Call for application 41th cycle

Bando ordinario


Educational goals and objectives

CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
The Doctorate course in Developmental Biology is an innovative interdisciplinary Doctorate and aims to provide students with high-profile preparation based on widely diversified conceptual and methodological approaches.
General topics addressed by this PhD:
Cell membrane: organization and function
Receptors: Growth factor receptors/immune receptors/GPCRs/intracellular/nuclear receptors in animals and plants
Signal transduction
Regulation of and by the cytoskeleton
Nuclear dynamics and subcellular organelles
Molecular motors and other cellular machines
Intracellular trafficking/transport
Post-translational modifications and their regulation
Nuclear matrix, chromatin and genome
Control via RNA/non-coding sequences and their functions
Cellular processes in development and disease
Study of cells in 3 and 4 dimensions
Determinants of cell fate
Stem cell biology
Biology of subcellular organelles
Biology of single-celled organisms
Microbes (including viruses) and interaction between host cells
Immunity and microenvironment
Models of human diseases
Metabolic pathways: subcellular, cellular and subcellular compartmentalization, regulatory mechanisms
Metabolic control
DNA damage and repair
Translational cell science

The Doctorate aims to provide doctoral students with basic preparation to address research problems in the different areas of Cellular Biology and Developmental Biology. It also aims to train scientific operators with a professional qualification that makes it possible for them to work as independent researchers in the public and private, national and international fields.
The primary objective is to encourage the inclusion of our students in projects with an integrated multidisciplinary approach aimed at key aspects of Cellular Biology.
We believe it is crucial to develop in students a marked critical spirit and a good ability to communicate their results, as well as to report the results obtained and the knowledge acquired in written form to be submitted for publication. This is achieved in various ways:
i) requiring, annually, presentations of the results achieved in the form of public seminars and reports;
ii) appointing external tutors who are responsible for critically discussing the results with the students;
iii) stimulating participation in international conferences and internships (also thanks to an individual budget available to each student).
Another fundamental objective is continuous updating which is pursued through intense seminar activity. The seminars are monographic or integrated into thematic series and are often co-organized with similar doctoral courses or coordinated with the other courses of the BeMM Doctoral School - Molecular Biology and Medicine.

Specifiche economiche


Sapienza Scholarships Other Scolarships Departments Without scholarship
6 4 0 1

Themes, curriculum and specific competence



Borse ENTI TERZI, PARTENARIATI ESTESI, ECCELLENZA

Tematica: Smart and Sustainable Biorefining of Olive Mill and Biorefinery Exhaust Flows into Biocompounds for Soil and Plant Health and in Bioenergy
Ente finanziatore: DIPARTIMENTO DI BIOLOGIA E BIOTECNOLOGIE "CHARLES DARWIN"
Competenze richieste: nessuna competenza specifica richiesta
- Smart and Sustainable Biorefining of Olive Mill and Biorefinery Exhaust Flows into Biocompounds for Soil and Plant Health and in Bioenergy
Founded by: DIPARTIMENTO DI BIOLOGIA E BIOTECNOLOGIE "CHARLES DARWIN"
Required skills: no specific skill required

Tematica: Sviluppo di approcci di modellazione multiscala per il cancro al pancreas
Ente finanziatore: DIPARTIMENTO DI BIOLOGIA E BIOTECNOLOGIE "CHARLES DARWIN"
Competenze richieste: nessuna competenza specifica richiesta
- Building multi-scale modeling approaches to Pancreatic Cancer
Founded by: DIPARTIMENTO DI BIOLOGIA E BIOTECNOLOGIE "CHARLES DARWIN"
Required skills: no specific skill required

Tematica: Ingegnerizzazione, sviluppo e validazione di un sistema esosomiale mediato da EIS per il rilascio mirato di miR-25 eterologo: una nuova strategia terapeutica per promuovere la neurogenesi endogena postictus
Ente finanziatore: ISTITUTO SUPERIORE DI SANITÀ (ISS)
Competenze richieste: nessuna competenza specifica richiesta
- Engineering, Development, and Validation of an EIS-Mediated Exosomal System for the Targeted Delivery of Heterologous miR-25: A Novel Therapeutic Strategy to Promote Endogenous Neurogenesis After Stroke
Founded by: ISTITUTO SUPERIORE DI SANITÀ (ISS)
Required skills: no specific skill required

Tematica: Risposta neuronale causata da fattori di stress presenti nello spazio: studio del controllo di qualità e dell’aggregazione proteica in cellule di neuroblastoma umano a seguito di esposizione cronica a radiazioni ionizzanti e di gravità alterata
Ente finanziatore: ISTITUTO SUPERIORE DI SANITÀ (ISS)
Competenze richieste: nessuna competenza specifica richiesta
- Neuronal response to space stress: study of the effect of chronic expposure to ionizing radiation and altered gravity in terms of protein quality control and aggregation in a human neuroblastoma cell model
Founded by: ISTITUTO SUPERIORE DI SANITÀ (ISS)
Required skills: no specific skill required


Admission Procedure

Qualifications assessment The candidate's Master's degree grade will be evaluated. For students who will discuss their thesis after the evaluation of qualifications but before October 31, 2025, the degree grade is replaced by the arithmetic mean of the exam grades.

The project, submitted by the candidate together with the application, will also be evaluated. The project must focus on one of the research lines available for 2025 - XLI cycle, presented on the doctoral website (https://phd.uniroma1.it/web/pagina.aspx?i=3489&l=IT&p=340) or, alternatively, on another topic relevant to the themes of the doctorate, as described on the course page (https://phd.uniroma1.it/web/BIOLOGIA-CELLULARE-E-DELLOSVILUPPO_nD3489_IT.aspx) that allows evaluating the candidate's propensity for research and his/her ability to independently design and organize the different phases of the project.

The project must not exceed a maximum length of 8000 characters (including spaces). Candidates must upload the project to the system by the deadline of the call.

The project, which can be assigned a maximum of 36 points, must be written in English according to the following scheme:

- Title
- Background
- Aims of the project and possible impact on the advancement of the field
- Experimental plan and methodologies
- References

In assigning the score to the Candidate, the Commission will evaluate the following criteria:

• Originality and innovative content
• Feasibility of the project and its relevance to the educational objectives of the Doctorate and the proposed research lines
• Ability to synthesize, clarity in writing and knowledge of the literature

The project submitted for the purposes of the competition does not in any way bind the candidates or the Doctorate to carry out the same research activity, in the event of admission to the course.

Candidates who obtained at least 25/43 in the assessment of their qualifications and project are admitted to the oral exam.
Oral interview Candidates will have an interview with the commission, where they will present and discuss their CV and the project presented. The Commission will evaluate the following criteria and will assign an overall score that is the sum of the individual evaluations:

• Self-presentation of the candidate and discussion of previous experiences
• Discussion and evaluation of the proposed research project
• Discussion of the topics covered by the Doctoral Program
• Clarity of presentation, ability to summarize and appropriate scientific terminology (if the oral exam is held in Italian, knowledge of the English language will also be assessed through the reading and translation of a passage from a scientific article)

The minimum positive score for the oral test is 38/57.
language INGLESE
ITALIANO

contacts and info Email: dottoratobcs.bbcd@uniroma1.it Indirizzo web:https://phd.uniroma1.it/web/BIOLOGIA-CELLULARE-E-DELLOSVILUPPO_nD3489_IT.aspx
more info Candidates residing abroad or unable to take the exam in person due to documented impediment may request to take the oral exam via videoconference; the link will be provided before the oral exam, if the request is accepted by the commission.

Curriculum studiorum

Graduation date and grade of the Master's degree
detailed list of exams including completion dates and scores of Masters's degree
History of Scholarships, Research Grants (or similar)
Certificates of Foreign Languages
Certificates of participation in post-graduate university courses
certificates of Participation in research groups
certificates of Participation in internships
Other University Awards/Degrees (e.g.: awards in competition, second degree)
Computer skills

Required documentation

§ research project
mandatory
The candidate must submit, upon application, a project on one of the research lines presented for the 41st cycle on the PhD website (https://phd.uniroma1.it/web/pagina.aspx?i=3489&l=IT&p=340) or, alternatively, on another research line relevant to the PhD topics, as described on the course page (https://phd.uniroma1.it/web/BIOLOGIA-CELLULARE-E-DELLO-SVILUPPO_nD3489_IT.aspx), which allows us to evaluate the candidate's propensity for research and his/her ability to independently design and organize the different phases of the project. The project must not exceed a maximum length of 8000 characters (including spaces). Candidates must upload the project to the system by the deadline of the call.

The project must be written in English according to the following scheme:

- Title
- Background
- Aims of the project and possible impact on the advancement of the field
- Experimental plan and methodologies
- References

For candidates admitted to the oral exam, the project presented for the purposes of the competition does not in any way bind them or the Doctorate to carry out the same research activity.

In assigning the score to the Candidate, the Commission will evaluate the following criteria and will assign an overall score that is an expression of the sum of the individual evaluations:

• Originality and innovative content
• Feasibility of the project and its relevance to the educational objectives of the Doctorate and the proposed lines of research
• Ability to synthesise, clarity in writing and knowledge of the literature
, the file must be uploaded within le ore 23:59 del 19/06/2025
§ first letter of introduction (by a teacher)
mandatory, the letter must be uploaded by the referee by il 20/06/2025
N.B: MANDATORY TO TAKE THE ADMISSION EXAMINATION. The name, affiliation and e-mail address of the
contact professor/researcher MUST be indicated in the application form.

The document will be uploaded by the contact person (not by the candidate) directly on the platform. The referrer
will receive an e-mail message with instructions.

The referent's letter must be drafted according to the "REFERENCE LETTER" format available on the web page
https://phd.uniroma1.it/web/pagina.aspx?i=3489&l=IT&p=127
["GUIDELINES AND FORMS" menu on the right; file: Format_REFERENCE_LETTER_(by_the_referee's).docx]



§ second letter of introduction (by a teacher)
optional, the letter must be uploaded by the candidate
N.B: NOT MANDATORY TO TAKE THE ADMISSION EXAMINATION. The name, affiliation and e-mail address
of the contact professor/researcher MUST be indicated in the application form.

The document will be uploaded by the contact person (not by the candidate) directly on the platform. The referrer
will receive an e-mail message with instructions.

The referent's letter must be drafted according to the "REFERENCE LETTER" format available on the web page
https://phd.uniroma1.it/web/pagina.aspx?i=3489&l=IT&p=127
["GUIDELINES AND FORMS" menu on the right; file: Format_REFERENCE_LETTER_(by_the_referee's).docx]

, the file must be uploaded within le ore 23:59 del 19/06/2025
§ third letter of introduction (by a teacher)
optional, the letter must be uploaded by the candidate
N.B: NOT MANDATORY TO TAKE THE ADMISSION EXAMINATION. The name, affiliation and e-mail address
of the contact professor/researcher MUST be indicated in the application form.

The document will be uploaded by the contact person (not by the candidate) directly on the platform. The referrer
will receive an e-mail message with instructions.

The referent's letter must be drafted according to the "REFERENCE LETTER" format available on the web page
https://phd.uniroma1.it/web/pagina.aspx?i=3489&l=IT&p=127
["GUIDELINES AND FORMS" menu on the right; file: Format_REFERENCE_LETTER_(by_the_referee's).docx]


, the file must be uploaded within le ore 23:59 del 19/06/2025
§ letter of motivation (by the candidate)
mandatory
The letter (MANDATORY) will include:

- surname, name, e-mail address, telephone number of the candidate;
- past research experience, scientific interests, and expectations (a text of max 700 words);
- possible attendance of high schools of advanced studies or paths of excellence;- any publications and awards/recognitions.
- MANDATORY: the indication of at least two research lines, with the indication of priority, among those defined as "Research lines available for Sapienza" for the 41st Cycle, and, optionally, a line chosen among those defined as "Other research lines". The research lines are presented on the web page of the course
[https://phd.uniroma1.it/web/BIOLOGIA-CELLULARE-E-DELLO-SVILUPPO_nD3489_IT.aspx], Menu on the left: AVAILABLE RESEARCH LINES [https://phd.uniroma1.it/web/pagina.aspx?i=3489&l=IT&p=340]

Name of the file: Surname_First name_Motivation letter.pdf,, the file must be uploaded within le ore 23:59 del 19/06/2025
§ degree thesis (complete)
mandatory
The presentation of this document is mandatory to take the admission exam. The document must be uploaded by
the application deadline.

Candidate who are not yet graduated must upload a synopsis of the degree thesis.

The synopsis must be a maximum of 3 pages and contain the following information:

- Thesis' title;
- Supervisor (include name, E-mail, telephone);
- University of reference;
- Summary (200 words);
- Objectives of the work done (general objective and specific objectives);
- Main results;
- Methodologies and techniques acquired.

Name of the file: Surname_Name_Thesis (or Synopsis).pdf

, the file must be uploaded within le ore 23:59 del 19/06/2025

Language Skills

the candidate must know the following languages
ENGLISH

Exam Schedule

Qualifications assessment
day02/07/2025
notesnone
publication on notice boardNO
publication on the web siteYes
web sitehttps://phd.uniroma1.it/web/default.aspx?i=3489&l=IT
date of publication04/07/2025
contactsdottoratobcs.bbcd@uniroma1.it

Oral interview
day16/07/2025
notesnone
time09:30
classroomAula "Giuseppe Montalenti"
addressEdificio CU022 Genetica - Città Universitaria (Piazzale Aldo Moro 5 - Roma)
publication on notice boardNO
publication on the web siteYes
web sitehttps://phd.uniroma1.it/web/BIOLOGIA-CELLULARE-E-DELLO-SVILUPPO_nD3489.aspx
date of publication16/07/2025
contactsdottoratobcs.bbcd@uniroma1.it


Evaluation scale

Qualifications assessment

Valutazione titoli

Punteggio massimo complessivo per la prova/overall max score: 43

VOTO LAUREA O MEDIA VOTI
MASTER DEGREE GRADE OR MEAN OF EXAM GRADES

Punteggio massimo/max score: 7
Verrà valutato il voto di laurea magistrale del candidato (punteggio massimo: 7). Per gli studenti che discuteranno la tesi dopo la valutazione dei titoli ma prima del 31 ottobre 2025 il voto di laurea è sostituito dalla media aritmetica dei voti degli esami (tra parentesi)
The candidate's Master's degree grade will be evaluated (maximum score: 7). For students who will discuss their thesis after the evaluation of qualifications but before October 31, 2025, the degree grade is replaced by the arithmetic mean of the exam grades (in brackets)
110, 110 e lode (29-30)
A		7,0
109 -108 (28-28,99)
not considered		6,0
107 -106 (27-27,99)
B		3,0
105 -104 (26-26,99)
not considered		3,0
103 -102 (25-25,99)
C		2,0
<102 (<25)
D		0,0

PROGETTO
PROJECT

Punteggio massimo/max score: 36
Verrà valutato il progetto, presentato dal candidato in concomitanza della domanda di ammissione al concorso. Il progetto deve vertere su una delle linee di ricerca disponibili per il 2025 - XLI ciclo, presentate sul sito del dottorato (https://phd.uniroma1.it/web/pagina.aspx?i=3489&l=IT&p=340) o, alternativamente, su altro argomento attinente alle tematiche del dottorato, come descritte nella pagina del corso (https://phd.uniroma1.it/web/BIOLOGIA-CELLULARE-E-DELLOSVILUPPO_nD3489_IT.aspx) che permetta di valutare la propensione del candidato alla ricerca e la sua capacità di progettare e organizzare in autonomia le diverse fasi del progetto. Il progetto non dovrà superare la lunghezza massima di 8000 caratteri (spazi inclusi). I candidati dovranno caricare il progetto sul sistema entro la scadenza del bando. Il progetto dovrà essere redatto in lingua inglese secondo il seguente schema: - Title - Background - Aims of the project and possible impact on the advancement of the field - Experimental plan and methodologies - References Nell’assegnazione del punteggio al Candidato, la Commissione valuterà i seguenti criteri: • Originalità e contenuto innovativo • Fattibilità del progetto e sua pertinenza con gli obiettivi formativi del Dottorato e delle linee di ricerca proposte • Capacità di sintesi, chiarezza nella stesura e conoscenza della letteratura Il progetto presentato ai fini concorsuali non vincola in alcun modo i candidati o il Dottorato allo svolgimento della medesima attività di ricerca, in caso di ammissione al corso.
The project, submitted by the candidate together with the application, will be evaluated. The project must focus on one of the research lines available for 2025 - XLI cycle, presented on the doctoral website (https://phd.uniroma1.it/web/pagina.aspx?i=3489&l=IT&p=340) or, alternatively, on another topic relevant to the themes of the doctorate, as described on the course page (https://phd.uniroma1.it/web/BIOLOGIA-CELLULARE-E-DELLOSVILUPPO_nD3489_IT.aspx) that allows evaluating the candidate's propensity for research and his/her ability to independently design and organize the different phases of the project. The project must not exceed a maximum length of 8000 characters (including spaces). Candidates must upload the project to the system by the deadline of the call. The project, which can be assigned a maximum of 36 points, must be written in English according to the following scheme: - Title - Background - Aims of the project and possible impact on the advancement of the field - Experimental plan and methodologies - References In assigning the score to the Candidate, the Commission will evaluate the following criteria: • Originality and innovative content • Feasibility of the project and its relevance to the educational objectives of the Doctorate and the proposed research lines • Ability to synthesize, clarity in writing and knowledge of the literature The project submitted for the purposes of the competition does not in any way bind the candidates or the Doctorate to carry out the same research activity, in the event of admission to the course.
Originalità e contenuto innovativo
Innovative aspects of the project		10,0
E' indicato il punteggio massimo per questa voce
Maximum score for this point is indicated
Fattibilità del progetto e sua pertinenza con gli obiettivi formativi del Dottorato e delle linee di ricerca proposte
Feasibility of the project and its relevance to the educational objectives of the Doctorate and the proposed lines of research		13,0
E' indicato il punteggio massimo per questa voce
Maximum score for this point is indicated
Capacità di sintesi, chiarezza nella stesura del progetto e conoscenza della letteratura
Ability to synthesise, clarity in writing and knowledge of the literature		13,0
E' indicato il punteggio massimo per questa voce
Maximum score for this point is indicated
Oral interview

Prova orale

Punteggio massimo complessivo per la prova/overall max score: 57

Discussione sulle tematiche oggetto del Programma di Dottorato
Discussion on the topics covered by the Doctoral Program

Punteggio massimo/max score: 20

Discussione e valutazione del progetto di ricerca proposto
Discussion and evaluation of the proposed research project

Punteggio massimo/max score: 20

Autopresentazione del candidato e discussione delle esperienze pregresse
Self-presentation of the candidate and discussion of previous experiences

Punteggio massimo/max score: 4

Chiarezza espositiva, capacità di sintesi e terminologia scientifica appropriata
Clarity of exposition, ability to summarise and appropriate scientific terminology

Punteggio massimo/max score: 13
Verrà valutata la chiarezza espositiva e la capacità di sintesi del candidato, oltreché l conoscenza e l'uso appropriato della terminologia scientifica. Se la prova orale sarà svolta in italiano, verrà valutata anche la conoscenza della lingua inglese attraverso la lettura e traduzione di un brano tratto da un articolo scientifico.
The candidate's clarity of exposition and ability to summarize will be assessed, as well as knowledge and appropriate use of scientific terminology. If the oral exam is held in Italian, knowledge of the English language will also be assessed through the reading and translation of a passage from a scientific article.

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