Molecular and Cellular Biology
Team code: 83e4kt0
Seminar Series
The central aim of this seminar series is to give you an opportunity to learn about the many fascinating and intricate mechanisms that organisms have evolved to control their cellular functions and to coordinate the many macromolecular interactions carried out in different cell types. In particular, the course aims to provide an integrated understanding of the underlying cellular and molecular biology processes and of how molecules and cells are integrated into functional systems.
In the first part, the seminar series aims to introduce you to the cellular context in which biochemical reactions take place by having a tour through typical cells. By engaging with this course, you will gain foundation knowledge about the organisation of eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells, including extracellular matrix, cell signalling, the roles of biological membranes in compartmentalisation of cell functions and the cytoskeleton. The structure and functions of eukaryotic organelles including the nucleus, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, lysosomes, and peroxisomes. Additional topics include intracellular macromolecular transport and mechanisms of transport of ions, solutes and macromolecules across membranes including the plasma membrane.
In part II, the latest methods for studying molecules and cells in vitro and in vivo will be discussed. Recent advances in biophysical methods led to stunning new insights into the complex inner workings of cells and the interplay between their macromolecular components. Spurred by technological breakthroughs in light and electron microscopy, tomography, biophysics, structural biology, sequencing technologies, single molecule and ensemble molecule spectroscopies and cellular in situ studies, we can now investigate at unprecedented levels of spatial and temporal resolution the biomolecular and cellular processes at the origin of life.
Programme
Lecture Series Part I. General Introductory Lectures
Overview of the Course (Alfonso De Simone)
18th Feb 11:00-12:00
A glimpse of the cell (Marcella Cesana)
25th Feb 9:00 - 11:00
Protein Sciences (Alfonso De Simone)
4th March 11:00-13:00
Biological Dogma (Davide Cacchiarelli)
11th March 14:00 - 16:00
Lecture Series Part II. Cellular Biology and Differentiation
(Lectures by 2nd year students)
Not “The Cell” but many different cell types (Vincenzo Aievola)
Eukaryotic and Prokaryotic cells; Cellular functions (metabolism, catabolism, anabolism); Cellular anatomy. Cellular functions of proteins
18th Mar 2022 11:00 - 12:00
The cell in a multicellular environment (Melania Franchini)
Signal transduction; cell-cell interactions
18th Mar 2022 12:00 - 13:00
From genes to functions (Valentina Brancato & Antonio De Falco)
Genes; gene structures; regulation of gene expression
25th Mar 2022 11:00 - 13:00
From one cell to many different cell types (Antonella Sarnataro)
Cell Development & Differentiation
1st Apr 2022 11:00 - 12:00
Fine tuning of cellular functions (Carmen Biancaniello)
Post-translational regulation; splicing and regulation; small RNAs.
1st Apr 2022 12:00 - 13:00
Lecture Series Part III. Methods in Molecular Structural Biology
Structural Biology (Alfonso De Simone)
NMR;
7th Apr 2022 11:00 - 13:00
Structural Biology (Alfonso De Simone)
X-ray crystallography;
8h Apr 2022 11:00 - 13:00
Structural Biology (Alfonso De Simone)
cryoEM;
15th Apr 2022 11:00 - 13:00
Single Cell (Davide Cacchiarelli)
22nd Apr 2022 11:00 - 13:00
MD simulations (Alfonso De Simone)
Methods and applications
29th Apr 2022 11:00 - 13:00
Bioinformatics: prediction of protein structure (Alfonso De Simone)
6th May 2022 11:00 - 13:00
Protein-Ligand Interactions (Alfonso De Simone)
Experimental methods and theory
13th May 2022 11:00 - 13:00
Computational Drug Discovery (Alfonso De Simone)
20th May 2022 11:00 - 13:00