Educational objectives

The PhD program is structured into four main curricula: Animal Biology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Human Biology and Bioenergetics of Human Motion. Within each curriculum, PhD students have the opportunity to propose and develop their own research projects in some of the most advanced fields of biological sciences, supervised by a tutor appointed among the members of the Academic Board.
While the research projects cover a wide range of topics, they are often focused on themes related to the research priorities indicated by the regional, national and EU committees. This assures the research project granting and, among other things, it is an important aspect for the high level of training received. In fact, it is of particular relevance in light of several initiatives supported by the Regional Government of Sardinia, such as the Regional Plan for Research and Technological Development, the promotion of scientific research and technological innovation, and the strengthening the research-enterprise system in the field of biomedicine, as well as the EU horizon 2020 framework for research and innovation that will have a profound impact on the future of the European science. Indeed, the education of high-profile young people with skills in the field of molecular-biological and ecological sciences will be essential to reach the proposed goals.
The PhD program has a well defined calendar of lectures, annually proposed by a specific Commission of the School, appointed among the Professors of the School and publicized in a timely manner in the school’s web site. The educational activities for first year students offer a series of both common and specific lectures. The common lectures (opened to students of all curricula) are on general topics and are aimed to advance the PhD students knowledge in the life science area. The specific lectures (restricted to students of each single curriculum) are focused on particular aspects of the students research topics.
In addition, the opportunity to achieve the international PhD title (Doctor Europeus) is greatly encouraged in the program, also considered that several fellowships offered in the program explicitly require that a minimum period of 6 months will be spent in a foreign laboratory.

 

Educational objectives of the curricula
Animal Biology
The scientific and laboratory activities included in the Animal Biology curriculum aim to provide an excellent theoretical and practical training related to the study of animal organisms and their environment, including Anatomy, Ecology, Reproductive Biology and Taxonomy.
The education received allows students to independently carry out a project on basic or applied research in the most advanced fields of Animal Biology. This is assured by the scientific cultural competence in various aspects of zoology and animal ecology provided by the professors  in the program. A particular emphasis will be given to the study and management of marine and coastal lagoons. The goal of this curriculum, in addition to providing an in-depth knowledge of issues, methodologies and techniques of animal biology and ecology, is to allow the students to acquire the ability to: a) operate in teams, carry out their work autonomously and to be quickly brought into a future workplace; b) plan interventions for the prevention, management, protection and conservation of natural resources; c) evaluate the human impact in environmental settings and design programs of environmental restoration; d) have the necessary knowledge for the education and popularization about environmental issues; e) enhance food quality and safety in fishery products.

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
The scientific and laboratory activities included in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology curriculum provide an excellent theoretical and practical training related to Biochemistry, Biotechnology, Molecular Biology and Virology, allowing graduates to establish and carry out projects in some of the most advanced areas of life sciences. The education received allows students to independently carry out a project of basic or applied research in the most advanced fields of Molecular Biology.
The curriculum provides a solid foundation of knowledge on living organisms favoring a more integrated level of conceptual organization. Therefore, it expands the knowledge of chemistry of nucleic acids and proteins as well as the molecular biology of viruses. Through the integration of the above-mentioned basic knowledge and a series of advanced bioanalytical techniques, the research projects offered to the PhD students mainly focus on the structural and functional aspects of protein-protein and protein-ligand interactions (e.g. respiratory proteins and salivary proteins) and protein-DNA/RNA interactions (in regulatory proteins involved in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases as well as in innate immune system activation), proteomics and antiviral drug development (mainly RNA viruses).

Human Biology
The scientific and laboratory activities included in the Human Biology curriculum provide an excellent theoretical and practical training related to Anthropological Sciences, allowing graduates to establish and carry out projects in some of the most advanced areas of Biological Anthropology. The curriculum allows to acquire a cultural background and mastery of the scientific methodology to design and perform studies focused on the microevolutionary processes of human populations in light of molecular, anthropometric, biodemografic and osteological data, as well as data arising from the interaction between man and the environment. The curriculum offers the opportunity of acquiring methodologies and techniques to measure body composition, applying innovative techniques for the evaluation of the nutritional status. It also allows to gain an overall picture of the natural history of man, an indispensable support for any type of cognitive approach to the biological study of human populations.

Bioenergetics of Human Motion
The scientific and laboratory activities included in the Bioenergetics of Human Motion curriculum provide an excellent theoretical and practical training related to the science of exercise physiology, nutrition applied to sports and to the biochemical processes related to oxidative stress after muscular effort. The program allows to establish and develop projects in some of the most advanced areas of functional testing, using protocols that are connected either to the problems of the human body involved in physical activity, or the muscle biomechanics evaluated in ex-vivo biological preparations both in healthy and patients. This program allows students to independently develop a project on a basic or applied research in the most advanced fields of the bioenergetics of human motion.
Moreover the curriculum allows to acquire a solid knowledge on the adjustments and adaptations of the human body to physical stress. This approach integrates educational and experimental aspects in the fields of cardiorespiratory physiology, biochemistry of energy processes, neurochemical processes of motor learning and muscle contraction biophysics.