Program Overview

Introduction to the Doctoral Program in Cellular and Molecular Biology

The Doctoral Program in Cellular and Molecular Biology offers a unique multidisciplinary educational experience leading to the title of Doctor of Research, the highest level of academic education in Italy. The Department of Biology, in collaboration with various private and public institutions, has designed a program that crosses traditional disciplinary boundaries to offer students high-level research projects and training focused on complementary skills in a wide range of biological, biotechnological, and environmental research topics necessary to address future scientific challenges.

Program Objectives

The objective of the Doctoral Program in Cellular and Molecular Biology is to train students to contribute to the progress of science in various fields, such as molecular biology, cellular biology, cellular biochemistry, molecular genetics, and bioinformatics. The program aims to provide students with the necessary skills to conduct high-quality research in both public and private entities, contributing to scientific and technological progress.

Curriculum

The program offers two curricula: Experimental and Bioinformatics.

• The Experimental curriculum covers areas such as biochemistry, genomics, and bioinformatics, cancer and neurological diseases, molecular biology, microbiology, and plant physiology.
• The Bioinformatics curriculum includes research projects on the study of sequences, structures, and functions of biologically interesting macromolecules (nucleic acids, proteins, ligands of various types, including drugs); development of approaches involving basic disciplines such as genetics, biochemistry, structural and systems biology, proteomics, and interactomics; analysis and meta-analysis of high-throughput data to interpret biological complexity through new omic technologies: genomics, transcriptomics (RNA-seq both in bulk and single-cell), proteomics; development of methods for predicting interactions between molecules (protein-protein, protein-nucleic acids, protein-drugs), also through network analysis.

Educational Goals

The program's educational goals include:

• Full acquisition of the experimental method
• Ability to identify relevant variables in different experimental conditions
• Knowledge of the most updated and suitable experimental methodologies to answer scientific questions
• Development of systematization skills in collecting materials and experimental data through the use of appropriate computer methods
• Construction of a knowledge base regarding the most modern and suitable methods for analyzing experimental data in the respective fields of investigation
• Knowledge of relevant databases for research purposes
• Knowledge of the literature of interest and its continuous updating
• Development of clarity and synthetic exposition skills
• Ability to identify the impact of one's research on public health, biotechnology, and industrial production fronts

Mobility of Doctoral Students

Mobility is highly encouraged, thanks to funds specifically allocated for doctoral students. Mobility includes:

• Participation in national and international conferences and congresses
• Short-term missions to other universities or research centers for specific experiments not feasible on site
• Meetings with national or international research groups collaborating on the research project
• Any other activity useful for completing the research project

Occupational Outcomes

The program's activities are aimed at training researchers who can be employed in research activities of public and private entities. Some doctoral graduates continue their training with a postdoctoral period in the laboratory where they acquired their title. Others pursue their training in Italy or abroad, in academic and non-academic fields (small and medium-sized enterprises focused on biotechnology, Research Hospitals, university hospitals that include applied research groups). With notable frequency, the postdoctoral period ends with a fixed-term employment contract. About 10% of doctoral graduates dedicate themselves to teaching, while 20% find employment in activities related to the health service. Doctoral graduates in the bioinformatics curriculum are currently fully absorbed in research laboratories, taking advantage of the fact that the acquired competence is still scarce compared to the needs of research laboratories and departments.

Didactic and Research Activities

Didactic activities are carried out through a dense calendar of courses and seminars in English, held by teachers of the Doctoral School's College and by external national and international experts. The duration of the doctoral course is three years. Each student is responsible for a personal research project, tutored by a supervisor and a co-supervisor, and may spend a period at a foreign research institute. In addition to the commitment dedicated mainly to experimental activity, students participate in internal doctoral seminars every two months to report on the progress of their research and in scientific seminars by national and international researchers. Furthermore, in the last year of the doctorate, students follow a course "Development of skills for doctoral students" aimed at developing and refining the writing and presentation skills necessary for publishing scientific works, requesting funding and scholarships, and disseminating science in different contexts.

Workshop and Scientific Activities

At the end of each academic year, a scientific workshop is organized in which innovative research in the biomolecular and cellular field is presented by national and international experts in the context of biology, biomedicine, and bioinformatics. The workshop is organized by the last-year students of the doctoral school with the supervision of the coordinator and some teachers of the college. Therefore, students are involved in choosing the speakers to invite, writing the letters of invitation, specifying the reason and purpose of the workshop. They are also involved in the function of chairing the scientific sessions and administrative organization following the allocation of a budget decided together with the coordinator.