Ph.D
TRANSLATIONAL BIOMEDICINE (INTERNATIONAL Ph.D. PROGRAMME)
Coordinator: Prof. Carlo Vancheri
Training Program
The Course provides, in the first year, an in-depth study of preparatory disciplines, followed by the development of a scientific project within one of the curricula specified below:
EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND CELLULAR PHYSIOPATHOLOGY: Study of the pathogenesis and biomarkers of cardiovascular, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, renal and oncological diseases, with particular regard to diagnostic, prognostic and drug-response biomarkers; through the study of pathogenetic mechanisms and the identification of biomarkers of cellular activation and damage, implementing specific and at the same time innovative therapeutic strategies in the treatment of chronic diseases and rare pathologies; development of IT strategies and methodologies useful for drug repositioning in fields other than their natural indication.
GENOMIC MEDICINE: Identification of biomolecular markers for in vitro diagnosis, follow-up and prediction of therapeutic response; Health Technology Assessment (HTA) for the evaluation and transfer of biotechnologies. Application of informatics to genomics. Study of genetic polymorphisms involved in the pathogenesis of the main interstitial lung diseases and, more generally, of rare pulmonary pathologies such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, severe asthma and more common conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
TECHNOLOGICAL AND THERAPEUTIC INNOVATIONS APPLIED TO TRANSPLANTATION AND VASCULAR SURGERY: New surgical procedures for abdominal pathologies, organ transplants and vascular surgery; in particular, the role of new robotic surgical techniques (Da Vinci robot) in the treatment of cardiovascular, abdominal and pulmonary conditions will be assessed. Identification of new diagnostic tools for bacterial, fungal and viral infections. In particular, through specific microbiological analyses, the causes and prevention methods of hospital-acquired infections will be studied and examined in depth.
ADVANCED TECHNOLOGICAL PLATFORMS FOR DIAGNOSIS AND THERAPY: Study of the cellular and molecular mechanisms of endocrine, cardiovascular, respiratory, haematological and oncological diseases; bioinformatics applied to medical sciences through the use of the most common databases in the medical and biological field. Application of cell and molecular biology methods to the study of the cells most involved in the pathogenesis of the above-mentioned diseases, with particular regard to cultures and co-cultures of fibroblasts, epithelial cells, blood cells and seminal cells. Morphological and functional cytofluorimetric cell analysis will be the reference methodology.
MOLECULAR MEDICINE: Computational analysis, genomics and biomolecular profiling of complex, neoplastic, rare and degenerative pathologies. These methods will be applied in particular to the study of breast, thyroid, colon and lung tumours. Among rare diseases, particular attention will be paid to rare cardiac and pulmonary conditions such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and interstitial lung diseases in general. Special focus will be given to the identification of markers of fibrotic progression in pulmonary interstitiopathies.
MOLECULAR GENOMIC BIOMEDICINE AND COMPLEX SYSTEMS: Development of new diagnostic technologies; genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic platforms; software for image analysis in thoracic and cardiovascular radiology and device implantation. The study and applied development of image analysis software will be particularly aimed at the quantitative assessment of HRCT (high resolution computed tomography) examinations of patients affected by interstitial lung diseases, with particular regard to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The application and value of this methodology will be assessed both in the diagnostic and follow-up phases.
Through the above programme, the Doctoral course trains highly qualified professionals oriented towards research in the academic and clinical fields, public health, public and private diagnostic laboratories, and teams involved in applied clinical research.
Finally, in line with the objectives of the PNRR, the doctoral programme has set out to develop research programmes in the field of Health Technology Assessment (HTA), with the primary objective of designing and training doctoral graduates who can develop and evaluate the impact of new technologies within the National Health Service (NHS), fostering innovation and promoting its sustainability and accessibility across the national territory. Programmes will also be designed and developed to contribute to the digitalisation process within the NHS and to the simplification of healthcare organisational models.
The doctoral programme is characterised by a translational approach involving numerous disciplines well represented by the doctoral curricula themselves, encompassing all the main medical, surgical and basic research disciplines, making the close association between basic research and the transfer of knowledge to clinical practice its primary qualifying feature.
Last updated: June 20, 2025
