Courses

• Bacteriology:
o The bacterial cell 
o Nutrition, growth and energy metabolism 
o Genetics 
o Identification, classification 
o Antibiotics and resistance 
o Pathogenesis and immunity

• Virology:
o Definitions, classification, morphology 
o Structure and function of viral nucleic acids 
o Viral proteins and genetics 
o Cell-virus interactions 
o Anti-viral therapy 
o Pathogenesis and immunity

• Parasites:
o Definitions, classification, morphology 
o Pathogenesis and immunity

- Structure, expression and function of genes
• Experimental design, bioinformatics in molecular biology 
o Genome editing (zinc ring nucleases, TALENs, CRISPR/Cas9) 
o Transcription factor families and chromatin binding kinetics 
o Transcription factor binding site acquisition in enhancers; interactions with RNA polymerase II 
o Endogenous and exogenous transcriptional noise; control of noise (variability) in the concentration of transcription factors during development, differentiation and organismal physiology 
o Formation of biomolecular condensates (phase separation); molecular "grammar" of amino acids; legitimate and illegitimate proteins in condensates; the role of RNA

• Protein interactions: principles and methods 
o Introduction to the kinetics of protein interactions 
o Principles of protein interaction 
o Experimental protein interaction methodologies 
o Useful protein methodologies 
o Protein interaction maps

• Protein and peptide production in heterologous cell systems
• Protein expression system in plants
• Introduction to protein analysis by mass spectrometry

• Bioimaging 
o Focal microscopy 
o Transmission electron microscopy 
o Single-molecule microscopy methodologies for the study of protein concentration, behaviour and interactions in biological systems [Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy (FCS), Fluorescence Cross-Correlation Spectroscopy (FCCS), Single-molecule monitoring, Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP)], Applications of single-molecule microscopy in the study of development and disease 
o Multiphoton fluorescence excitation, second/third harmonic generation, optoacoustic microscopy, scanning spectroscopy optoacoustic mesoscopy (RSOM) 
o Imaging tomography 
-Bioinformatics 
- Statistical methods 
- Model organisms in the study of the immune system 
o Mouse 
o C. elegans 
o Drosophila 
o Plants 
o Organs-on-chip

• Immunodiagnostics
• Diagnostic and therapeutic proteins of the immune system 
o Monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies 
o Cytokines 
o Immunological techniques 
§ Immunoprecipitation 
§ Immunoaffinity techniques for protein isolation 
§ Enzyme-linked immunoassays 
§ Immunofluorescence 
§ Flow cytometry analysis

• Proteins on surfaces o General principles of biosensors 
o Acoustic and optical biosensors for studying biological interactions 
o Electrochemical sensors 
o Nanobiotechnology, devices and integrated systems for diagnostics

- ELISA
- Immunofluorescence
- Flow cytometry analysis
- Cell cultures (cell lines and primary cells)
- Microscopy
- Quantitative detection of cytokines
- Immune cell proliferation
- Cytotoxicity Cytotoxicity
- Food poisoning
- Immunophenotype in oncology

- Communication and research skills 
o Academic and research ethics 
o Scientific ethics 
o Presentation skills for research results 
o Writing a curriculum vitae 
o How to write a thesis 
o How to write a research article 
o Interview skills 
o Writing scholarship applications 

- Entrepreneurship 
o Basic concepts of entrepreneurship, innovation, intellectual property, exploitation of results 
§ The Greek ecosystem of new entrepreneurship 
§ Business creation 
§ Legal issues 
§ Choice of corporate form 
o Financing from an investor 
§ From idea to business plan 
o Business model canvas § Business model design 
o Preparation of a short presentation for the promotion of a business idea (pitching) 
o Mentoring and pitching: develop your own ideas 
o From the laboratory to the market 
- A case study Intellectual property law

Over ten consecutive weeks, students, with the help of the course coordinator, will propose to read, present and discuss a selected research article in the field of Immunobiology.

The course aims to provide students with a critical understanding of research approaches and methodology as applied to contemporary biomedical research. Students will have the opportunity to evaluate different types of scientific research and critically examine the different stages of a research project. Students will demonstrate their understanding and competence through the development of study design for their own research project, including hypothesis definition, literature review and project work plans. Throughout the course, students will use the theoretical knowledge gained to assess and synthesize the published literature and plan their upcoming research projects.

Preparation of a research project.

Preparation of a research project.