PhD Degree Program in Pharmacological Sciences

 

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Unipd PhD Pharmacological Sciences course 

Doctoral Degrees - PhD Programmes

Research areas

  • Degenerative diseases of the central nervous system and the enteric nervous system: underlying mechanisms, including genetic bases, and potential therapeutic interventions;
  • Treatment of cardiovascular diseases and differences in pharmacological response related to aging and gender;
  • Pain therapy, intensive care, and hyperbaric medicine;
  • Pharmacological study of compounds with antitumor activity and mechanisms of resistance;
  • Role of the autonomic nervous system in bronchial function and in the development of new pharmacological agents;
  • Pharmacological molecular targets in the immune system;
  • Pharmacological modulation of chronic inflammatory diseases;
  • Metabolomic and lipidomic studies applied to the identification of new pharmacological targets;
  • Study of medicinal plants and related natural compounds as potential pharmacological agents;
  • Pharmacokinetic studies of drugs, including in relation to liver diseases;
  • Personalization of therapy through pheno/genotyping and therapeutic drug monitoring, and development of diagnostic screening tests;
  • Pharmacological and environmental toxicology, including the presence of xenobiotics in urban water cycles;
  • Development of new eco-friendly, species-selective pesticides;
  • Pharmacovigilance and drug utilization studies: use and safety of biosimilars and antibacterial drugs in hospital settings;
  • Occupational exposure assessment to crystalline silica.

 Course objectives

  • The PhD Course of Pharmacological sciences aims to educate Pharmacologists to become Principal Investigators in research teams for the study of innovative drugs, capable of detecting adverse reactions, to operate as toxicologists, experts in pharmacovigilance anddrug utilization.  With the purpose to fulfil novel needs of the healthcare system as well as the academic and industrial worlds.   
  • knowledge will be developed integrating the pharmacological, toxicological and epidemiological fields, to address all aspects characterizing the new drugs discovery, personalized therapy, prevention and management of toxicological risk. 
  • In the board, instructors belonging to the field of Pharmacology predominate along with professionals in the area of Clinical Medicine. The teaching staff is also composed of professors and researchers coming from public and private Italian and/or foreign institutions.

Planned teaching activities
Syllabus

Teaching activities are prevalent in the first year, where several key courses are recommended:

  • Information Literacy in Pharmacological Sciences;
  • Bio-Statistics;
  • Academic English for PhD Students.

In the second year, attendance at a specialized course in “Advanced Pharmacology” is recommended.

The course, consists of five modules:

1. Pharmacokinetics
2. Clinical Biochemistry
3. Methods of Molecular Pharmacology
4. Applied Aspects of Clinical Research Methodology
5. Neuropharmacology

Additionally, a short course on scientific writing ("How to write a scientific article") will be available.

A research presentation day in which second-year PhD students can share their experiences with colleagues from other medical PhD programs will be held, fostering interdisciplinarity and multidisciplinarity between fields.

The third year is dedicated to completing research activities and writing the thesis, with the recommendation of a period of training abroad (typically of 6 months). Additionally, a short course on techniques for reviewing scientific articles (How to review a scientific article) is provided.

Other proposed activities include:

  • First year: Multidisciplinary and Interdisciplinary Courses in Fundamental Sciences
  • Third year: The course of “Communicating Science Effectively”, that aims at teaching techniques for scientific communication and dissemination 

The PhD program in Pharmacological Sciences organizes an annual Summer School (Summer retreat), a two-day scientific exchange and presentation of research activities by PhD students from all three years.
To improve teaching and communication skills, PhD students are encouraged to participate in tutoring and supplementary teaching activities (up to 40 hours/year) and science dissemination (Third Mission, up to 5 hours).
For admission to the final exam, students must acquire at least 15 credits (CFU), including 3 CFU from attending seminars (mandatory 3 seminars/year, 1 CFU each), organized within the PhD program or by other PhDs to foster interdisciplinarity.
To acquire CFU, PhD students must attend at least 75% of the scheduled hours for each activity.

Additionally, participation in at least one national or international conference with a presentation of research results is strongly encouraged during the three-year period.

 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. 

Contacts

Coordinator: Prof. Michele Morari – e-mail: michele.morari@unipd.it
Administrative Contact Person: Daniela Strafella – e-mail: phd.scienzefarmacologiche@unipd.it
Administrative Office: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
The PhD program belongs to Macroarea 3: Biology, Agriculture, and Veterinary Medicine.

List of Institutions Where Research Activities Are Carried Out:

  • Dipartimento di Scienze del Farmaco
  • VIMM  (Veneto Institute of Molecular Medicine) – Padova
  • CRO  (Centro di Ricerca Oncologica) - Aviano (PN)
  • Azienda Ospedaliera di Padova

TeachingStaff

PhD Students

The course hosts the Project CO-Fund 2019 in its 38th series:

Training the next generation Talents UNIPhD Programme - Pharmacological Sciences

Expired calls