Metabolic and Functional Biochemistry

The objectives of the course are as follows:
-to provide an in-depth and integrated vision of the metabolic pathways and molecular mechanisms of regulation in organs and tissues, both in physiological and pathological conditions;
-to provide an updated picture of the metabolic implications and connections recently emerged in the area of tumour proliferation, inflammation, development (stem cells) and ageing;
-to develop in the student the capacity to understand the biochemical bases, functional implications and experimental approaches of recently published metabolic studies in high-impact scientific journals in the fields of biochemistry and molecular biology, biomedicine and biotechnology;
-to develop in the student the ability to re-elaborate the knowledge and to analyze the scientific literature in a critical way in order to identify new therapeutic targets.
The course is consistent with the objectives of the course of study and contributes to the acquisition of knowledge and skills in the following areas: (i) biochemical aspects of the human organism and preclinical experimental models; (ii) structure and functions of biological macromolecules and cellular processes in which they intervene, with particular emphasis on metabolic and functional correlations and pathogenetic implications.
In addition, the course, together with others in the biological area, helps to provide the appropriate background for further studies in more applicative fields.

At the end of the course, students should demonstrate that they know and understand: the different metabolic pathways and their integration at the organ and the whole organism level; the molecular mechanisms of regulation operating in physiological conditions or altered in the main metabolic disorders; the metabolic implications related to tumor proliferation, stem cells and inflammation.
In addition, the student should demonstrate that he/she has acquired the ability to understand and critically analyze recently published studies in the metabolic field.