Biotechnological and molecular strategies in the control of parasites and vector-borne diseases

Diseases caused by infectious agents and parasites are one of the major issue for human health worldwide. Molecular biology methods and biotechnological techniques are important tools for the identification and characterization of infectious agents and parasites. Recently, the application of Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) methods and bioinformatic investigations have provided important insights on the pathogenicity, evolution and ecology of the most important infectious agents.
The main aim of this course is to provide students with knowledge on problems related to the control of vectors borne-diseases and infectious diseases, deepening the concept of integrated pest control and illustrating the main biotechnological approaches for insect pest management.

After following this course, the students are expected to be able to apply (i) the evolutionary theory to study pathogens-host interaction; (II) the bioinformatic analyses to study parasite genetics; (III) the genomic epidemiology methods for outbreak reconstruction and epidemiological dynamics.