Diagnostics is one of the basement pillars of biomedicine that is in continuous and breakless evolution from basic research to clinical applications, in terms of developing new concepts, tools and technologies.

Scientific and technical innovations fuel medical progress through the ability to better understand disease biology and the development of new methods to diagnose and treat a disease.

Diagnostics can be divided in two main sub-fields differing whether the procedure is performed in vitro (or ex-vivo) or in vivo, directly in a living organism.

However, regardless of this classification, diagnostics is a highly multidisciplinary field that requires expertise and skills from very qualified and well-trained personnel with different and complementary background, including chemistry, physics, biology, biotechnology, pharmacology, informatic, and medicine.

As it is quite unfeasible to offer all these competences in a single educational pathway, diagnostics is mostly taught in medicine-oriented courses, where the focus is primarily placed on the clinical aspects.

On this basis, the Master’s degree course in Biotechnological and Chemical Sciences in Diagnostics is an innovative educational offer aimed at training a professional figure of researcher/biomedical operator who, starting from a robust general background in chemistry/biology/biotechnology will acquire advanced multidisciplinary skills and competences in both in vitro and in vivo diagnostic field, giving more emphasis to the state-of-the-art chemical and biotechnological approaches in this area.

The theoretical and practical abilities acquired during the course will allow the master graduates to operate in multidisciplinary and international work environment, interacting productively with professionals operating in the engineering, physical, ICT, and medical sectors.

Graduates in Biotechnological and Chemical Sciences in Diagnostics will have acquired advanced professional skills and competences regarding the design, development, and clinical translation of in vitro (ex-vivo) and in vivo diagnostic procedures, as well as production of goods and services, in the main sectors of the modern biomedicine.

Specific expertise will deal with molecular and cellular biology, “omics” disciplines, bio-analytical and biotechnological methodologies for in vitro diagnostics, design, synthesis, and validation of probes for medical in vivo imaging technologies (including nanotechnology), artificial intelligence-based diagnostic tools.

Graduates will also have the skills necessary for the promotion and development of scientific and technological innovation and for technology transfer. Finally, they will possess the communication, organizational and management skills necessary to operate, interact and update themselves in the multidisciplinary work contexts typical of the biomedical field.

Biotechnological and Chemical Sciences in Diagnostics Master course will offer to the students a rich and diversified educational program, with a good balance between theoretical lessons and practical experiences.

70 % of the ECTS are dedicated to lessons and related practical activities, 20 % of the ECTS are fully devoted to carry on specific research projects in tight collaboration and under the scientific supervision of scientists, academic or from industry, with a great expertise in the main topics of the course, and the remaining 10 % of the ECTS is available to the students for choosing optional courses offered to provide in-depth knowledges on specific subjects strongly associated with the diagnostic field.

Furthermore, the Master will offer at least 10% of the ECTS online (Blended learning mode).

Different online tools will be adopted, including remote activities on the Start@Unito platform (already available prior the beginning of course) to allow students with different backgrounds to acquire and improve their knowledge and fill up the eventual gap. Online tools will be also important to extend the learning experience, thus integrating and making more efficient the traditional learning modalities.

The learning burden is properly distributed along the two years of the Master to offer to the students a facilitate pathway to concentrate the commitment to carry on their lab internship (especially for the Master thesis project) in the second year of the course.

The students will be accompanied in their educational pathway providing first, the basics of biotechnological, chemical, and mathematical concepts and methodologies necessary to understand their application in diagnostic field, and their successive preclinical validation and clinical translation.

The Master program in Biotechnological and Chemical Sciences in Diagnostics is based at the Department of Molecular Biotechnology and Health Science, which provides an ideal environment by combining expertise in molecular and cellular biology, chemistry and physics for medical imaging, medicinal chemistry, bio-analytics, bio- and nano-technology. The course is also supported by the Department of Chemistry, whose contribution is primarily in the field of physical- and organic-chemistry, nanotechnology, and the development of in vitro diagnostic kits and AI-based tools.

The course is also perfectly integrated within the Molecular Biotechnology Center “Guido Tarone” that gathers researchers from several academic departments and research centers in Torino and surroundings.

The specific topics faced by the Master program fits very well with the activities of many research environments of excellence (academic and industrial), where the students may find valuable opportunities to be trained, including:

• NIS, Center for Nanostructured Interfaces and Surfaces
• Center for Preclinical Imaging within the BioIndustry Park “Silvano Fumero”
• Center for Molecular Imaging
• Candiolo Cancer Institute
• CeRMS Research Center of Experimental Medicine
• Euro-Bioimaging Research Infrastructure – MMMI Node
• Bracco Imaging SpA
• Merck-Serono
• AAA-Novartis
• DiaSorin

The scientific environment gathered around the Master program offers a highly qualified know-how that is fundamental for tackling a career in the field of biomedical research.

Once graduated, in addition to the opportunities to directly enter in the productive process, students will have the requisites to be enrolled in several PhD programs offered by the University in Torino such as: Pharmaceutical and Biomolecular Sciences, Chemical and Material Sciences, Molecular Medicine, and Biomedical Sciences and Oncology.