BIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY OF GAMETES, EMBRYO PREIMPLANTATION AND EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS
cod. 1005419

Academic year 2024/25
1° year of course - Second semester
Professor
Prisco MIRANDOLA
Academic discipline
Istologia (BIO/17)
Field
Attività formative affini o integrative
Type of training activity
Related/supplementary
14 hours
of face-to-face activities
2 credits
hub: -
course unit
in ITALIAN

Integrated course unit module: BIOTECHNOLOGY OF REPRODUCTION AND STEM CELLS

Learning objectives

The objective of this course is to give students notions on the origin of sexual reproduction, sex determination and on the cytological and molecular aspects of oogenesis, spermatogenesis, fertilisation, premplantation development and of the embryonic stem cells. At the end of the course, students will be able to discuss critically and with the appropriate language the specific topics of the lessons attended.
1 Dublin descriptor - knowledge and understanding: the student must be able to systematically and topographically describe the histological and functional characteristics of the germ stem cell. Mechanisms of sex determination, mitosis, meiosis and gametogenesis in microscopic and immunophenotypic aspects.
2 Dublin descriptor- applied knowledge and understanding: identify morphological and functional diversity, provide a methodological approach preparatory to clinical reasoning.
3 Dublin descriptor - making judgements: the student must be able to sustain a functional histological/morphological reasoning.
4 Dublin Descriptor - Communication skills: The student must possess a precise technical language in histology and microscopic anatomy.
5 Dublin descriptor - learning skills: the student must be able to synthesize autonomously the numerous histological and morphological information in a functional perspective

Prerequisites

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Course unit content


The recent research in the field of reproductive biology has laid the conceptual bases for a better understanding of the processes of gametogenesis, fertilisation and preimplantation development, hus opening novel possible applications in the biomedical field. The objective of this course is to give students notions on the origin of sexual reproduction, sex determination and on the cytological and molecular aspects of oogenesis, spermatogenesis, fertilisation, preimplantation development and of the embryonic stem cells. Frontal lessons will be followed by practical insights.

Full programme

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Bibliography


The students will be given articles that expand the specific theme described during the lessons together with the slides used by the teacher.

Teaching methods

The course will be held through lectures to Students either in the classroom (“in presenza”) or in synchronous-streaming (“in telepresenza”) on the Teams platform. Therefore, the opportunity of Student/Teacher interaction will be preserved both face to face and remotely, by the simultaneous use of the Teams platform.
Lectures will be supported by slide presentations, which will be available to students on the Elly platform (https://elly2020.medicina.unipr.it/).
Before each new lesson, the teacher will first summarise then check whether the previous topics have been well understood through an interactive discussion with the students.
Lectures will be held on-site in compliance with safety standards, provided that further instructions on the ongoing health emergency are not implemented. Supporting material will be available on the specific, student-reserved platform (Elly) and will include slide presentations, audio-video aids or video-recording of the lectures.

Assessment methods and criteria

Besides the short exams described above and performed throughout the course, there will be a final oral exam during which the student wil be asked three questions on topics discussed during the course. One question will focus on the application of the techniques described during the practical lessons. Not only will be the understanding of a specific topic valued, but also the capacity of the student to trace, using an appropriate language, those links necessary to the understanding of the biological phenomenon described.
Oral examination.
In case of the persistence of the health emergency, the exams will be conducted remotely, as follows:
remote oral questions, through the Teams platform (guide http://selma.unipr.it/).
Students with SLD / BSE must first contact Centro per accoglienza e inclusione CAI supporting students with disabilities, D.S.A., B.E.S. (https://www.cai.unipr.it/)

Other information

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2030 agenda goals for sustainable development

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