PhD Degree Program in Pharmacological Sciences
Admission 2025
PhD Pharmacological Sciences Course aims to promote, organize and manage activities related to doctoral level interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary and multidisciplinary training projects. It constitutes a fundamental part of the third level training offer within the University of Padova.
In line with the principles and guidelines shared at European level and with University of Padova Strategic Project, the Course allows to design and implement research and innovation programs, to conduct critical analyses and synthesis of ideas and processes, contribute to the pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals identified by the United Nations General Assembly, the goals indicated in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and their declinations in European policies as well as the creation of the European Research and Higher Education Area, keeping in mind related Standards and Guidelines for quality assurance.
The PhD course provides the skills necessary to carry out highly qualified research activities at universities, public bodies or private entities, also for the purposes of access to careers in public administrations and the integration of highly innovative professional paths.
Pharmacology Sciences PhD course provides the necessary skills to carry out highly qualified research activities at universities, public or private entities, access to careers in public administrations and integration of highly innovative professional paths.
The mission of the 3 years PhD Course in Pharmacological Sciences is to prepare new young generation of scientists with a solid background in the field of Molecular Pharmacology, Clinical Pharmacology, Pharmacoepidemiology and Toxicology.
Course objectives:
- The Course aim is to train capable Pharmacologists to assume Principal Investigators role in research teams for experimental study of innovative drugs and capable of detecting adverse reactions; to operate as toxicologists, experts in pharmacovigilance and drug utilization. Pharmaceutical professionals will be trained, capable of responding to the new healthcare needs, academic and industrial world.
- Integrated knowledge will be developed in the pharmacological, toxicological and epidemiological fields to face all aspects characterizing the new drugs discovery, personalized therapy, prevention and management of toxicological risk.
- Scientific-disciplinary sector of Pharmacology prevails in the teaching Staff with a significant participation of Clinical Medicine area professors. The teaching staff is also composed of professors and researchers from public and private institutions, both Italian and foreign, external to the University of Padova.
Research lines
- Neuro-degenerative disorders: molecular mechanisms, genetics, and studies of therapeutic interventions;
- Autonomic nervous system on bronchial function, new pharmacological agents;
- Enteric nervous system and immune system, search for therapeutic targets;
- Cardiovascular diseases, aging, gender and pharmacological responses;
- Antitumoral compounds and mechanisms in drug resistance;
- Metabolomics and lipidomics studies to the identification of new drug targets;
- Immune system and search for molecular pharmacological targets;
- Pharmacological modulation of chronic inflammatory diseases;
- Medicinal plants as source of pharmacological agents;
- Phenotyping/genotyping and therapeutic monitoring to develop new diagnostic screening tests;
- Pharmacokinetic studies in healthy and disease;
- Critical care therapy. Pain therapies, both intensive and hyperbaric;
- Risk prevention and occupational medicine;
- Airway inflammation induced by inhaled pollutants;
- Environmental toxicology xenobiotics in the urban water cycle;
- Development of new environmentally friendly and species-selective pesticides;
- Clinical pharmacology and therapeutic drug monitoring;
- Pharmacoepidemiology;
- Pharmacoeconomics;
- Pharmacovigilance
Students will choose a research project as proposed by members of the teaching staff involved in the Course and they will be supervised by an experienced tutor, with the possibility to add an external tutor.
The PhD programme offers interdisciplinary seminars, and additional training in presentation seminars and workshops ithus preparing doctoral candidates for work in international and multidisciplinary environments.
At the end of three years, students are required to present the PhD thesis describing their experimental work, it will be assessed by experts commission. The final dissertation will confer the title of Research Doctor, or Doctor Europaeus if special conditions are met (thesis written in English, research work in another European country for a minimum of 3 months and dissertation at international examination panel).
Expected career and professional opportunities:
- The PhD Course provides qualified training in pharmacological and toxicological fields;
- The interdisciplinary nature of the course and the research topics allow career opportunities in Italian healthcare sector (ULSS, hospitals, pharmacovigilance centers), in pharmaceutical industry, research centers, universities, government institutions in Italy and abroad;
- The intense training activity allowed our young PhDs to fully enter the work world mainly in basic and applied scientific research field, clinical pharmacology, preventive medicine, epidemiology and risk management.
It’s expected that Pharmacological Sciences PhDs will occupy the following roles:
Postdoctoral Researcher in Italian and foreign universities; Pharmacovigilance experts; Scholarship holders in various universities; Managers in drug manufacturers; Research fellows in various universities; University professors.
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Contacts:
Michele Morari, PhD director, Department of Pharmacological and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Padova. Via Marzolo, 5- 35131 Padova, Italy
e-mail michele.morari@unipd.it
Daniela Strafella, PhD secretary, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Via Marzolo, 5, 35131 Padova, Italy
e-mail: phd.scienzefarmacologiche@unipd.it@unipd.it
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TeachingStaff
PhD Students
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Planned Teaching activities:
First year
- Course on "Information Literacy in Pharmacological Sciences"
- Course on "Bio-Statistics"
- Course on “Academic English for PhD Students”, at Centro Linguistico di Ateneo
Second year
- "Advanced Pharmacology" course consisting of 5 modules each: 1) Pharmacokinetics 2) Clinical biochemistry 3) Methods in Molecular Pharmacology 4) Application aspects of clinical research methodology 5) Neuropharmacology.
Third year
- Teaching of "Communicating Science Effectively".
Several seminars (approximately once a month) will also be organized and held by English-speaking scientists.
PhD students are required to attend at least 70% of the training activities offered and pass the evaluation test.
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The course hosted the Project CO-Fund 2019 in its 38th series:Training the next generation Talents UNIPhD Programme - Pharmacological Sciences
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