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Rare Diseases Massive Open Online Courses

New sessions of the two MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) respectively on Rare Disease Diagnosis and Translational Research for Rare Diseases, developed in the context of the European Joint Programme for Rare Diseases (EJPRD), were recently launched.

EJP RD MOOCs are free and open to anyone, although there are designed for individuals with a prior interest in rare diseases research, especially postgraduate students and medical students. Patient advocacy representatives and advocates as well as health professionals who want to deepen their knowledge in rare diseases research could also find the MOOCs of interest. Both the MOOCs are continuously open for enrollment and the access to the content is free for the first 5 weeks. 

MOOC: Diagnosing Rare Diseases: from the Clinic to Research and Back

Codeveloped by the Foundation for Rare Diseases, the European Reference Networks Genturis and Ithaca, and EURORDIS, this MOOC addresses the diagnostic research progress, types of genetic tests for rare diseases, and the impact of having or lacking a diagnosis on patients' lives.

The topics covered include:

  • The diagnostic process and the types of genetic tests available for rare diseases
  • The differences in rare genetic diseases patient pathways
  • Technological advances for diagnostic research
  • The role of collaborative studies and data sharing in rare diseases diagnosis
  • The impact of having a diagnosis or lacking a diagnosis on patients’ lives
  • The role and place of physiopathology approaches as well as social sciences research in the context of rare diseases diagnosis.

Expert mentors will be readily available on the platform to address any questions that participants may have from May 1st to June 24th.


For more information, please visit: 

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/rare-genetic-disease 

 

MOOC: From Lab to Clinic: Translational Research For Rare Diseases

This MOOC has been codeveloped by Foundation for Rare Diseases, the European Reference Network EuroNMD,  EURORDIS, the European Infrastructure for Translational Medicine EATRIS, and the Leiden University Medical Center.

It is intended to give an overview of the medicine developmental process for RD, by discussing how the results of the research done in the laboratory are used to develop new treatments and how they are finally brought to the market.

The topics covered include:

  • The landscape of translational research
  • The different phases and main stakeholders of translational research
  • The specific issues encountered when developing a treatment for a rare disease and how they are overcome
  • The different therapeutic approaches for the treatment of rare diseases
  • The role and place of patients living with a rare diseases in this translational process

Expert mentors will be readily available on the platform to address any questions that participants may have from April 17th to June 10th.

For more information, please visit: 

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/introduction-to-translational-research-for-rare-diseases