Program Overview
Program Overview
The Scienze della Vita program is a three-year doctoral program that aims to provide high-level scientific research and training opportunities for students with a background in biological sciences, medicine, engineering, physics, chemistry, and pharmacology. The program focuses on studying the functions of the organism in the field of health and disease with a multidisciplinary approach.
Program Structure
The program is divided into three curricula:
- Biology and genetics of prokaryotes and viruses; host-pathogen interaction including immune response, and antimicrobial resistance mechanisms.
- Bioinformatics and Omics, Structure and function of macromolecules, Discovery of new drugs.
- Molecular and Cellular Biology and Genetics of eukaryotic cells; Developmental Biology; Cell Physiology.
Curriculum Details
Biology and Genetics of Prokaryotes and Viruses
This curriculum focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying the fundamental processes in the biology of prokaryotic cells and viruses and their interactions with the host. Research areas of interest include:
- Strategies adopted by bacteria/viruses to counteract the stress conditions imposed by the host
- Mechanisms of microbial/viral infection, persistence, and avoidance of immune responses
- Cellular pathways involved in the pathogenesis of bacterial/viral infections
- Evolution of the mechanisms of resistance to antibiotics and antivirals
Bioinformatics and Omics
This program focuses on the properties of biological macromolecules, interpreting biological complexity in relevant phenomena such as cell reprogramming, cancer, host-pathogen interactions. Different approaches are used, involving:
- Structural biology
- Biochemistry
- Bioinformatics
- Design and chemistry of new drugs Research areas include:
- Study of protein structure, stability, and folding
- Recognition between biomolecules
- Structural analysis of target molecules to design, synthesize, and validate antimicrobial and antiviral compounds and anticancer drugs
- Computational approaches for the interpretation of -omics data and prediction of the function and structure of macromolecules
Molecular and Cellular Biology and Genetics of Eukaryotic Cells
This curriculum focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying the fundamental processes of eukaryotic cell biology. Current areas of interest include:
- Regulatory signaling networks
- Crosstalk and cellular trafficking
- Metabolism and metabolic reprogramming in physiological and pathological adaptation
- Expression and function of non-protein coding genes, such as small and long non-coding RNAs
- Chromosomal organization, genome stability, epigenetics, cell differentiation, and the fate of stem cells in response to microenvironmental factors
Program Details
- ID: 26753
- Course type: Dottorato
- Academic year: 2025/2026
- Positions: 6
- Grant numbers: 2
- Number of scholarships financed by institutions: 0
- Number of scholarships financed by consortiums: 1
Evaluation Criteria
For evaluation criteria, refer to those specified in the bando.
Department and School
- Department: Scienze biochimiche "Alessandro Rossi Fanelli"
- School: Scuola di dottorato in Biologia e Medicina molecolare
Coordinator and Staff
- Coordinator: Giovanni Cenci
- Staff: Daniela Padulo
Exam and Tests
- Exam: Oral, scheduled for 15/7/2025 at 09:00 in aula 201 (RM112-E01P02L005) edificio D plesso Regina Elena.
- Tests: Evaluation of qualifications, scheduled for 30/6/2025.