ENS - Enseignement

Microbial Ecosystems and Climate Change

Alice Lebreton — 2026-07-16T14:44:53Z

Master in Life Sciences, ENS-PSL – M2
2026-2027 - Semester 1
UNBIO1-139 | Microbial Ecosystems and Climate Change (MicECliC) — theory & experimentation
Where : ENS Departments of Biology, room 324, and CEREEP Ecotron IDF
Duration : 1 week | 30 hours (plus personal work)
Dates : November 23-27, 2026
Maximum class size : 15 students
3 ECTS

—2026 provisional syllabus—

NB . In 2026, the courses Terrestrial Ecosystems & Climate change and Climate Change Microbiology have fused, giving birth to Microbial Ecosystems & Climate Change.

Coordination

Samuel Abiven, Laboratoire de Géologie CEREEP-Ecotron, CNRS, ENS
Alice Lebreton, IBENS group BIRD, ENS-PSL

Keywords

Course Prerequisites

Overall understanding of the principles of the greenhouse effect. General knowledge in microbiology and in evolution. Basic notions of the water, carbon and nitrogen cycles in the biosphere, atmosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and in community and ecosystem ecology.

Course objectives and description

Aims

This course offers a broad overview of the functions and diversity of microbial ecosystems studied in the specific context of anthropogenic climate change, by combining lectures and practical work. After a broad overview of the contribution of microbes to the earth climate systems through geological times, we will aim to delineate how microbial life and its perturbations influence climate or modulate the consequences of its change, and reciprocally how microorganisms respond to global changes. These interactions modify biochemical cycles, at small to global scales. To better understand and predict these changes, the feedback interactions between anthropogenic drivers of global change and the soil-microbe systems can be experimentally tested and modelled.
Taking advantage of the experimentation premises of the CEREEP-Ecotron Île-de-France, we will lead a series of experiments on small ecosystems (soil microbiomes), which were submitted to some of these global change drivers. We will particularly study the carbon cycle (isotopic labelling experiment, mass balance calculation, soil respiration), the water cycle (time series data analysis, mass balance), nutrient cycles (mineral nitrogen), biodiversity dynamics, soil properties (aggregates stability, chemical and biological quality of soils).
Altogether, this course provides concrete tools to understand why microbial diversity needs to be taken into account as a primordial, though unseen, ingredient of climate diagnosis, policies and action.

Themes covered

Microbes in the past of Earth and of its climate
How has microbial life contributed to the building of Earth as we know it ? This theme emphasizes its effects on the composition of the atmosphere, hydrosphere and Earth's crust.
Microbial contributions to climate change
This theme documents some of the ways through which microbial activities play a part in climate modulation and its ongoing anthropogenic change. The roles of microbes in the ocean carbon sink, in greenhouse gas emissions, on carbon soil sequestration and in lake eutrophication are relevant to this topic.
Impact of climate change on microbial ecosystems
What is the impact of climate change on interactions between microorganisms and their hosts, or with other microbes ? Examples include adaptation to environmental change in the case of plant-fungi interactions ; the breakdown of symbiosis in corals ; or the use of microbiomes as indicators of ecosystemic shifts.
Infectious threat in a changing world
Increasing evidence indicates that climate perturbation has broad scale consequences on the spread of infectious disease, including fungal diseases, vector-borne diseases, or contagions in migratory birds. Beyond climate, the risk of zoonotic spillover rises upon ecosystemic disruption.

Organization

This module will take place during the week of November 23 to 27 at ENS, Biology department, 46 rue d'Ulm, room 324 (Monday, Thursday and Friday) and at the CEREEP-Ecotron Ile-de-France, at Saint-Pierre-lès-Nemours (Tuesday and Wednesday). Students will be hosted at the station on the night of Tuesday 24, since the lectures and experimental work will take place on site. Housing costs will be covered by PSL Graduate Program Earth Science and Biodiversity.
Lectures are given in English.

Assessment

At the end of the week, the students will present their main findings, this presentation and a brief report being the evaluation for the module.

Course material

Readings and slides will be made available to enrolled students on Moodle.

Qlife Quantitative Biology winter school « Quantitative Seascape Ecology of Marine Plankton » 2027

Bofei Ma — 2026-06-23T14:37:43Z

Download here poster

Download here tentative program

program_ws_plankton_27Feb

Master in Life Science, ENS
BIO-Q10-Qlife Winter School | Quantitative Seascape Ecology of Marine Plankton
Year and Semester : M2 | S2
Where : Biology department, ENS
Duration : 1 week (March 15 - 19, 2027)
Credits : 3 ECTS
Maximum class size : 25 students

Coordination

Patrick Charnay, Biology Department, ENS
Chairman of the scientific committee : Chris Bowler, Biology Department, ENS

Keywords

Course prerequisites

Basic experience in file manipulation under Unix/Linux and coding ability in Python or R. Attendance is competitive (25 participants) and open to M2 and PhD students, postdocs, engineers and junior scientists with backgrounds in life science, geoscience, physics, chemistry, computer science and mathematics. Knowledge or experience in the fields of the school is recommended.

Course objectives and description

Aims and themes : the workshop will cover a range of quantitative studies in ecology made possible by the extensive Tara Oceans datasets, which comprise DNA sequence and organism imaging resources from all domains of plankton life including viruses, as well as rich metadata to explore their environmental context.
Participants will learn to use these unprecedented resources for exploring contributions of plankton to ecological, evolutionary and biogeochemical processes, aiming to provide the predictive power needed to track the impact of climate change on life in the oceans.

Organisation : Each day will include two introductory lectures in the morning, followed by digital practicals run by experts in the afternoon (every day, the student has to choose between two practicals).
The evenings will include inspirational seminars from prestigious scientists and poster presentations by the students.

Assessment of M2 students

After the course, the student who requires a mark writes reports on two of the digital workshops, which will be assessed by the coordinators of the practicals.

Course material

The course will include introductory lectures, a series of hands-on digital workshops run by experts, inspirational seminars from prestigious scientists and poster sessions run by the students.

Application Deadline

January 10th, 2027

Registration fees

200 € (fees cover lunches from Monday to Friday and some dinners).

Application procedure

Register through this link
In addition, provide a CV, a motivation letter and a supporting letter from a supervisor as a single pdf file with “Qlife Marine Plankton Winter School 2027_LASTNAME” as subject header to
qlife.events chez psl.eu

Speakers and Instructors

Olivier AUMONT, Paris
Sakina AYATA, Paris
Laurent BOPP, Paris
Chris BOWLER, Paris
Stafano CAMPAGNOLA, Palma
Lucia CAMPESE, Naples
Quentin CARRADECn Evry
Samuel CHAFFRON, Nantes
Colomban DE VARGAS, Roscoff
Roy EL HOURANY, Lille
Murat EREN, Oldenburg
Christian ETHÉ, Paris
Damien EVEILLARD, Nantes
Paul FREMONT, Evry
Jean-Olivier IRISSON, Villefranche-sur-mer
Olivier JAILLON, Evry
Sophia LAMBERT, Roscoff
Magali LESCOT, Marseille
Hélène MORLON, Paris
Laurina OMS, Paris
Lucas PAOLI, Lausanne
Benoît PEREZ-LAMARQUE, Toulouse
Renaud PERSON, Marseille
Taylor PRIEST, Zürich
Hugues ROEST CROLLIUS, Paris
Boris SAUTEREY, Paris
Enrico SER-GIACOMI, Palma
Shini SUNAGAWA, Zürich
Flora VINCENT, Heidelberg
Meike VOGT, Zürich

Applications 2026-2027

Anne Zalmanski — 2025-12-18T09:32:00Z

Students from abroad

Students from France

Graduate Program Excellence in Life Sciences scholarships

Anne Zalmanski — 2025-12-04T14:22:41Z

A scholarship program offering competitive stipends (up to 10,000 €/year) for students following the Interdisciplinary Master in Life Science (IMaLiS) has been established by the Graduate Program in Life Sciences to specifically support international students.

Eligibility criteria for applying to a Graduate Program Excellence in Life Sciences scholarship in the Master M1 year :

– Students holding an international foreign Bachelor's degree in Life Sciences or in another scientific discipline, but with a demonstrated background in Life Sciences, are eligible to apply to the scholarship program at the Master 1 level.

– Candidates must not have lived in France during the academic year of the selection (September 1st – August 31st) nor the previous year.

Please note : Students admitted at the M1 level may obtain a one-year scholarship that can be renewed for one additional year to cover the second year of IMaLiS. Recipients of the scholarship will be required to undertake their internship in laboratories affiliated with PSL.

Application procedure

Application for a scholarship is part of the application to the IMaLiS Master's program (only one application is required).
You will need to complete the PSL online application form for the Master IMaLiS track. For required documents and evaluations steps, please the see application procedure website. The online application form will enable you to indicate whether or not you wish to apply to the Graduate Program Excellence in Life Sciences scholarship program.

If you have been admitted to IMaLiS or placed on the waiting list, you will proceed to a remote oral examination on a biology-related topic, which will allow the panel to establish the list of the beneficiaries of the scholarships.
For the oral examination, students will be required to critically read a scientific article, that will be assigned to them beforehand.

On the basis of the interviews and exam results, a list of students accepted with funding and a ranked waiting list will be established.
Students on the main list will be enrolled in the Master and benefit from the scholarship.

Those on the waiting lists for both Master and scholarship will be enrolled in the Master, if students accepted to the Master withdraw, based on their ranking. If students who have obtained scholarships also withdraw, their scholarships will be offered to those on the waiting list, based on their ranking.

Timetable for the 2026/2027 academic year

Medical and molecular genetics

Frédérique Godfroid — 2025-09-02T14:47:01Z

Master in Life Sciences, ENS
UNBIO1-087 | Medical and molecular genetics
Year and Semester : M2 | S1
Where : Biology department, ENS
Duration : 1 week
Dates : September 22-26, 2025

—2025-2026 programme to come—

Coordination

Olivier Collin, Biology department ENS

Credits

3 ECTS

Course objectives and description

Ce cours de génétique médicale a pour but de jeter les bases des mécanismes sous-jacents aux maladies génétiques les plus courantes.

l'exemple de la maladie génétique mono-factorielle la plus fréquente chez les caucasiens, la mucoviscidose, l'identification du seul gène en cause, le canal ionique CFTR, et des quelques 2000 allèles morbides, la course contre la montre depuis une trentaine d'années entre les travaux visant à comprendre la physiopathologie de cette maladie, grâce en particulier à la cryo-microscopie électronique, la modélisation en 3D de la structure de CFTR, et les différentes thérapies qui ont permis d'allonger de 20 ans l'espérance de vie des patients ;
les génétiques mono-factorielles de la surdité, mais avec différentes formes de surdité, et les difficultés pour identifier des familles informatives parce que les sourds se marient entre eux ;
la génétique poly-factorielle extrêmement complexe de l'autisme ;
la génétique poly-factorielle du sommeil, les aspects moléculaires des cycles circadiens et leurs régulations par les facteurs environnementaux ;
les génétiques poly-factorielles des différentes formes de diabète.

Pour chacun de ces syndromes, nous aborderons des questions techniques, mais aussi éthiques voire philosophiques sur les avancées récentes dans les traitements de ces maladies.

Advanced Genetics

Anne Zalmanski — 2025-06-17T14:08:12Z

Master in Life Sciences, ENS – M1

2026-2027 - Semester 1

UNBIO1-122 | Advanced Genetics

6 ECTS

—2026-2027 Program & Syllabus—

Year and Semester : M1 | S1
Duration : from September 2026 to January 2027
Hours : 9am-12pm (Mondays)

1. Short Description of Course

This course explores the molecular mechanisms driving gene expression and genetic inheritance, with a focus on how genomic variation underlies the development of phenotypes.. Emphasis is placed on the interplay between genetic diversity and environmental factors in shaping expression patterns.
The curriculum delves into complex gene interactions, covering topics such as allelic series, epistasis, and metabolic dominance theory and it introduces the "genome-as-phenotype" concept, examining the roles of transposable elements, sex chromosome biology, and compensatory buffering mechanisms in shaping phenotypic outcomes.
Phenotypic variation is analyzed through quantitative frameworks to explain expressivity, penetrance, robustness, and canalization. The statistical genetics component emphasizes decomposition of phenotypic variance, heritability estimation, quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping, and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to uncover complex trait architecture and pleiotropic effects. The course will integrate concepts from population genetics and polygenic risk prediction, highlighting the role of phenotypic plasticity and environmental interactions in the genotype-phenotype relationship at both individual and population scales.

Maximum class size : 20 students.
The class is taught in English.

Keywords

Biology, life sciences, genetics, mutation, allelic series, dominance, epistasis, plasticity, epigenetics, TE, sex chromosomes, ploidy, expressivity, penetrance, robustness, canalization, heritability, animal model, QTL mapping, GWAS, pleiotropy, linkage disequilibrium, population structure, polygenic prediction, Human genetics

2. Registration

– Students external to the ENS Biology Department can attend and validate the class if the primary instructor has been contacted beforehand and agreed (see contact information below).
– Following approval, students need to register online at least one week before the course starting date.

3. Location and Timeline

Location : Biology Department, 3rd floor - at ENS, 46 rue d'Ulm, Paris.
Building entry with access card only (visitors must use the intercom at the entrance). The floor and class rooms are accessible without a badge. The building, floor and class room are generally accessible to people with disabilities.

Homework will consist in preparation of journal club discussion, slide presentations, and background reading.

4. Instructors and Contact Information

Primary instructors :
Gersende LEPERE
Henrique TEOTONIO
Preferred method of contact : email

5. Course Communications

Course materials (class syllabus, lecture slides, research articles, R scripts, etc.) will be made available on the Moodle platform.
Course announcements will be made by email and/or posted on Moodle.

6. Course Prerequisites or Co-requisites

Course prerequisites : students are required to have taken Molecular biology and genetics (L3), Math (L3), Biostats (L3).
Important concepts and skills to master : Mendelian genetics, linear regression, genome organization, DNA polymorphisms, mutations, meiosis, ploidy.
Level in programming : basic level in R.

7. Course Format, Teaching Methods, Special Activities

Course format and teaching methods : Lectures given by the primary instructors will be complemented with invited research seminars by external faculty, and student-led analysis and discussion of research articles.
At least one of the sessions will be a hands-on computer tutorial. Students are strongly encouraged to bring their own laptop with R studio installed prior to class.

8. Expected Learning Outcomes

Details to come.

9. Detailed Schedule and Content

There will be 13, on Friday 14h-17h, (see the general calendar for the dates, detailed schedule to be provided in the first class at the beginning of the course 19th September) :

1 Introduction (Mendelian Genetics)
2 Inverse Genetics (Mutation, promoter, enhancer, suppressor)
3 Gene Interactions (Allelic series)
4 Gene Interactions (Metabolic theory dominance, epistasis)
5 Plasticity and epigenetics
6 Expressivity and Penetrance (TD)
7 Expressivity and Penetrance (TD)
8 Genome as a phenotype (TE, Sex Chromosomes, Compensation)
9 QTL mapping and GWAS
10 Pleiotropy and linkage disequilibrium (TD)
11 Phenotypic variance decomposition (heritability, genomic prediction, polygenic score)
12 Genetic relatedness and the Animal Model (TD)
13 Human genetics

10. Evaluation and Grading

Students will be evaluated based on a written exam and small-group presentation of a research topic at the semester's end.

Student-led presentation 40%
Final exam 60%
Total 100%

11. Required or Suggested Resources

Recommended reading list (available in the science library and from the instructors) :
– Alberts, B., Heald, R., Johnson, A., Morgan, D., Raff, M., Roberts, K., & Walter, P. (2024). Molecular Biology of the Cell. W. W. Norton & Company
– Gibson, G., & Muse, S.V. (2004). A Primer of Genome Science. Sinauer Associates
– Griffiths, A.J.F., Wessler, S.R., Carroll, S.B., & Doebley, J. (2015) An Introduction to Genetic Analysis.
– W. H. Freeman. Kearsey, M.J., & Pooni, H.S. (1996). The Genetical Analysis of Quantitative Traits. Chapman & Hall
– Lynch, M., & Walsh, B. (1998). Genetics and Analysis of Quantitative Traits. Sinauer Associates
– Weir, B.S. (1996). Genetic Data Analysis II : Methods for Discrete Population Genetic Data. Sinauer Associates.

ABC-S : Understanding Biology through Structure

Anne Zalmanski — 2025-05-20T15:41:04Z

PSL Master in Life Sciences - ENS – M2

2025-2026 - Semester 1

UNBIO1-121 (PG-ABCS-S1) | ABC-S - Advanced Biology Course : Understanding Biology through Structure

3 ECTS

Poster-ABC_S-2025

—Download Planning—

Year : 1 (M1) / 2 (M2) and PhD
Semester : 1 (S1)
Duration : 12 sessions of 2 hours
Hours : From September 10th to December 10th on Wednesdays, 5:15-7:15 p.m.
Where : ENS Biology Department (46 rue d'Ulm, 75005 Paris)

Maximum class size : 24 students

Coordination
Anne Houdusse, Curie Institute
Antoine Taly, IBPC
Vincent Morin, IBENS
Bofei MA (Contact ENS for administration)

Credits : 3 ECTS

Keywords :
Molecules of life, Molecular interactions and structural cell biology, Physics and Chemistry of Life, Single molecule functional assays, Molecular dynamics and modelling, Allostery, Missense mutations and disease, Drug design, Alphafold and structure prediction by AI.

Course prerequisites :
The curriculum of the courses encompasses subjects such as fundamental biology. A description of the fundamental principles that allow acquiring function by the molecules of life will be given with principles in chemistry and physics as well as molecular biology. There is no specific prerequisite, as long as the student is sufficiently motivated to embrace broad subjects with interdisciplinary points of view.

Course objectives and description
Aims and themes :
Structural underpinnings are at the base of all molecular mechanisms that control the biological processes of life. The importance and power of combining exquisite molecular functional experiments and structural information has been continually demonstrated in the milestones that built knowledge in biology. The past two decades have seen a dramatic transformation take place in the field of structural biology. An integrative approach, the revolution in resolution of cryo-electron microscopy and cryo-electron tomography, the AI transformation for structure prediction and continuous advances in the depiction of macromolecular assemblies of RNA, DNA, proteins and lipids brings to scientists a treasure trove of insights. The course will demonstrate how structural and molecular dynamics studies can inspire testing new models with functional experiments and how dysfunction or deregulation that cause human pathologies can be better understood via structural studies. At last, the importance of structural approaches to accelerate the findings and development of future drug candidates will be presented in light of the AI revolution.

The lectures will revolve around seminars given by brilliant researchers, experts in different approaches of molecular biology. They are pioneers in new emerging topics and approaches at the frontier of science and are particularly keen to build their research together with other complementary disciplines of biology, physics and chemistry.

Organisation :
For each session, selected landmark papers will be shared with all students in advance. Two students will I) briefly present these key papers as an introduction to the seminar given by an expert and ii) will act as moderator of the discussion taking place after the presentation.

Assessment :
Validation for M1/M2 (with grades) : assiduity (presence to at least 80% of the sessions), article presentation + animation of class debate. Maximum 10-12 students.
– Validation for ENS diploma / Doctoral school (without grades) : assiduity (presence to at least 80% of the sessions), article presentation + animation of class debate. Maximum 10-12 students.
– Possibility to attend the course without validation in the limit of room availability

Course material (hand-outs, online presentation available, …) :
Slides and online presentations will be made available (with agreement of the speaker of each session)

Application procedure
Please send your application for registration, along with a short motivation letter and your CV, before the deadline of June 30th, 2025 to bofei.ma chez bio.ens.psl.eu.

Qlife Quantitative Biology Spring School "Cell Dynamics in Developmental Systems"

Anne Zalmanski — 2024-05-31T14:42:56Z

Download here poster

Download here tentative planning

Master in Life Science, ENS
BIO-Q-Qlife Spring School | Cell Dynamics in Developmental Systems
Year and Semester : M2 | S2
Where : Biology department, ENS
Duration : 1 week (March 31th –April 4th, 2025)
Credits : 3 ECTS
Maximum class size : 25 students
This course is open to external students ->Contact

Coordination

Patrick Charnay, Biology Department, ENS
Chairman of the scientific committee : Yohanns Bellaïche, Institut Curie, France

Keywords

Deep learning-based image analysis | mechanical forces | genetic networks | single cell transcriptomics | spatial transcriptomics

Course prerequisites

Basic experience in file manipulation under Unix/Linux and coding ability in Python or R. Attendance is competitive (25 participants) and open to M2 and PhD students, postdocs, engineers and junior scientists with backgrounds in life science, physics, chemistry, computer science and mathematics and a strong interest in Developmental Biology.

Course objectives and description

Aims and themes : Recent technological developments in sequencing, imaging and image analysis have granted access to unprecedented temporal and spatial resolution of gene expression, cell dynamics and morphological features.
The Qlife program in Quantitative Biology of the PSL University organizes a spring school that will cover these emerging approaches through a series of lectures and digital workshops, using datasets from Drosophila, ascidians and mammals. Dynamic, quantitative analysis of tissue development will be performed through the combination of image analysis (deep learning-based segmentation, cell tracking, registration) with multiscale analysis of forces and modeling. These data will be integrated with the output of single cell and spatial transcriptomic analyses to provide an unprecedented combined view of cell location, morphology, interactions, migration, expression pattern and fate.

Organisation : Each day will include two introductory lectures in the morning, followed by digital workshops in the afternoon (on most days, the student can choose between two workshops). The evenings will include keynote speaker seminars and poster presentations by the students.
Common lunches and dinners with the speakers and instructors will foster informal discussions.

Assessment of M2 students :

After the course, students requiring a mark will write a written report on two of the computer tutorials, which will be assessed by the instructors.

Course material

The course will include introductory lectures, a series of hands-on computer tutorials run by experts in the field, seminars from prestigious researchers. In poster sessions, the students will have the opportunity to present their research and to obtain feedback from teachers.

Application Deadline

January 19th, 2025

Registration fees

150 € (fees cover lunches from Monday to Friday and some dinners).

Application procedure

Register through this link https://forms.office.com/e/zmcfDKmqMt.
In addition, provide a CV, a motivation letter and a supporting letter from a supervisor as a single pdf file with “Qlife Cell Dynamics School 2025_LASTNAME” as subject header to Qlife.events chez psl.eu

Speakers and Instructors

Stein Aerts, Leuven
James Briscoe, London
Florence Cavalli, Paris
Kate Mc Dole, Cambridge UK
Alessandro De Simone, Geneva
Geneviève Dupont, Brussels
Emmanuel Faure, Montpellier
Lucie Gaspard-Boulinc, Paris
Edouard Hannezo, Klosterneuburg
Vincent Laville, Paris
Nathalie Lehmann, Paris
Patrick Lemaire, Montpellier
Adrien Leroy, Paris
Lorette Noiret, Paris
Jean-Yves Tinevez, Paris
Pavel Tomancak, Dresden/Brno
Hervé Turlier, Paris
Thierry Voet, Leuven

Members of the Scientific Committee

Yohanns Bellaiche
Jérôme Gros
Thomas Lecuit
Patrick Lemaire
Romain Levayer
Lorette Noiret
Iris Salecker
Denis Thieffry
Jean-Yves Tinevez
Hervé Turlier
Céline Vallot

Machine Learning in Python with scikit-learn

Anne Zalmanski — 2024-03-07T13:57:21Z

Graduated Program in Life Science, Department of Biology, ENS-PSL
BIO-AA-PG- | Machine Learning in Python with scikit-learn (ENS/Biology)
Level | Semester : PhD and Postdocs | S2
Where : Biology department, ENS
Duration : 4 weeks
Dates : May 12th – June 11th, 2026
May 12th and 13th ;
May 19th, 20th and 21st ;
June 2nd, 3rd and 4th ;
June 9th, 10th and 11th

Hours : 17:00-19:00, two or three times per week
Maximum class size : 16 students

Coordination

Prof. Denis Thieffry, Department of Biology, ENS

Instructors

Prof. Denis Thieffry, Department of Biology, ENS
Prof. Pedro Monteiro (NESC-ID/IST, Univ. Lisboa)

Credits

3 ECTS

Keywords

Python | Programming | Linux | Machine learning | scikit-learn

Course prerequisites

Basic Linux command and background in Python coding (including numpy arrays, pandas dataframes, making plots).
If you have no Linux/Unix background, you can check the first sections of an online course such as https://www.tutorialspoint.com/unix/index.htm

Course objectives and description

Aims

The objective of the course is to initiate young life-science scientists to the bases of machine learning, and how to use it in Python with the scikit-learn package.

Organization

The course will include eleven classes (two or three per week), each two-hours long, over a period of five weeks, in May-June 2026. A large part of each class will be devoted to practical coding exercises. A few hours of homework per week are further needed.

Assessment

• The participants will be regularly asked to explain their code during the classes.
• Coding exercises will be proposed over the duration of the course.
• The course will be assessed through attendence and solutions to exercices to be posted via the Moodle page of the course.

Course material

The course material will be shared via the Moodle of the Department of Biology of ENS.

Ecology for Global Health

Alice Lebreton — 2024-03-02T16:00:59Z

Master in Life Science, ENS – M2

2026-2027 - Semester 1

UNBIO1-109 (EfGH) - Ecology for Global Health

3 ECTS

—2026-2027 Program & Syllabus—

Level | Semester : M2 | S1
Where : Biology department, ENS
Duration : 1 week
Dates : Novembert 30th-December 4th 2026

Maximum class size : 30 students

Coordination

Kévin JEAN, ENS-PSL

Credits

3 ECTS

Keywords

Infectious disease ecology| EcoHealth | One Health | Planetary Health

Course prerequisites

Introduction to Ecology (UNBIO1-103 or equivalent)
Some experience in data analysis with R

Course objectives and description

Aims

This course aims to present how considering ecological determinants and processes can contribute to the understanding and preservation of human and planetary health, especially in the era of the Anthropocene.
The course is primarily designed for students with a background in biology and ecology. It aims to present core concepts such as Global Health, One Health, and Planetary Health.

It will illustrate how ecological methods and approaches can be applied to address key issues affecting human health, especially :
– How biogeography and macro-ecology may help understanding the spatial distribution of infectious disease,
– How community ecology may help understanding the dynamics of pathogens and and evaluating disease control strategies,
– How community ecology may help understanding the future of infectious disease in the face of climate change,
– What are the fundamentals of epidemiology, which can be grasped as the application of ecology to human health to study both communicable and non-communicable diseases.

Organization

This is a one-week intensive course based on lecture-style presentations, including lectures by internationally recognized experts, and practical sessions. Practical sessions will require a basic knowledge on data analysis using the R statistical software.

Assesment

Module validation will be based on active participation during the week and on a group presentation and critical appraisal of a recent scientific study on a topic related to the module (Friday afternoon).

Register

The course is open to external Master and PhD students. To apply, please send a short CV and explain your motivation in an email to the coordinator no later than 3rd November.

ENS - Enseignement

Microbial Ecosystems and Climate Change

Coordination

Keywords

Course Prerequisites

Course objectives and description

Aims

Themes covered

Organization

Assessment

Course material

Suggested readings in relation with the module content

Qlife Quantitative Biology winter school « Quantitative Seascape Ecology of Marine Plankton » 2027

Coordination

Keywords

Course prerequisites

Course objectives and description

Assessment of M2 students

Course material

Application Deadline

Registration fees

Application procedure

Speakers and Instructors

Suggested readings in relation with the module content

Applications 2026-2027

Graduate Program Excellence in Life Sciences scholarships

Medical and molecular genetics

Coordination

Credits

Course objectives and description

Advanced Genetics

1. Short Description of Course

Keywords

2. Registration

3. Location and Timeline

4. Instructors and Contact Information

5. Course Communications

6. Course Prerequisites or Co-requisites

7. Course Format, Teaching Methods, Special Activities

8. Expected Learning Outcomes

9. Detailed Schedule and Content

10. Evaluation and Grading

11. Required or Suggested Resources

ABC-S : Understanding Biology through Structure

Qlife Quantitative Biology Spring School "Cell Dynamics in Developmental Systems"

Coordination

Keywords

Course prerequisites

Course objectives and description

Assessment of M2 students :

Course material

Application Deadline

Registration fees

Application procedure

Speakers and Instructors

Members of the Scientific Committee

Suggested readings

Machine Learning in Python with scikit-learn

Coordination

Instructors

Credits

Keywords

Course prerequisites

Course objectives and description

Aims

Organization

Assessment

Course material

Ecology for Global Health

Coordination

Credits

Keywords

Course prerequisites

Course objectives and description

Aims

Organization

Assesment

Register

Suggested readings