DENTAL MEDICINE | Lab | Clinic

You will study developing, characterizing, and applying new biomaterials for dental repair, including biological characterization and preclinical & clinical evaluation.

NUTRITION | Lab

You will research the bioactive composition of foods, including phenolic compounds and carotenoids, their biological activity, health effects, and mechanisms of action using current data. In an experimental kitchen, you can explore diverse food combinations and processing methods and assess their impact on bioactive compounds in the laboratory.

CELL & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY | Lab

In previous studies, multinucleated giant cells were found in the ovaries of reproductively aged mice, but their impact on fertility remains unclear. Your research involves identifying these cells in rat and sheep ovaries and assessing their association with follicular depletion and ovarian aging due to redox imbalance.

MICROBIOLOGY & PARASITOLOGY | Lab | Hospital

Testing for microorganisms, especially pathogens, is critical for assessing hospital environmental quality, significantly impacting immunocompromised patients undergoing transplants, cancer treatments, or burns, as infections from these microorganisms have severe health implications. You will collect, quantify, and identify bacteria and fungi in the air, water, and surfaces of the Hospital Center’s Burn Unit. The most suitable culture media and incubation conditions will be employed for isolation, followed by identification using various techniques.

MICROBIOLOGY, CELL & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY | Lab

Obesity is a major global health problem, linked to various serious conditions like cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis, and certain cancers. In obesity, white adipose tissue (WAT) undergoes adaptive morphological and functional changes. WAT is divided into subcutaneous and visceral depots, each with distinct characteristics in inflammation, fibrosis, and adipocyte differentiation. The project aims to assess structural, transcriptional, and functional changes in WAT caused by obesity in mice fed a high-fat diet. Histological analysis will evaluate WAT’s structural changes, while real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry will gauge inflammation and fibrosis-related molecules.

MEDICAL ETHICS | Clinic

In a clinical and historical context, you will get to know and take part in the work of a military doctor, who not only has to deal with clinical cases on a daily basis, but is also confronted with real-life stories.

VETERINARY MEDICINE | Clinic

Veterinary Medicine demands more than passion for animals. You will taste veterinary science’s various aspects, covering ethics, animal anatomy, and basic veterinary procedures.

OPHTHALMOLOGY | Clinic

Discover Ophthalmology, a medical specialty for the eye and visual system. Experience a field dedicated to preserving a unique human sense. Join us to explore this fascinating specialty!

TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE | Lab

Explore a scientific career in Human Reproduction research. Join the Multidisciplinary Research Unit in Biomedicine to learn about research, training, and clinical activities. Engage with group members and discuss topics in Reproductive Medicine.

PATHOLOGY | Lab

Human microbiome studies show the role of animal gut microbiota in spreading antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Understand antibiotic resistance circulation and responsible genes across humans, animals, and the environment with the One Health concept in mind. Your experimental work involves:

• Selecting antibiotic-resistant bacterial isolates from various sources.
• Determining resistance phenotypes using the agar diffusion method.
• Molecular characterization of resistance mechanisms through PCR amplification of specific genes, followed by result integration.

GENETICS | Lab

The Genetics Service focuses on male infertility research and diagnosis. Daily diagnosis involve studying human chromosomes (karyotype) and Y chromosome microdeletions You’ll learn cell culture, chromosome preparations, and cytogenetics. In molecular genetics, you’ll perform DNA extraction, PCR amplification of Y chromosome genes, and visualize results via capillary electrophoresis.

ANATOMY | Clinic

Anatomical dissection aims to deepen knowledge of human body regions, their functional anatomy, and imaging. Students will learn cadaveric dissection techniques to identify and preserve anatomical structures, enabling clinical and functional correlations. The project also emphasizes the importance of the human body in health teaching and research, promoting lifelong learning.

NEUROSCIENCE | Lab

Alzheimer’s disease features cognitive decline and brain accumulations of Abeta peptide and Tau protein. Transthyretin (TTR) produced by the liver and choroid plexus can counter Abeta peptide’s harmful properties. You will investigate TTR’s protective role by studying its impact on Abeta peptide-induced toxicity using 2 in vitro cellular assays:

• Neuronal cell line used for apoptosis assay.
• Angiogenesis assay with cerebral microvessel-derived endothelial cells forming capillary-like structures.

Finally, you’ll assess the impact of high Abeta peptide levels on TTR stability and functionality in Alzheimer’s disease. This involves measuring TTR’s tetramer/monomer ratio using Western Blot.

ONCOLOGY | Lab

Thyroid cancer’s rising incidence carries high social and economic impact despite low mortality. It can originate from follicular or non-follicular cells, each with distinct genetic and phenotypic features. You will be introduced to basic lab procedures, followed by learning molecular and cellular biology techniques like DNA extraction, PCR, agarose gel observation, and sequencing. Afterwards, you will interpret and discuss the findings.

GENETICS & MICROBIOLOGY | Lab

Hyperlipidemia is a public health issue linked to cardiovascular disease development. Elevated lipid levels cause lipotoxicity, leading to cell dysfunction or death in non-adipose tissues. Using yeast as a model, you’ll study lipotoxicity’s effects on cell viability and metabolism. Conduct a genetic study to generate and characterize lipid vesicle mutants. Evaluate how cells without lipid vesicles respond to lipid excess, monitoring organelle changes via confocal fluorescence microscopy and assessing their impact on cell viability or death. Study reactive oxygen species, mitochondrial membrane potential, and cell death markers by flow cytometry to understand lipid vesicles’ protective role against fatty acid-induced lipotoxicity.

SPORT & EXERCISE MEDICINE | Lab | Clinic

Sport’s health benefits are well-known, but few recognize substantial differences in health indicators between sedentary and trained people of the same age, particularly as they age. Understanding the validation for lifelong exercise and measuring its impact on health are essential. Applying scientific methodology, tests on sedentary and trained subjects with biomarker measurement (lactate, glucose, and blood ammonia concentrations) enable you to defend the notion that sport significantly enhances health, akin to the importance of proper nutrition and rest in daily life.

CARDIOLOGY | Lab | Clinic

The Department of Surgery and Physiology focuses on understanding the pathophysiological mechanisms of cardiovascular diseases, particularly heart failure, and developing new therapeutic strategies to address their high mortality rates. The project aims to foster scientific engagement through participation in lab experiments, article analysis, and research result discussions. Activities include multimedia presentations and lab studies on healthy and heart failure animals to assess their myocardial, vascular and hemodynamic response to mechanical, hormonal, and pharmacological stimuli.

ONCOLOGY | Lab

Each year, over 1 million women are diagnosed with breast cancer, causing over 400,000 deaths worldwide. Abundant in the human diet, polyphenols from vegetables, fruits, and beverages likely aid in preventing diseases related to oxidative stress, with additional modulation of enzymes, cell receptors, and transporters. You will investigate polyphenols’ effects (quercetin, EGCG, kaempferol, xanthohumol) on breast cancer cell lines: MCF-7 (hormone receptor-positive) and MDA-MB-231 (triple-negative). Cell proliferation will be measured using 3H-thymidine incorporation, and migration assessed through the injury test, counting migrated cells.