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

Criteria for the composition of the final grade

For the Gene Therapy part 1- Compilation of the LABBOK. 2- Group presentation on the laboratory experience during which questions can be asked. 3- written test with 14 multiple choice questions and one open-ended question. The grade will be the average (weighted) of the grades obtained from the three tests. For cell therapy oral exam