Pharmacological in Biotechnology and Molecular Biology

Biotechnologies generated a real revolution in drug discovery by providing novel therapeutic molecules and innovative research tools. Thus, the overall aim of the course is to provide the students with a comprehension of the technologies at the basis of the development of new biologic drugs and their relevance in current research for new drugs.
The module Molecular biology aims to deepen the knowledge of chemical structure, properties and functions of informational macromolecules (DNA, RNA and proteins), of molecular mechanisms that regulate the transmission and maintenance of information to better understand the functionality of individual genes and the genome, and to revisit basic principles and applications of the most commonly used methods in the laboratory to manipulate nucleic acids, isolate genes, and study their organization, expression and function. Aim of the module Biotechnology in Pharmacology is to revisit the changes occurred in the strategies applied to drug research and development in the last twenty years, describe current methodologies for the definition of drug targets and identification of therapeutic compounds and analyze the strategies currently applied and applicable in the near future for the generation of novel drugs.

At the end of the course of Pharmacological Biotechnology and Molecular Biology, the student will have acquired knowledge of innovative molecular biology methods applied to the research of new pharmacological targets and drug development. Furthermore, with the knowledge developed with this course, the student will have developed the necessary critical sense to be able to increase his knowledge by moving into the ever-widening world of biotechnology in the pharmacological field.