Teaching code

4S011586

Credits

9

Coordinator

Alessandra Ruggiero

Language

English

Courses Single

Not Authorized

Moodle Seminars 0

The teaching is organized as follows:

Learning objectives

The course aims to provide to students the knowledge and skills necessary for the development of personalized therapies, such as gene therapy and cell therapy, and an understanding of their applications for the treatment of various human diseases. Laboratory exercises that will complement the theoretical lectures will enable the student to acquire the technical skills necessary for the preparation of genes or cells manipulated in the laboratory for use in the development of these therapies.
The course is structured in two distinct modules:
- the Cell Therapies and immunologicals module explains the concepts of cell therapy and immunotherapy, as well as their application in clinical practice. The course enables the student to understand the rationale for these approaches and the innovativeness brought to cancer treatment. It also provides the basics of treatment of the most common hematologic malignancies with particular reference to lymphoproliferative diseases, where these treatments are now a therapeutic reality.
- the Genome editing and gene therapy module illustrates the concepts of using genome editing techniques (such as, for example, CRISPR/Cas9 and viral vectors) applied to gene therapy. The module enables the student to understand the concepts behind a gene therapy approach and its use, providing the skills to define the experimental design of a gene therapy approach independently.
Upon completion of the course, the student will have acquired:
a) in-depth knowledge of genome editing techniques, gene therapy approaches, major hematologic diseases, and the application of immunologic and cellular therapies;
b) comprehensive knowledge of methodologies to understand which patients may benefit from these treatments;
c) ability to apply the acquired knowledge to the experimental design of a gene therapy approach, to critically analyze therapeutic decisions, and to the application of therapies in the patient's treatment-journey;
d) ability to identify possible fields of application to exploit genome editing methodologies for gene therapy approaches;
e) ability to analyze the efficacy and results of a novel treatment;
f) ability to define an experimental design, develop critical sense toward one's own experimental design, work as a team, interpret the results of experimental analysis, and communicate them according to the standards of the scientific community.

Prerequisites and basic notions

Molecular Biology

Bibliography

Learning assessment procedures

Cell Therapies and immunologicals module: the exam consists of an interview and will be in the oral mode. The duration of the exam will be approximately 15 minutes. The examination mode is the same for non-attending and Erasmus students.
Genome editing and gene therapy module: the exam consists of two parts. The first part will be in the form of a written aimed at testing the knowledge acquired during the course, which is preparatory for admission to the oral (admitted with a grade above 18/30). The second part will involve the exposition of a paper that will include the proposal of an experimental design for a gene therapy approach for the treatment of a disease. The examination mode is the same for non- attending and Erasmus students.

Evaluation criteria

To pass the exam, the student must demonstrate that he or she has fully achieved the pre-set learning objectives. The overall grade is the weighted average of the marks obtained in the two modules.
For the Cell Therapies and immunologicals module: the ability to identify which diseases and in which situation can benefit from cellular and immunological therapies, as well as their clinical applications, will be specifically assessed.
For the Genome editing and gene therapy module: the ability to design an experimental design for a gene therapy approach to treat a disease will be assessed.

Criteria for the composition of the final grade

Group presentation on the laboratory experience during which the knowledge acquired during the course will also be verified through 2 questions for each candidate in the group.
grade 25-31 for students who answered the two questions correctly and presented the laboratory work exhaustively
grade 20-24 for students who answered the two questions partially (or just one question completely) and presented the laboratory work laboratory in a fairly exhaustive manner
grade 18-19 for students who responded poorly to the two questions (or partially to only one question) and presented the laboratory work in a poorly exhaustive manner
grade 0-17 for students who did not answer the two questions ( or partially to a single question) and presented the laboratory work in an insufficiently exhaustive manner