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The PhD in Biochemistry is rather unique among the bio-molecular and biomedical PhD programmes. The major educational aim of this programme is to form young scientists able to figure out biochemical problems on the frontier of biology and medicine. At the end of the Course, the biochemistry PhD students are expected to be able to recognise the existence of open questions, to frame them within the current scientific knowledge, and related international literature, and to propose ways of experimentally approaching them. In this respect, these students are expected to design experiments and protocols suitable to solve or at least to correctly approach the problems, also making use of most advanced experimental tools available. |
Thus, their cultural and scientific background is considered of paramount importance together with high level continuous practical bench-training, both needing to be as vast and profound as possible; all specializations being achieved only at latest stages and always as a finalised part of the Programme. Most of these young scientists are called to cope with oral presentations in scientific meetings of national/international level. All above is ideally achieved during 3 years courses whereby every student experiences, individually, the possibility of carrying out his own research.These educational goals are achieved by offering each student, over the three-year duration of the course: (1) an individualized practical learning experience in the field of life sciences studied at the molecular level; (2) a sufficiently broad theoretical-practical framework of the most important advanced experimental techniques in the molecular and cellular fields, so as to encourage - if and when deemed useful - their application aimed at understanding the functions of bio-medical systems at the highest possible level of molecular resolution; and (3) various opportunities to develop points of expository clarity in the field of communicating scientific knowledge
Specifically, research topics include:
1) THE BIOCHEMISTRY OF PROKARYOTIC AND EUKARYOTIC ORGANISMS. This research program is based on the study of physiological and pathological processes present in cells and/or microorganisms, oxidative stress, energy metabolism, vitamin, and cofactor metabolism.
2) CELLULAR PROTEOMICS AND METABOLOMICS - This research program is focused on redox proteomics, cellular signal transduction mechanisms, neurodegeneration and other chronic inflammatory diseases, aging and cancer and transcriptomics
3) MOLECULAR AND STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY. This research program includes the characterization of protein-protein, protein-nucleic acid, and protein-ligand complexes using X-ray crystallography and single-particle cryo-EM.
4) MOLECULAR BIOPHYSICS. This research program concerns the study of protein folding and recognition, protein stability, protein-protein, proteinnucleic acid and protein-ligand interactions, the study of enzymatic catalysis, redox catalysis and bioenergetics.
5) BIOINFORMATICS. This program includes the computational analysis of macromolecules and biological systems: protein structure, function, evolution and design; dynamics and interactions of proteins and nucleic acids. Genomics and genomic data analysis. Drug design. Software and algorithms for bioinformatics.
6) APPLIED BIOCHEMISTRY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY. This program concerns metabolic engineering, the study of neurodegenerative and infectious diseases, nanotechnologies, the identification of drug targets in cancer and parasites, the characterization of bioactive compounds and development of antimicrobial peptides as new anti-infective agents, the enzymatic synthesis in green chemistry.
Both the training areas and the research lines of the doctorate cover many objectives of the PNRR, from the identification of new innovative therapeutic agents for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, to the challenges of aging and the study of complex pathologies through an integrated and innovative approach of metabolomics and proteomics, up to the development of targeted transport systems of active substances such as drugs to guarantee high quality care for citizens. Practical work is integrated with lectures, seminars and courses that involve all students and teaching staff as well as high-profile Italian and foreign scholars and experts from the academic world, research institutions and companies. The Doctoral Course guarantees, promotes and stimulates the growth of doctoral students as members of the scientific community, both within the course - through comparison between them, and through journal clubs, participation in conferences, workshops, at the National Meeting of Doctoral Students Research in Biochemical Disciplines and the organization of a day/symposium of the BeMM school (Molecular Biology and Medicine), in which doctoral students also participate as speakers and moderators.