Educational goals

The Master's Degree course in Medical and Pharmaceuticals Biotechnologies intends to prepare graduates with high levels of competence to design and conduct analysis and research activities, both technological and experimental, research and development in biotechnology in the various areas of biomedical and pharmaceutical interest. The course of study is organized with a common first year in which the specific objectives aim to enable the student to acquire, through frontal teaching and significant experimental work experience, skills and knowledge on the foundations of biotechnology and the roots of diseases. In particular, knowledge will be explored regarding: - stem cells and their use in various fields of research; - genetics in normal conditions and its modifications in diseases; - engineered proteins and RNA technology, as well as their dynamic interaction (system biology); - biotechnological applications in biochemical/biomolecular diagnostics and in the development of biological markers; - the biochemical and physiological aspects of human cells, tissues and organisms; - on the basis of human infectious, metabolic, degenerative and tumor pathological processes, with reference to their cellular and molecular pathogenetic mechanisms; In the second year of the Degree Course, given the numerous applications of biotechnology in the field of human health, we intend to offer the student the choice between two different study paths: one medical and one pharmaceutical. The medical, or rather, biomedical path is oriented towards the study of disciplines with particular reference to the pathogenetic mechanisms of human diseases, non-pharmaceutical therapies (vaccines, biological drugs, gene and cell therapy) and pharmaceuticals. The pharmaceutical path, on the other hand, is oriented towards the study of biotechnology applied to the design, research and development, and analysis of innovative biotechnological drugs. In the second semester of the second year, students are allowed to delve into very specific areas of biotechnology so that they have the possibility, even if to a limited extent, to personalize their training path. In particular, in the medical course, knowledge of human reproduction techniques, imaging, molecular techniques and forensic toxicology, tissue engineering, histopathology as well as advanced knowledge of statistics and bioinformatics can be deepened. In the pharmaceutical field, however, you will be able to learn the basics of 'synthetic biology' and the techniques of analysis of biomacromolecules, experimental design and the scientific method. The course is divided into lectures, seminars, laboratory exercises, and an internship for the preparation of an experimental degree thesis. The student may decide to carry out the experimental degree internship in a laboratory of his/her choice: in university departments, in companies, in scientific hospitalization and care institutions, research laboratories in clinics and foundations. Finally, the Master's Degree course in Medical and Pharmaceuticals Biotechnologies has introduced a considerable number of laboratory hours into the training path which will be carried out in small groups in laboratories equipped with the most modern instrumentation.

Career opportunities

Medical Pharmaceutical Biotechnologist Graduates in Medical and Pharmaceuticals Biotechnologies will be able to aspire to employment, by way of example, in the following bodies: - Pharmaceutical/biotechnological/biomedical companies including those in the regenerative and molecular medicine sectors - Public or private hospital laboratories - Pharmaceutical industries - Research and development laboratories and industrial production departments - Biotechnology service centers - Biotechnology companies - Universities and public and private research institutes

Admission requirements

To be admitted to the master's degree course in Medical and Pharmaceuticals Biotechnologies, the student must be in possession of a degree (including that obtained according to the regulations previously in force in Ministerial Decree 509/1999 and subsequent amendments and additions) or a three-year university diploma, or another qualification obtained abroad, recognized as suitable by the competent bodies of the University. Furthermore, since the entire course is taught in English, the student must possess knowledge of the English language corresponding to the B2 level of the CEF (Common European Framework). The curricular requirements required for direct enrollment are a degree obtained in Italy in one of the following classes referred to in the Ministerial Decree. 270/2004 and corresponding classes pursuant to Ministerial Decree 509/1999: L-2 Biotechnology, L-13 Biological Sciences, LM-13 Pharmacy and Industrial Pharmacy (including the single-cycle degree in Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Technologies), LM-41 Medicine and Surgery. Graduate students in possession of a foreign qualification will be assessed for correspondence with the above-mentioned classes. In the event that the student has not graduated in one of the above-mentioned classes, the curricular requirements are considered satisfied if the student has acquired a minimum number of credits in the following scientific-disciplinary sectors as reported here: • minimum 10 ECTS in mathematical disciplines , physics, computer science and statistics corresponding to the following scientific-disciplinary sectors: from FIS/01 to FIS/08, from MAT/01 to MAT/09, INF/01, MED/01, SECS-S/01, SECS-S/ 02; • minimum 10 CFU in chemical and biological disciplines corresponding to the following scientific-disciplinary sectors: CHIM/01, CHIM/02, CHIM/03, CHIM/06, BIO/01, BIO/10, BIO/11, BIO/13, BIO /17, BIO/18, BIO/19; • minimum 20 CFU in biotechnological disciplines corresponding to the following scientific-disciplinary sectors: from BIO/01 to BIO/07, BIO/09 from BIO/12 to BIO/19, from CHIM/01 to CHIM/05, from CHIM/08 to CHIM/11, MED/03, MED/04, MED/05, MED/07, MED/09, MED/13, MED/15, MED/42. The Course will verify the adequate preparation of the students through a selection whose contents and methods will be described in the specific admission notice, in accordance with the provisions of the Academic Regulations of the Course. The Evaluation Commission will be able to direct candidates with serious training gaps to specific support tutoring.