Phd in BIOINFORMATICS AND COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY

Educational goals and objectives

Bioinformatics and Computational biology

The exponential growth in the amount of genomic and proteomic data generated by the advancement of sequencing techniques and the structural analysis of biological macromolecules represents a challenge on the one hand, but on the other hand opens up enormous opportunities for progress in various scientific areas, including medicine. The complex information embedded in these data contains the knowledge to decipher and make intelligible the complexity of biological systems, especially when integrated with experimental data. This knowledge lays the rational basis for the most diverse applications ranging from industrial, environmental, biomedical, pharmaceutical, biotechnological to more clinical applications oriented towards the development of therapeutic strategies capable of treating complex pathological conditions. This PhD course in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology is intended to be a unified and coherent container in which to develop professionals and researchers capable of working in the various areas of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology. The figures that will emerge from this PhD will be able to operate independently in specific sectors and at the highest levels of public and private research both in Italy and abroad, and to interact productively and synergistically with experimental research groups. Due to its interdisciplinary nature, the PhD programme will be open to candidates with a Master's degree or equivalent, Italian or foreign, in biomedical or technological disciplines, who intend to pursue a scientific-professional career in the field of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology. Thanks to its training programme, the PhD course will also offer students from biomedical and biotechnological areas the opportunity to develop strong computing skills, enabling them to carry out independent research in the field of bioinformatics. The variety of laboratories involved in the PhD programme will ensure that customised pathways can be followed according to each candidate's aspirations and background. The associative structure of the PhD programme and the composition of the faculty make a sufficiently broad range of scientific specialisations available, thus ensuring that students can find the path that best suits their interests. The main fields of research are: - Genomics - Transcriptomics - Analysis of protein-protein interaction networks in prokaryotic and eukaryotic systems - Simulation of biological systems - Drug design and virtual screening - Machine learning and data mining - Integration of omics data for biomedicine - Software development for research - Chemoinformatics