ADVANCES IN BIOMEDICINE
- Overview
- Assessment methods
- Learning objectives
- Contents
- Full programme
- Bibliography
- Delivery method
- Teaching methods
- Contacts/Info
In order to follow the course, an adequate knowledge of cell and molecular biology, biochemistry and physiology is required.
Oral exams. For the exam, the student will prepare a presentation on one of the topics discussed during the course. The presentation will be prepared on the basis of the review and research articles that will be provided to the students during the course. The presentation must not be longer than 40 min. 15 min of discussion will follow.
The students need to demonstrate sufficient knowledge of the specific topic presented and, during the discussion, will also be evaluated for their knowledge on all the topics covered during the course, and get a score of at least 18/30
The aim of the course, in the first part, is to introduce students to the theory of advanced methods used to investigate cellular and molecular mechanisms of cell function and human diseases. In the second part, the course will introduce the biology of stem cells and their use for studying and treating diseases.
Through lectures, students will investigate, in the first part of the course, how recent advanced techniques have improved the knowledge of the main pathways related to the biology of cancer processes and some neurodegenerative diseases, taken as examples. A section of the course will focus on the theoretical aspects of the use of these techniques for preventive medicine, with particular reference to environmental molecular epidemiology.
In the second part, the students will learn the biology of embryonic and adult stem cells and their capacity to self-renew and to generate multiple mature cell types, and their therapeutic potential.
At the end of the course, the students will get to know a range of biomedical techniques, the theory behind them and how to use these techniques during experimental planning. They will also learn the relevance of the biology of stem cells and their utility in medicine.
This course will also provide the students with the opportunity to work in a team environment developing communication skills by effective interaction with peers and academic staff.
Section 1: Theoretical aspects and basic methods of new technical approaches in biomedicine.
1) Theoretical basis of the use of –omics technologies.
2) "Omics" technologies
3) Basic Bioinformatics.
4) Manipulating the genome.
5) Immunofluorescence and cell sorting.
Section 2: The use of –omics approaches in preventive medicine.
1) Basics of Preventive medicine
2) The exposome and noncommunicable diseases
Section 3: Stem cells and regenerative medicine.
1) 1. The biology of embryonic and adult stem cells.
2) Using Stem Cells to study and to treat diseases.
Section 1: Theoretical aspects and basic methods of new technical approaches in biomedicine
1) Theoretical basis of the use of –omics technologies for approaching un-answered questions in the cellular and molecular pathways in basic biology and in noncommunicable diseases, such as cancer and neurodegenerative disorders.
2) Gen-omics, epigen-omics and transcript-omics. ChIP, ChIP-seq (to assess genome-wide single protein accessibility to chromatin), ATAC-seq (to assess genome-wide chromatin accessibility)
3) Basic bioinformatics for DNA and RNA sequence retrieval and alignment
4) Manipulating the genome: Gene Editing, OGM techniques and CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing
5) Immunofluorescence and cell sorting
Section 2: The use of –omics approaches in preventive medicine
1) Basics of preventive medicine: primary, secondary and tertiary prevention
2) The exposome and noncommunicable diseases: the use of –omics approaches to investigate at the epidemiological level the correlation between environmental exposure and noncommunicable diseases.
Section 3: Stem cells and regenerative medicine
A) Stem cell biology
1. The biology of embryonic and adult stem cells, from toti-potency to mono-potency, through pluri- and multi-potency: a) Prenatal Stem Cells (embryonic + fetal stem cells); b) Postnatal Stem Cells (umbilical cord + placental); c) Adult Cells (post natal + full grown)
2. Epigenetic reprogramming events during gametogenesis and embryo formation (pre-implantation).
3. Dynamic Pluripotent Stem Cell States
B) Using Stem Cells to study and to treat diseases
1. Strategies of Reprogramming Somatic Cells: Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS)
2. The Molecular Circuitry of Pluripotency and Nuclear Reprogramming
3. 3D structures, organoids: Modelling Human Development and Disease with Organoids
4. In vivo cellular reprogramming: Induced pluripotent stem cells versus trans-differentiation
No textbooks are available for these multiple topics. The students will be provided with scientific review and research articles on the various topics discussed during the course.
The course topics will be dealt with lectures-style instruction. Working groups will be organized on specific issues related to the course topics.
After the course the students will be able to handle the theory of the recent advanced investigation methods in cellular and molecular biology and stem cell research. They will also demonstrate skills in the areas of information retrieval and basic bioinformatics, and have developed a self-responsible learning approach of these scientific topics.
The teacher receives the students after each lesson