The PhD Programme in Biomedical Sciences and Translational Medicine aims to provide a solid scientific background in biomedical sciences. Advanced methodological approaches, applied in a multidisciplinary context, enable the acquisition of new knowledge on the pathophysiology of diseases, to be translated into new diagnostic procedures and therapeutic strategies.
The dialogue and exchange of knowledge between doctoral students engaged in basic and clinical research and the broad representation of the scientific-disciplinary fields in the Academic Board provide the dialogue and integration at the basis of interdisciplinarity. The three training curricula fit into this context, with specific peculiarities.
From the perspective of translational medicine, the Pharmacology and Microbiology curriculum takes the clinical question as a starting point to investigate the pathophysiological mechanisms of diseases and identify new pharmacological targets and biomarkers for diagnosis and for the follow-up of therapy. The departmental facilities and technology platforms will provide support for animal models, cellular and molecular studies, image analysis, proteomics, metabolomics, and cellular bioenergetics. In the field of pharmacology, the aim is to develop, characterize and validate, by means of in vitro and/or in vivo preclinical studies, new drugs, nutraceuticals, or bioactive compounds potentially useful for therapeutic purposes, with possible progression into clinical studies. In particular, the training includes the study of chronic diseases of ageing, endocrine-metabolic, neurological, psychiatric, cardiovascular, ophthalmic, or infectious diseases.
In the microbiological field, the course involves a research activity focused on studying the anti-angiogenic and anti-proliferative activity of proteins and peptides of viral origin on human cells derived from different organs and tissues. The aim is to identify molecular mechanisms underlying viral proteins' ability to modulate the biological activities and function of target cells. The Computational Modelling approach is applied to develop, by means of 'drug discovery' and 'drug repurposing', molecules capable of mimicking the biological activities of viral proteins for therapeutic purposes. A second line of research is based on the study of virus-host interaction. In this area, research activities include: isolation, culture and expansion of viruses of medical interest; identification of cell receptors and signal pathways activated by different viruses; development and study of antiviral drugs using Computational Modelling.
The Neuroscience Curriculum includes the study of neurological, psychiatric, neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental diseases at the cellular and molecular level to characterize their pathophysiological mechanisms and develop new therapeutic strategies. In addition to classical experimental models (based on in vitro studies or animal models of disease - rodents and zebrafish - that are also characterised from a behavioural perspective), innovative patient-specific experimental models are used (neurons and glia derived from induced pluripotent stem cells, organoids). Further, technologically advanced approaches are available, such as confocal microscopy with in vitro and in vivo image analysis, proteomics, transcriptomics, and cellular bioenergetic technologies.
The faculty members' expertise in the clinical and diagnostic domains complement the training with a critical view of the translational aspects of the expertise generated.
The Oncology and Immunology curriculum focuses on studying the mechanisms responsible for tumour progression and the activation of the immune system in pathological conditions such as autoimmunity and sterile inflammation.
In the field of experimental oncology, functional aspects of the basic biology of the tumour cell such as growth/proliferation, energy metabolism, angiogenesis, invasiveness and metastatic dissemination are investigated as determinants of the progression of solid and haematological tumours. Associated with these aspects is the study of new therapeutic approaches and the mechanisms of resistance of tumour cells to conventional therapies.
In the immunological field, the main interest lies in understanding the mechanisms leading to the activation of so-called 'sterile inflammation', i.e. caused by stimuli produced by the organism itself as a result of cell damage or genetic alterations, potentially prodromal to the development of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The model used are primary cell populations separated from the blood of healthy donors or patients, or differentiated from circulating precursors, analysed for their ability to produce inflammatory mediators and activate T lymphocytes, but also for changes in their energy metabolism and phenotypic, transcriptional and epigenetic structure using single-cell and '-omics' approaches.
The close link between oncology and immunology finds its application in 'immuno-oncology'. Here, aspects of inflammation-associated tumourigenesis and the study of the tumour microenvironment are explored, on the one hand, to understand better the mechanisms associated with immune evasion in the tumour context and, on the other hand, to improve immunotherapy approaches in oncology.