Nutrigenomics and Nutrimicrobiomics

The course aims to provide a general view of the experimental approaches and areas of investigation in nutrigenomics and nutrimicrobiomics, with particular attention to the most recent aspects of these emerging research fields.

At the end of the course, students are expected to have acquired (i) a deep knowledge of the mechanism by which feeding habits affect gene expression and how this can be related to the onset of diseases; (ii) the knowledge of the experimental approaches used in nutrigenomic to evaluate the effects of specific nutrients in the treatment of chronic and degenerative diseases; (iii) the understanding of the mechanisms by which genetic variability affect the outcome of dietary regimes; (iv) the basic concepts of main pathogen-host interaction; (v) the knowledge of the microbiote funtions, by either a microbiological and a immunological point of view; (vi) the concept of disbiosis and of the gut-brain axis, with specific examples of main related pathologies. Students, by means of the skills acquired through this and other courses, is expected to have acquired the principle by which design highly personalized diets able to positively impact one's microbiote.