OVERVIEW

The main purpose of the teaching is to provide students with basic knowledge related to the principles of personalized medicine and its engineering applications in the fields of diagnostics and therapy and the fundamentals for the design of related materials and devices, both at nano and micro-scale. Since all these aspects are based on an intense and conscious use of information systems both in terms of operations and communication, basic contents of: operating systems, communication networks and IT security will also be presented.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Overview of the main aspects of personalized medicine approaches by introducing the clinical impact of individual molecular and lifestyle variability and of environmental factors. In particular the course will cover omics principles enabling greater treatment precision respect to conventional diagnostics and treatment approaches, through the intensive use of informatic resources. The students will address the basics of molecular diagnostics, the role of biomarkers and of genomic and non-genomic factors at the basis of personalized medicine. The course also covers the technological basis of digital health applied to individual patient care and the influence of specific components of the informatic infrastructure (like operating systems, communication and security tools) on the performance and applicability of personal digital health.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Attendance and active participation in the proposed educational activities and individual study will allow the student:
- to know in depth the principles underlying early diagnosis and personalized therapy;
- to know how to describe the principles of omics sciences (genomics, proteomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics);
- to apply the different chemical-physical properties of biomolecules to different bioengineering fields (diagnosis and therapy);
- to know the main mechanisms underlying gene replication and expression;
- to apply the chemical-physical properties of nucleic acids to the design and engineering of devices for diagnosis and personalized therapy.
- to know how to describe the main classes of nanoengineered systems for diagnosis and therapy.
- to identify the most suitable nanosystems for a specific application;
- to give examples of engineering applications in the field of personalized medicine; 

- to know the characteristics of the operating systems that can guide him in their choice of the necessary applications in these areas;

- to know and correctly apply the communication mechanisms between information systems;

- to know and correctly apply the IT security measures essential in the processing of these personal data classified as very sensitive.

-Capability to communicate effectively in written and oral form, adaptation of one's communication to the context, use of various sources and aids, critical thinking, ability to use, process and evaluate information, argumentative skills.

-Ability to manage one's social interactions, cooperative attitude, constructive communication in different environments, ability to respect others and their needs, willingness to overcome prejudices, express and understand different points of view, conflict management, ability to build trust, empathy.

-Ability to develop one's imagination and creativity, critical reflection, thinking strategy, problem solving with particular reference to contexts of innovation and processes evolving creativity, ability to transform ideas into action, self-awareness

PREREQUISITES

Inorganic and organic chemistry

As regards the informatics section: fundamental of informatics

TEACHING METHODS

The course consists of lectures with the support of audio-visual material.

Students with SLD, disability or other special educational needs certification are advised to contact the teacher at the beginning of the course to agree on teaching and exam methods that, in compliance with the teaching objectives, take into account the modalities of individual learning and provide suitable tools
compensatory.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

• Genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics;
• Biomolecules for bioengineering;
• Gene replication and expression;
• Techniques for gene sequencing and for gene expression analysis;
• Nano-engineered systems for early diagnosis and personalized therapy;
• Biological barriers.

• Outline of Operating Systems: architecture, memory and process management

• Outline of Computer Networks: the ISO / OSI protocol stack, TCP / IP addressing

• Notes on computer security: symmetric / asymmetric cryptography, secure communications

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Slides provided in class and scientific articles on specific topics.

For further information:

• Andrew S. Tanenbaum, Herbert Bos “Modern Operating System” IV Ed. Pearson
• Andrew S. Tanenbaum, David J. Wetherall “Computer Networks” V Ed. Pearson
• Jain, Kewal K. Textbook of personalized medicine. Springer Nature, 2020.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

LAURA PASTORINO (President)

NORBERT MAGGI

MAURO GIACOMINI (President Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

https://corsi.unige.it/11159/p/studenti-orario

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam consists of an oral exam divided into four main topics, one of which is chosen by the student.

For the IT part, a written exam with closed answers is foreseen for access to the oral interview

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The oral exam will focus on the topics covered during the lectures and will have the purpose of evaluating not only if the student has reached an adequate level of knowledge, but if he has acquired the ability to critically analyze the engineering problems that will be posed during the course.

Students with SLD, disability or other special educational needs certification are advised to contact the teacher at the beginning of the course to agree on teaching and exam methods that, in compliance with the teaching objectives, take into account the modalities of individual learning and provide suitable tools
compensatory.

Exam schedule