The PhD in Clinical and Molecular Medicine is established at the Department of Medicine and Surgery of the University of Perugia. It lasts three years. The doctorate provides five training curricula: Pathology and Clinical Studies of Atherosclerosis and Aging; Neurosciences; Surgical Sciences; Biotechnologies in Human Bone Marrow Transplantation; Radiotherapy in Oncology. The Doctorate project in Clinical and Molecular Medicine is part of a high specialty perspective that favors research in critical sectors with regards to the prevention, diagnosis and therapy of extremely important human pathologies, both from the point of view of incidence and impact on human life, and on the concept of Precision Medicine. From this point of view, innovation is strongly favoured, both in terms of applied laboratory technologies, clinical studies and surgical and radiotherapy approaches.
The PhD Course in Clinical and Molecular Medicine at the University of Perugia offers a highly competitive programme organized in distinct Curricula for a comprehensive education in the research in the fields of hemato-oncology, immunology and hematopoietic stem cell transplantations, neurosciences, surgical sciences, aging, cardiovascular and infective diseases, and radiotherapy. The PhD Course is characterized by high interdisciplinarity, high specialization, and excellence in basic and translational research in the different sectors. Although the Doctorate is divided into thematic curricula, the possibility of building interaction is also strongly encouraged through common courses and meetings, so as to encourage intersections and development of collaborations with the aim of answering scientific questions that require access to multidisciplinary approaches.
The PhD Course offers state-of-the art working conditions and infrastructures in a challenging environment for talented researchers in renowned academic clinical and research institutions in Italy. The doctoral faculty and research staff unify researchers with demonstrated excellence in their highly specialized research sector, awarded and supported by prestigious national, European and international funding. It provides the skills and vision of its most competitive researchers for broad-based projects in the field of Precision Medicine, in line with vision of the PhD Course. A number of big and small private companies, start-up and even spin-off incubated in the University of Perugia environment, collaborate with the researchers to support and develop connected research lines.
The main objective of the Ph.D. Course is to form scientists with biological knowledge for medical application, highly specialized in the different fields of the curricula, but also trasversal, so that fields of application can be wide both in basic and translational research. Our students receive a broad training that prepares them equally well for careers in industry or academia.
Final aims are i) a better understanding of the pathogenesis and molecular bases of diseases; ii) the ability of developing new diagnostic systems, therapeutic and prevention tools; iii) the ability of developing new technological approaches.
This knowledge will provide the student with a wide expertise applicable in different sectors of the biomedical science.
The Ph.D. students will receive a gradual training during the three-year course in order to progressively acquire autonomy. The training will be integrated with specific courses and the participation to national and international conferences, and meetings.
Furthermore, PhD students will have the possibility and are encouraged to spend a period of research in external national and international institutions.
Our Course offers a wide range of different programs within the different Curricula. Students choose their field of interest under the direct supervision of one or more of the PhD Course Board.
The PhD Course is composed of five Curricula:
- "Pathology and Clinical Studies of Atherosclerosis and Aging", includes the study of the mechanisms underlying the primary and secondary alterations of lipid and carbohydrate metabolism linked to the development of atherosclerosis, the impact of various vascular risk factors and the role of the clinical and subclinical immuno-inflammatory response in the pathophysiology of atherosclerotic vascular damage, of methods aimed at the identification of biomarkers and instrumental indicators of atherosclerosis and related organ damage, as well as the evaluation of the physiopathological processes of age-related diseases, and the study of host-parasite interactions of infections by multiresistant microorganisms and other pathogens of epidemic or pandemic relevance;
- "Neurosciences", aimed at improving the knowledge of the pathogenetic mechanisms and preclinical aspects of neurodegenerative, vascular, inflammatory diseases of the nervous system, underlying headache and epilepsy as well as aspects concerning the transmission and synaptic plasticity both physiological and in experimental models of diseases with particular regard to neurodegenerative diseases;
- “Surgical Sciences", dedicated to improving the surgical methodology of experimental research, particular in oncology, with potential application and translation in the clinical setting, and the development of new diagnostic tools and therapeutic strategies applied to diseases of different organs or systems (stomach and intestines, respiratory and urinary tracts, ear, nose and throat);
- "Biotechnologies in Bone Marrow Transplantation”, particularly aimed at studying the genome and pathogenesis of hematological malignancies, development and application of precision therapies, including cell therapies (CAR-T, CAR-NK), development and use of monoclonal antibodies in precision diagnosis and personalized therapy, as well as development of innovative hematopoietic stem cell transplant platforms and study of immunological reconstitution and the mechanisms underlying post-transplant complications;
- “Radiotherapy in Oncology”, aimed at integration of radiotherapy with biomolecular markers and new treatments. development of radiomics tools to predict the response to radiation treatments. clinical research in the use of special radiotherapy techniques, translational research on the role of the microbiota in radiation treatment
Employment opportunities
The skills acquired as part of the PhD in 'Clinical and Molecular Medicine' focus on strategic research areas at European level such as the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of cardiovascular diseases, the early diagnosis and treatment of hemato-oncological diseases, the understanding the mechanisms of aging and oncogenesis, precision medicine and target therapies in various sectors, cell therapies, cell engineering, research and development in the field of neuroscience, the development of new surgical techniques, and innovative programs in radiotherapy.
Employment opportunities are foreseeable both in academia and in public or private structures and institutions. This applies both nationally and internationally.
In the academy, the PhD in 'Clinical and Molecular Medicine' can have access to Post-doc Fellow competitions, announced in the context of the most varied and innovative research projects at local, national and international level, as well as in competitions for researchers.
Public and private structures can be identified in public and private Research Centers as well as in the National Health Service in its healthcare, organizational and research structures. Furthermore, industrial sectors in the biotechnological, pharmaceutical and health physics fields are closely linked to the skills acquired in the Doctorate in 'Clinical and Molecular Medicine'.
The implementation of a monitoring system for the professional opportunities that our PhDs will be able to achieve is planned.
The coordinator, Prof. Maria Paola Martelli, M.D., Ph.D., is a clinical and research scientist, leader in translational research and clinic in the field of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Her contribution to science comes from her interdisciplinary approach and integration of cancer biology, protein biochemistry, pharmacology and clinic to understand the mechanisms regulating leukemia development and affecting treatment. She is appointed member of the Regione Umbria Ethics Committee (CER Umbria) for clinical experimentations, member of the AML scientific working group (SWG) of the European Hematology Association (EHA), and elected member vice president of the Board of Directors (BoD) of the Società Italiana di Ematologia Sperimentale (SIES).
The Academic Board includes 47 researchers and professors, of whom 37 belonging to the Perugia University, with consolidated experience in the doctoral curricula.
The research doctorate benefits from the collaboration of numerous international research Institutes in which doctoral students are hosted to improve their training and to develop shared research projects.