PHD PROGRAM IN GENOMIC AND EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE
The Genomic and experimental medicine doctoral program is designed for self-motivated science graduates and medical doctors wishing to become scholars in the biomedical sciences and to develop research careers in human genetics, functional genomics and molecular medicine. Our goal is to train the next generation of scientists in basic, innovative and state-of-the-art molecular, cellular and translational research to advance disease prevention and therapeutic approaches to promote human health.
Our graduates will find their natural job collocation in academic and clinical Research centers of excellence, in biotechnological industries and in other structures of the biomedical sector.
Students in the GEM doctoral program will be trained in the fields of
- Cell Biology
- Gene Therapy
- Genomics and Systems Biology
In addition students will be exposed to novel and modern technologies such genomics, advanced microscopy, high content screening, proteomics, viral vector production.
Students in the GEM PhD program will then receive additional training in complementary skills such as grant writing, science management and intellectual property. This training comes from both basic scientists in various scientific fields and from physicians as well as experts in program management, grant writing and scientific communication.
The PhD Program in Genomic and experimental medicine is designed for scientific graduates and medical doctors holding a Master’s Degree (or equivalent).
The location of the PhD for both teaching and laboratory training will be at Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine – TIGEM, Pozzuoli (NA) in addition to the other locations of the School.
To empower the training and international aspects of the PhD Program, it is mandatory, for each PhD Student to spend a period of at least one year (even divided in different quarters or semesters) in University o Research Centers abroad.
The official language of the PhD Program is English; lessons and seminars will be held in English, such as all the scientific presentations given by the PhD Students. Website, application material and support material will be in English.
Andrea Ballabio (MED/03)
Full Professor of Medical Genetics
Department of Translational Medicine
Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Italy
Tigem Director
https://www.tigem.it/research/faculty/ballabio
Brunella Franco (MED/03)
Full Professor of Medical Genetics
Department of Translational Medicine
Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Italy
Tigem Principal Investigator
Alberto Auricchio (MED/03)
Professore Ordinario di Genetica Medica
Dipartimento di Scienze biomediche avanzate
Università degli Studi di Napoli “Federico II”, Italia
Ricercatore Tigem- Principal Investigator
Andrea Ballabio (MED/03)
Professore Ordinario di Genetica Medica
Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche Traslazionali
Università degli Studi di Napoli “Federico II”, Italia
Tigem – Direttore scientifico
Nicola Brunetti Pierri (MED/03)
Professore Associato di Genetica Medica
Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche Traslazionali
Università degli Studi di Napoli “Federico II”, Italia
Ricercatore Tigem – Associate Investigator
MED/03
Davide Cacchiarelli (BIO/11)
R.T.D. Biologia Molecolare, Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche Traslazionali
Università degli Studi di Napoli “Federico II”, Italia
Ricercatore Tigem-Assistant Investigator
Antonella De Matteis (BIO/13)
Professore Ordinario di Biologia Applicata
Dipartimento di Medicina Molecolare e Biotecnologie Mediche
Università degli Studi di Napoli “Federico II”, Italia
Ricercatore Tigem- Principal Investigator
Diego di Bernardo (ING-IND/34)
Professore Associato di Bioingegneria Industriale
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Chimica, dei Materiali e della Produzione Industriale, Università degli Studi di Napoli “Federico II”, Italia
Ricercatore Tigem- Principal Investigator
Brunella Franco (MED/03) – COORDINATORE
Professore Ordinario di Genetica Medica
Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche Traslazionali
Università degli Studi di Napoli “Federico II”, Italia
Ricercatore Tigem- Principal Investigator
Giancarlo Parenti (MED/38)
Professore Ordinario di Pediatria Generale e Specialistica
Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche Traslazionali
Università degli Studi di Napoli “Federico II”, Italia
Ricercatore Tigem- Associate Investigator
Carmine Settembre (BIO/17)
Professore Associato di Istologia
Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche Traslazionali
Università degli Studi di Napoli “Federico II”, Italia
Ricercatore Tigem- Associate Investigator
Vincenzo Nigro (MED/03)
Professore Ordinario
Dipartimento Medicina di Precisione
Universita’ della Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, Italia
Ricercatore Tigem – Principal Investigator, Coordinator Telethon Undiagnosed Program
Prof Michelino De Laurentiis (MED/06 – Oncologia Medica)
Director of the Department of Senology and Thoracic Oncology, National Cancer Institute IRCCS “G. Pascale Foundation”, Naples
Adjunct Professor at the Department of Endocrinology and Molecular and Clinical Oncology
University of Naples “Federico II”, Italy
R.T.D and Medical Director at the Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery
University of Naples “Federico II”, Italy
Michele Carbone (MED/08 – Anatomia Patologica)
Full Professor of Pathological Anatomy
Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine
University Magna Grecia, Catanzaro, Italy
Antonio Giordano (MED/08 – Anatomia Patologica)
Full Professor of Anatomy and Pathological Histology
Department of Medical, Surgical and Neuroscience Sciences
Laboratory of Biomedical Technologies and Experimental Oncology
University of Siena, Italy
Salvatore Pece (MED 04 – Patologia Generale)
Full Professor of General Pathology
University of Milan, Italy
European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy
Robin Ali (BIO/18)
Professor of Human Molecular Genetics
Institute of Ophthalmology
Faculty of Brain Sciences
University College London, London, UK
Lukas Huber (BIO/13)
Professor for Cell Biology
Institute of Cell Biology
Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria
Thomas Langer (BIO/12)
Professor of Biochemistry
Institute for Genetics, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing, Cologne, Germany
Elena I. Rugarli (BIO/18)
Professor of Molecular Biomedicine
Department of Biology, Institute for Genetics, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Cologne Excellence Cluster on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
The Research activity is carried out by each PhD student under the supervision of a Tutor chosen among the members of the Faculty Board. The PhD students will be also assigned a Thesis Committee, composed of three senior researchers (in addition to the Tutor).
The Thesis Committee, in addition to assessing the theoretical-practical skills acquired by the PhD student, will be able to contribute to the delineation of the project lines in order to improve the training profile of the PhD Student or help them to plan possible strategies for overcoming any critical issues inherent to the project proposal, that the candidate will carry out in the following three years. The Tutors (or Supervisors) are required to declare, in the annual report sent to the PhD Coordinator, the data relating to the training and Research activities of each PhD student.
The advancement of each PhD student is assessed by the Faculty Board, at the time of the evaluation of the annual report on the activity carried out, which decrees the passage to the following year. This annual report will be supported by a Power Point presentation, and will be discussed in a plenary session afore the Thesis Committee.
The transition from the second to the third and from the third to the fourth year will take place on the basis of the evaluation by the Thesis Committee of the progress of the Research project, as defined in the project proposal presented by the candidate at the end of the first year.
The discussion of the thesis and the awarding of the PhD title will take place at the end of the fourth year, provided that the work presented in the thesis work has been published in an International Journal accredited by the Scientific Community and that the PhD student is among the authors of the aforementioned publication.
The training activity develops over a four-year period in order to allow continuous contact between teaching staff and doctoral students.
The teaching activity will be concentrated in predetermined periods of the first three years of the course; during the last year, no face-to-face lessons will be scheduled, as students will be involved in completing the experiments and drafting the doctoral thesis.
For each PhD cycle, the PhD teachers will organize basic, specialist and complementary skills courses, in accordance with the interdisciplinary characterization of the PhD course. Each course will include theoretical and practical lessons given by the PhD teachers and by external teachers chosen ad hoc on the basis of their skills.
The student is expected to participate in the scientific seminars scheduled on a weekly basis by the Institute which hosts the doctoral course, which has a long tradition of national and international guests of the highest scientific profile. Participation in the seminars will constitute a title for the acquisition of university credits (CFU).
I year: Basic courses (Introductory Course)
Introductory lessons for a total 20 hours of frontal and / or practical lessons.
At the end of the Course an assessment test will be held.
II year: Specialistic Courses
They include subjects concerning the various Research topics of the doctoral program and include 24 lessons for a total of 48 hours of frontal and / or practical lessons.
At the end of the Course an assessment test will be held.
III year: Complementary Skills
They include 6 lessons for a total of 12 hours of frontal and / or practical lessons.
These courses are intended to provide doctoral students with elements of financial management and Research communication.
The course ends with a learning and assessment test.
IV year
The fourth year will be devoted essentially to the finalization of the thesis and no specific courses will take place.
Seminars, Data Clubs:
Each PhD Student will present their Research advancement to TIGEM community once a year. Moreover, the participation in Institute seminars with National and International high-level speakers is mandatory, for a total of at least 320 hours.
Below is a first draft of the educational offer of the doctorate in Molecular and Translational Medicine which can be modified and expanded.
download pdf
The following activities are managed in concert with the other SSM PhDs’ programmes.
Language courses: Italian language courses for foreigners, as well as English, French, German and Spanish are offered by the Centro Linguistico di Ateneo..
Computer skills: The School organises short courses to train PhD students in the critical use of digital resources and familiarise them with tools such as reference and source managers.
Management of research, knowledge of research systems and funding sources: The School organises training activities on funding opportunities .
Enhancement of research results and intellectual property: The School organises activities on the dissemination of scientific research, the protection of research results and authors, the protection of intellectual property and patenting procedures in the national and international field.
The doctoral course intends to enter and consolidate an International Scientific Network with the aim to encourage the mobility of learners and teachers, in line with the scientific tradition of the host Institute made up of scientific networks of excellence in areas related to all Research topics.
Listed below are the industries with which TIGEM has entered into commissioned Research contracts:
- -BioMarin, Novato, CA, US
-Takeda Shire, Boston, MA, US - -Casma Therapeutics, Boston, MA, US
- -Zambon SPA, Bresso, Milan, IT
- Innovavector, Pozzuoli, Italy
- NGD, Pozzuoli, Italy
National collaborations:
– University of Naples Federico II
Department of Translational Medicine
Department of Advanced Biomedicine
Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies
University Hospital-Section of Pediatrics
– University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli
Department of Precision Medicine
Ophthalmological Research Unit
– University of Palermo
Department of Surgical and Oncological Disciplines
-National Research Council
Department of Biomedicine
Department of Mathematics
– National Institute of Molecular Genetics (Milan).
International Collaborations
- Baylor College of Medicine (Houston)
- Center for Epigenetics and Metabolism (Irvine University, California)
- University College London (London)
- Sbarro Health Research Organization (Philadelphia)
Duration of the Ph.D.: 4 years
Coordinator: Prof. Brunella Franco
Grants: Every year SSM offers 6 positions for this Ph.D. program.
Each grant is 19,000€ per year.
Every grant comes with extra funds for research activity.
gem[at]unina.it