Bioinformatics

Learning results This course is aimed at providing an overview of the most important cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in the regulation of the immune response. The factors regulating immune system will be put in relation to the molecular mechanisms governing resistance against pathogens and promoting pathologies related to a defective immune response. Specific aims Student will acquire fundamental knowledge on - how immune cells function and interplay to participate to immune responses - how immune system protects us from pathogens and how mechanisms that inhibit immune responses lead to disease state. - how interpretation of transcriptomic and proteomic data helps to elucidate mechanisms of development of the immune response. At the end of the course, students will be able to explain how immune system works and to understand and explain data obtained from multiparametric analysis of immune cell function at transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. The use of bioinformatics tools to clarify the molecular processes underlying pathologies and their use in diagnosis and treatment of diseases will be discussed. At the end of the course, students will be able to perform bibliographic searches in public scientific data banks (i.e. PubMed) to develop the topics covered in the course. This will be instrumental to identify the most recent methods of bioinformatic analysis used to approach immunology issues. The independent ability of the student to propose solutions to solve immunological questions is and aim of the course. Communication skills will be verified during the course by stimulating discussion and implemented by suggestions and the critical analysis of the slides presented during the course