Hematopoietic stem cells and molecular medicine

1 CFU

Schedule: First year

Programme

The aim of this course is to provide a general understanding of the hematopoietic system starting from the discussion of the present knowledge about hematopoietic stem cell biology. Students will be introduced to the hierarchical organization of hematopoietic system and will understand the molecular and transcriptional events that regulate hematopoietic stem cells self renewal and differentiation.

Clinical application of hematopoietic stem cells will be discussed. Part of this course will focus on myeloproliferative diseases and will examine in detail the molecular events responsible for the skewing of leukemic stem cell functions. Students will understand the mechanism of action of therapies targeting leukemic stem cells. To provide a better understanding of the different topics methods for the study of hematopoietic stem cells will be discussed: in vitro and in vivo models for the study of normal and leukemic hematopoietic stem cell functions, multiomic approaches (genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic) in bulk and at single cell level. Part of the course will be dedicated to the critical reading of a cutting edge work in the research field.