Etiopathogenesis of Hereditary and Parasitic Diseases

The educational objective of the course is to introduce the students to the principles and methods of high-throughput genomic tools that are applied in research and diagnostics both in Academia and in Companies. Basics of the eukaryotic variability detection and function and mechanisms and types of machinery of inherited and parasitic diseases will also be provided. Some host-parasite molecular mechanisms of interaction will also be considered. The course will also illustrate the spontaneous and experimental animal models for the understanding of the genetic and pathogenetic basis of parasitic diseases.

1. Knowledge and understanding. At the end of the course, the student must demonstrate knowledge of: -knowledge of the principles of the construction of linkage and physical maps - knowledge of the main tools available for nucleotide sequencing both Sanger and high-throughput genome sequencing -knowledge of the main tools for high-throughput genotyping both by hybridization and sequencing - basic knowledge of gene mapping using genome-wide association analysis. Advanced analytical techniques for the study of the molecular mechanisms of parasitic diseases, for the understanding of the pathogenetic basis of parasitic diseases, and the selection of parasite-specific targets for disease control; 2. Immunopathology of parasitic diseases and parasitic strategies of immune response modulation and evasion; 3 Molecular mechanisms of resistance and sensitivity to parasitic diseases such as varroatosis, leishmaniasis, toxoplasmosis, and neosporosis in primary animal models and/or final animal hosts.
2. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding. The students are expected to develop proper skills in understanding the terminology and the research approaches of molecular genetics and genomics, and molecular pathology of parasitic diseases, used in science and reported in scientific publications - understand which tools might be the most appropriate for a high-throughput nucleotide sequencing and/or genotyping analysis, together with their pros and cons - understand which tools might be the most appropriate for an association study for different diseases, and which might be the limits and the power -understand which are the main molecular mechanisms underlying the interaction between the parasites and their hosts - understand which are the main molecular determinants of parasitic diseases in the host and the most useful tools for their control
3. Autonomy of judgment and 4. Ability to communicate what has been learned. The student will demonstrate that he/she can critically argue the information acquired and communicate it during the written examination test. Indeed, the test always includes rather broad specialist topics regarding the programs of both modules. The development of the answers requires that the student has both knowledge of the topics and the ability to rework and present the answers (in English) critically.