The Course aims to teach  the Doctoral Researchers: 1) the main metabolic pathways involved in the transition from health to pathology 2) the role and potential of the main markers used in Clinical Biochemistry 3) the diagnostic and/or prognostic function of biomarkers in applied research in Laboratory Medicine, in function of disease control and prevention The Course will allow you to learn the function of the main biomarkers with diagnostic-prognostic utility, fundamental elements in the skills of Laboratory Medicine, general and organ.

In the era of personalized medicine, biomarkers (short for "biological markers") are emerging as important tools in the development of diagnostic devices and drugs. A biomarker is a physical measurement or sign that can be used to determine how the body is functioning. This can help researchers develop more personalized treatments, provide early warning of certain health risks, and speed up patient access to certain therapies. Examples of biomarkers include, for example, using blood glucose levels to identify and monitor patients with diabetes, BRCA1/2 gene mutations to assess a patient's risk of developing certain cancers, including breast and ovarian cancer, or viral load to assess a patient's response to antiretroviral treatments.

As new biomarkers are identified, they have the potential to improve the drug discovery and development process by providing new ways to measure disease activity and the impact of drugs under investigation. Biomarkers have many uses in the drug development process, including the ability to monitor disease progression. For disease areas where there is a significant unmet need for a serious disease or condition, such as cancer, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may allow the use of a surrogate endpoint to demonstrate the efficacy of a drug. A surrogate endpoint is a biomarker (or other measure) that is expected to predict a clinical benefit and can therefore be substituted for a clinical endpoint.

The course will allow to learn the functions of the main diagnostic-prognostic biomarkers, to improve the knowledges in the Laboratory Medicine field. 

The Dublin Descriptors will be the teaching goals, demonstrating:

D1.  Knowledge and understanding: know the main metabolic pathways involved in Laboratory Medicine, know their application areas in the identification and practical use of Biomarkers. Understand etiopathogenetic mechanisms, onset, evolution and progression of acute and chronic organ diseases. Understand and use the specific language of the discipline, also through active and effective participation in lessons and seminars, using the teaching material indicated by the teacher.

D2.  Ability to apply knowledge and understanding: outline possible research topics, through retrieval of bibliographic information and through the interpretation of scientific data, with theoretical and practical insights. Interactive discussions in the classroom and during seminars.

D3. Judgment skills: possess critical and in-depth reflection on the issues related to the loss of homeostasis and the prevention of organ pathologies; acquisition of critical interpretative skills through discussions in the classroom with the teacher and during the profit exam.

D4. Communication skills: acquire critical and participatory attitudes to the topics of the lessons using more efficient interpersonal communication techniques, also through computer-based scientific communication tools.

D5. Learning skills: develop and acquire the essential and adequate skills for the analysis and critical evaluation of biomarkers in relation to laboratory diagnosis and/or prognosis; search for useful information to resolve uncertainties in Laboratory Medicine. The student will acquire the ability to interpret and make independent judgments of laboratory pictures, in order to apply the knowledge acquired in the exercise of the profession.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it