The Ph.D. in Clinical and Experimental Immunology trains young recent graduates in the field of Immunology and related disciplines, with the aim of providing students with an interdisciplinary approach to addressing and solving basic or applied research problems in an experimental manner.


The College of Lecturers has counted and counts among its members world-renowned researchers many of whom are among the most cited in the national and international arena. The College is made up of university professors and researchers from National and International Research Centers, with different specific competencies, whose integration allows to guarantee Doctoral students a complete and scientifically advanced training.

The Ph.D. offers a flexible choice of courses and seminars combined with extensive research training in the laboratories of a proven team of researchers.

The goal is to train young researchers capable of conducting research independently, completing the assigned research project. In carrying out the project, doctoral students are supported by national and international scientific partners who collaborate with the College faculty. Periods of study sojourns at international research centers are planned in order to perfect the doctoral students' educational journey.

The Course aims to train qualified researchers, capable of autonomously planning and conducting research activity, aimed mainly at the analysis of phenotypic and functional characteristics of immunocompetent cells and the analysis of molecular and cellular pathophysiology of immune responses, in the field of basic research and applied research in the clinic.


At the same time, the objective of the Ph.D. is to train researchers with expertise in planning and conducting biomedical experiments in the areas of cancer immunology, infectious disease immunology, and autoimmunity, in order also to propose the development of innovative diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.


At the same time, the course of training will enable doctoral students to acquire skills in the dissemination of their findings through the presentation of their data at seminars or scientific events and the writing of Research articles.
A further purpose of the doctoral course is to develop skills in interacting with industries and acquire knowledge about the procedures for intellectual protection of research results, with the aim also of supporting entrepreneurial initiatives.

The achievement of the degree of PhD in Clinical and Experimental Immunology allows access to work spaces, public and private, both in Italy and abroad. In fact, it represents a title that allows, at the end of the three-year course, access to competitions for post-doctoral contracts and constitutes an important title in the evaluation for positions of Researcher and for the achievement of the National scientific qualification for the I and II band of the University Teaching.

The achievement of the PhD degree can also be an added value in the evaluation by Research Institutions and biopharmaceutical industries in Italy or abroad, which contemplate the field of research and innovation, or by hospital facilities, which want to combine clinical activity with research. The training obtained, in fact, allows the PhD to also fit within a professional context aimed at the design and conduct of clinical trials of different types, and clinical testing of innovative diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.

Consult the list of faculty members:

• Deutsches rheuma forschungszentrum, Berlin, Germany
• Centre d'Immunologie de Marseille-Luminy (CIML) Scholar, Institut Universitaire de France cimlcnrs-inserm-universit de la Mediterranée Campus de Luminy, Marseille, France
• Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
• Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
• Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, USA

The Ph.D. offers the opportunity to conduct scientific research on multiple topics within Immunology and related disciplines. Here are the main research interests:

• Differentiation and characterization of "Innate Lymphoid Cells" (ILCs)
• Analysis of cellular and molecular interactions between NK cells, tumor cells and components of the tumor microenvironment
• Tumor markers and tumor 'escape' mechanisms to NK-mediated immunosurveillance
• NK cells as effectors in anticancer therapy toward hematopoietic and solid tumors
• Immune checkpoints in human NK cells and other subpopulations of ILCs and their role in cancer immunotherapies
• Regulation of miRNA-mediated NK receptor expression, miRNA expression profiles, and proteomics in NK cell subpopulations
• Role of cytomegalic infection in NK cell differentiation and induction of adaptive features
• Small molecules derived from marine organisms to modulate immune responses
• Analysis of mechanisms underlying immune dysregulation in diseases
• Identification and molecular/functional analysis of immunomodulatory agents
• Functional characterization of novel regulatory cell subtypes and analysis of their pathogenetic role in autoimmune, neoplastic, and infectious diseases
• Mechanisms of NK cell dysregulation during acute and chronic viral infection and immunotherapy
• Characterization of common inflammatory lymphocyte precursors and their lymphoid progenies during infectious, autoimmune, and neoplastic diseases
• Analysis of tumor-associated antigen-specific immune responses in subjects with neoplasms
• Evaluation of ImmunoEndocrinological Networks in Rheumatologic Autoimmune Diseases
• Analysis and modulation of macrophage polarization (M1/M2) in autoimmune connective tissues
• Epigenetic mechanisms of immunomodulation of pregnancy in rheumatologic connectivitis
• Generation of therapeutic vaccines and biological agents for the treatment of neoplastic or autoimmune diseases
• Analysis of gene polymorphisms potentially involved in the genesis of autoimmune or neoplastic diseases

The educational activity is inclusive of 180 CFUs divided into 60 CFUs/year.

• The 1st year includes 10 CFU of frontal activity (lectures, seminars, elective courses) and 50 CFU of research activity.
• The 2nd year provides 5 CFU of frontal activity (lectures, seminars, elective courses) and 55 CFU of research activity.
• The 3rd year provides 60 CFU of research activities and thesis preparation.

The course ends with discussion of the thesis before a committee of faculty and subject matter experts.

Read the first- and second-year activities in detail.

Read the teaching activities table

Read the training activities table

Check out the list of doctoral students from the various Ph.D. cycles and follow them throughout their careers.

• Biomedical Research Seminars 2021

Public and private reference facilities in immunology that offer educational opportunities and organize conferences and congresses of interest:

• Network Italiano per la Bioterapia e l'Immunoterapia dei Tumori (NIBIT)
• European Network for Cancer Immunotherapy (ENCI)
• Italian Society of Immunology - Clinical Immunology and Allergology (SIICA)
• European Federation of Immunological Societies (EFIS) Young Immunologists Task Force
• Italian Cytometry Society (GIC)
• European Society for Clinical Cell Analysis (ESCCA)

Tenders, information, forms, regulations, contacts
unige.it/usg/en/dottorates-of-research
PhD Sector
Via Vivaldi 5 - 16126 Genova
+39 010 2095795
dottorato@segreterie.unige.it