitations, to define new combinations of different biomarkers and to optimize their performance and hence their use. We hope that this MOOC and the associated multiple-choice questions will clarify the use of bio-markers in tomorrow’s medicine and highlight both their advantages and limitations.

Detailed programme, speakers biography and more available here

End of registrations

12 June 2017

Class starts

29 May 2017

Class ends

12 July 2017

Estimated effort

2h30/week

Language

English

Further info and registration
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