The course of CELLULAR BIOCHEMISTRY (MODULE A) AND BIOMOLECULAR TECHNIQUES (MODULE B) intends to provide students with (i) theoretical knowledge in the field of cellular biochemistry, deepening the mechanisms that regulate the cell cycle in eukaryotes, (ii) theoretical and practical knowledge in protein engineering, and iii) theoretical and practical knowledge of the major molecular biology and biochemical techniques applied to the study of genes, genomes, proteins and proteomes. Experimental approaches will be discussed, making use also of bioinformatics, to address complex biological questions in biochemistry and molecular biology.
In detail, for MODULE A:
The course intends to go into two themes of considerable scientific interest:
1) deepening the biochemical and molecular mechanisms of cell cycle control in eukaryotes with particular emphasis on the experimental approaches used for its elucidation;
2) protein engineering elements that allow the design in silico recombinant proteins by using bioinformatics tools and finally the expression and purification of recombinant proteins using both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. This last part of the course includes practical laboratory related to the cloning of a eukaryotic gene and its expression in bacteria.
For MODULE B:
Specifically, it is intended to provide students with specific skills for the manipulation and analysis of nucleic acids and proteins (mutagenesis and genome editing techniques, differential proteomic), for the analysis of gene expression levels (qPCR, microarrays, differential transcriptomic) and gene expression regulation (study of epigenetic modifications and protein-DNA interactions), for the study of transduction signal pathways by protein-protein interaction analysis. The advances in the field of the sequencing of whole genomes and the application of biomolecular techniques in diagnostic field will be also discussed. Bioinformatics tools will be used for in silico prediction of interaction between biomolecules, or as complementary for the use of the discussed techniques (for input or output analysis). Finally, laboratory practical experiences will be organized to acquire techniques for studying nucleic acids and proteins.

b) EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES
1) Knowledge and understanding
At the end of the course the students will:
MODULE A: To have in-depth knowledge of the biochemical and molecular basics of cell cycle control in eukaryotes. They will also learn the main techniques for the in silico design and expression of recombinant proteins in heterologous systems. In general, they will have developed the ability to understand the pivotal experimental approaches for acquiring knowledge.
MODULE B: To know the basic techniques used in the field of fundamental and applied research. They will have an in-depth knowledge of molecular and advanced techniques and the related bioinformatics tools to support them; they will know the importance of statistical validation of the results of an experiment and of the controls that make an experiment scientifically reliable.
2) Applying knowledge and understanding
At the end of the course the students will:
MODULE A: Be encouraged to use the knowledge acquired for their application to specific problems, such as the design of new, more potent and / or more selective proteins for their use in various fields of interest (biomedical, agri-food, etc.). They will be able to put into practice the acquired knowledge to perform the planned experiments during the practical experience.
MODULE B: Be able to use the acquired knowledge to evaluate and interpret the results of an experiment, identify its strengths and weaknesses and optimize it by evaluating the possible impact of variations in key experimental parameters; orient themselves among the main qualitative and quantitative methods to select the most suitable ones for studying the biological problem of interest; perform the experiments carried out during the practical part of the course.
3) Making judgements
MODULE A and MODULE B: Students will be able to interpret and discuss the scientific papers presented during the course and be able to design and express new proteins with different characteristics. Students will have to acquire the ability to understand and critically discuss the experimental results obtained in the laboratory and use them as a starting point for planning subsequent experiments.
4) Comunication skills
MODULE A: During the lessons students will be stimulated to discuss and compare different point of views in order to develop their communicative abilities that will be verified during the preliminary and final examinations at the end of training activities.
MODULE B: Students should have the ability to convey the acquired knowledge in a clear and comprehensible manner, even to people who are not in the field, and must demonstrate the ability to present information also with schemes and formulas.
5) Learning skills
MODULE A and MODULE B: Students will have to be able to describe scientific topics related to the course. This skill will be developed through the active involvement of students during class discussions and practical experiences during the hours dedicated to the experimental laboratory.