Master Program in Molecular Biotechnology

IMMUNO-BASED ASSAYS FOR TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE

IMMUNO-BASED ASSAYS FOR TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE

Academic year 2024/2025

Sommario del corso

• Course objectives
• Results of learning outcomes
• Program
• Course delivery
• Learning assessment methods
• Teaching Modules
• Teaching tools
• Course card

Course objectives

The course, which is part of the mandatory credits, contributes to the achievement of the educational objective of the Master's Degree in Molecular Biotechnology. The course will include two modules, whose topics are closely interconnected and contribute to the main aims of providing knowledge regarding the development, operating principles, and practical application of key immune-based techniques for the research in translational medicine. Particular attention will be paid to the presentation of:

• the major elements of the (natural and) adaptive immune system (by recalling the knowledge acquired in previous courses of basic immunology);
• how these elements can be manipulated in vitro and in vivo, either in the quest for further knowledge of immunity, or for the development of reagents (primarily antibody-based) and techniques that can be used for a huge number of preclinical and clinical applications.

• the methodologies to conjugate imaging probes to immune-based systems, and to provide a comprehensive understanding of imaging probes based on antibodies, antibody fragments or derivatives, and antibody mimetics to be used in in vivo imaging technologies.
• the different types of immune-based imaging assays for in vitro and in vivo diagnosis, focusing on the possibility of early disease detection and monitoring;
• the main challenges in the development and translation of immune-based imaging agents from preclinical to clinical settings.

The students will learn through frontal lessons delivered in English, the technical tools and immune-based approaches currently available to disclose the cellular and molecular mechanisms of human diseases. Some examples of preclinical and clinical applications of the most common immunological assays will be displayed. This will provide to the student the fundamental knowledge to present and discuss immune-based approaches with a scientific method and a scientific language during the flipped classroom. Indeed, the active participation of students is required, since flipped classroom methods will also be applied and students will have to present the application of immune-based approaches to investigate a biological question of choice to the class, during the course. The topics of the course are interrelated with those covered in the other classes of the Master Program in Molecular Biotechnology, and the knowledge and competences acquired in this course are fundamental for a working career as a biotechnologist.

Results of learning outcomes

Students will acquire an integrated knowledge and comprehension of the immune system and its mechanisms of action, and of the main immunological techniques used in laboratory practice to study the immune systems and pathologies, with a special focus on those used in the study of cancer immunology and immunotherapy.

They will be able to apply this knowledge and understanding to answer to common research problems and questions, and to conceive and design project plans using the appropriate immune-based assays.

Students will acquire the capability of critically analyzing scientific results and data from the scientific literature.

Moreover, the students will develop oral communication skills and critical thinking thanks to the application of the flipped classroom methods that will require them to present to the class scientific approaches and to discuss them.

Finally, thanks to the discussion of several examples derived from research articles published on international journals, the students will acquire the learning skills that enable them to autonomously look for new assays and techniques in the literature and apply them to their own research projects in their career as a Biotechnologist.  

Program

Program

Course delivery

Course delivery

The course will have a total of 56 hours (7 CFU) and will be divided in two teaching modules (BIO0163A Pds 308-BIDD – 5 CFU; BIO0163B Pds 308-BIDD – 2 CFU) and will be in English. The course will be organized as follow:

• frontal lessons delivered by the teachers, which will take place with the aid of multimedia tools (Power Point presentations and videos);
• flipped classroom: during the course, time will also be dedicated to student presentations on selected immune-based assays and their application in research/clinic in front of the class.

The lessons will be accompanied by material uploaded online (Moodle course BIO0163 - IBA; link: https://biotec.i-learn.unito.it/course) that will be provided before each lesson.

The students are invited to interact with the instructor by posing and answering questions.

Learning assessment methods

The teaching course grade determination consists in the evaluation of three aspects:

• Student participation and attention:

The students are invited to interact with the instructor during the lesson by posing and answering questions.

At the end of each lesson, the students will take a three-question multiple-choice test on the topics covered during the lesson. This test, provided by the teacher, will serve as a “facs-simile” of the multiple-choice quiz in the final exam. The results of this test will not be taken into consideration for the final grade of the course, however they will be important for students for their self-assessment of their own learning, skills, and progress, and helping them evaluating their strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement.

• Student capacity to present and critically analyze a scientific concept:

Student Presentations: during the course, students will be required to give two 20-minute presentation, one for the Module I on an immunological assay of interest and its applications, and the second for the Module II. Both topics must be agreed upon with the teacher. Each presentation will be scored from 0 to 10, which will contribute to the final score of the exam of the relative Module.

• Student learning:

Multiple-choice quiz: the final exam will take place during the session window and will include multiple-choice quiz on the topics covered during the course, one on Module 1 and one on Module 2, each consisting in 22 questions to be answered in 25 minutes. The mark of each quiz (max 22 points) will be summed up to the score of the corresponding presentation to give the evaluation of each module. The final mark will be the weighted average of the scores obtained in the two modules.

The final grade will be determined taking into consideration all the above-mentioned aspects and will be the weighted average of the scores obtained in the two modules.

Teaching Modules

• Immuno-based assays for translational medicine I (BIO0163A Pds 308-BIDD)
• Immuno-based assays for translational medicine II (BIO0163B Pds 308-BIDD)

• Teaching material
• Exams and finals
• Class schedule
• Go to Moodle
• Register for the course
• Enrolled students
• Invia email agli studenti registrati
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