Educational goals
The PhD programme in ‘Artificial Intelligence in Medicine and Innovation in Clinical and Methodological Research’ is an interdisciplinary programme aimed at promoting and developing research into technological innovation and, in particular, artificial intelligence in the healthcare sector.
The PhD programme promotes and initiates research programmes on the potential applications of new technologies in biomedicine, bioengineering, bioinformatics and neuroscience, highlighting, on the one hand, their innovative and sometimes revolutionary nature and, on the other, their key philosophical and legal implications.
Thanks to this interdisciplinary framework, the PhD programme therefore offers the holistic perspective required to undertake research programmes driven by artificial intelligence in medicine and surgery, in regenerative medicine and cell therapy, as well as in the planning and conduct of experimental clinical trials.
Structure of the study programme
The PhD programme aims to train highly qualified scientists with advanced technical expertise in the fields of healthcare, biomedicine, bioengineering and bioinformatics, offering significant career opportunities in public and private, national and international research organisations, hospital trusts, pharmaceutical and biomedical companies, and ethics and bioethics committees.
The application of artificial intelligence to healthcare research gives the programme a structurally interdisciplinary framework, taking into account the various implications of the technology without compromising the rigour and specialised nature of the research.
The entire programme is therefore structured around two fundamental pillars: scientific excellence (vertical approach) and interdisciplinarity (horizontal approach). This high level of specialisation forms part of a holistic vision that systematically integrates expertise from medicine, engineering, economics, philosophy and law. To enhance this interdisciplinary approach, the PhD programme draws on numerous collaborations, including international ones, which broaden the educational offering and establish significant links with universities and research bodies of high national and international standing.
Until the 2025–2026 a. y. the training and research programme was structured around the following three curricula: Artificial Intelligence in Medicine; Regenerative Medicine; and Innovation in Clinical and Methodological Research.
From the 2026–2027 a.y. (Cycle XLII), a fourth curriculum was established in Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy and Neuroscience, which launched a research programme on the application of AI in the field of neurology and brain science and its implications.
In line with the educational objectives and the structure of the PhD programmes as set out by the Ministry of University and Research (MUR), teaching activities are divided into compulsory and optional modules. The curriculum comprises interdisciplinary lectures, designed from scratch for each cycle to keep pace with technological change. Lectures are delivered via a blended learning approach (live streaming and recorded sessions combined with face-to-face sessions). Lecturers and supervisors are consistently of a high scientific calibre, including at an international level. The average number of hours for the compulsory curriculum, whilst complying with the minimum requirement of 20 hours stipulated by law, stands at around 30 hours, with each session lasting 45 minutes.
The range of optional teaching activities is very broad and extensive. It includes conferences, seminars, lectures and scientific meetings aimed at broadening knowledge and promoting collaboration with national and international institutions.
The programme also involves a high degree of interactive engagement with PhD students, who periodically present their research projects to colleagues and internal committees of IAMED lecturers, in order to monitor progress, encourage self-assessment and foster interdisciplinary collaboration. The PhD programme places great emphasis on the presentation of research projects, with a focus on interim results, as it recognises the importance of peer-to-peer exchange as a fundamental means of evaluating and discussing one’s own work. Scientific exchange – in whatever form it takes – has proven to be an extremely effective stimulus for research, capable of generating a positive impact on the quality of the final theses.
The PhD programme in Artificial Intelligence in Medicine and Innovation in Clinical and Methodological Research is structured around four curricula:
Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
This curriculum, aimed primarily at physicians, biologists, physicists, engineers, biostatisticians, computer scientists, and healthcare economists, but also at lawyers and philosophers, offers primary career opportunities in the development of algorithms and artificial intelligence systems applied to medical and surgical sciences, but also offers interesting and growing opportunities in academic research, high-level consulting, and corporate management.
Regenerative Medicine
This curriculum is aimed primarily (without excluding other disciplinary fields, starting with ethics and law) at physicians, biologists, physicists, and engineers. It offers priority career opportunities in research (both academic and corporate) on the biological mechanisms of tissue degeneration and regeneration, in the applications of cell and gene therapy, in the production of biomaterials and bio-nanotechnologies applied to regenerative medicine.
Innovation in Clinical Research and Methodology
This curriculum, aimed primarily at physicians, biologists, physicists, engineers, biostatisticians, computer scientists, and health economists, but also including ethicists, lawyers, and philosophers, offers priority career opportunities in the development of epidemiological studies, new molecularly targeted drugs, new personalized therapeutic strategies, telemedicine programs, and the management of patients with chronic or chronically ill conditions.
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy, Neuroscience
This curriculum, aimed primarily at philosophers, neuroscientists, neurobiologists, neurorobotics specialists, engineers, computer scientists, ethicists, and lawyers, but not excluding all other disciplines, offers primary career opportunities in research (academic and otherwise) in philosophy, neuroscience/neurorobotics, and ethics/legal fields; in public and private healthcare consulting and management, both nationally and internationally; in companies and businesses developing brain devices (electrodes, microchips, etc.); and in national and international ethics committees.