It is a course tailored to introduce students to the use of animal models (vertebrates and invertebrates) for scientific purposes both in biotechnological research and medicine. Animal models have been used to address a variety of scientific questions, from basic science to the development and assessment of novel vaccines, or therapies. The attention, staring from the in vitro analysis using stem cells (eventually engineered and mimicking the 3D and complex structures of tissues), is focalized on the research on relevant, carefully designed, well-characterized and controlled animal models for testing hypotheses at the organism level and for the validation of human data.
We intend to give examples on how animals are used in the biotechnological and health research, as well as to stimulate discussion about the application of ethics in the use of animals in research and education