In the first year of the Doctoral Programme in Health Sciences students are required to attend a series of courses in core and specialization areas. These are designed to provide students with general knowledge required in a broad range of research themes, as well as to expose them to a variety of different specialization areas within Health Sciences, helping with the selection of a research area in which to develop their thesis.
As part of its strategy of internationalization the Advanced Courses and Specialization seminars of the doctoral programme are taught by leading portuguese and foreign scientists in the specialization areas of the course. Students also have the possibility of carrying out part of their research activities in international laboratories.
On this page you can find general information about the mandatory courses of this doctoral programme as well as all available optional courses. Specific course information regarding lecturers, contents and schedule will be sent registered students sent made available at the start of the doctoral programme in September.
To help improve our courses we would like to receive feedback from students. At the end of each course students are asked to fill the form found here and send the completed form to phdhs@fmed.uc.pt
A calendar with the courses available to students
Cursos do Tronco Comum
Date: 6 - 17 January 2020
The course schedule can be found here
Background and Goals:
This course on quantitative Methods on Fundamental, Pre-clinical, Translational and Clinical Research further consolidates the understanding how biostatistical methods can be used to infer population characteristics based on appropriate samples. The link with modelling and multivariate approaches is also used in this Course .
Programme:
- Tests involving mean comparisons across two and multiple groups.
- ANOVA, Simple, Multiple regression and partial correlations.
- Relation between statistical testing and modeling.
- Generalization of effects to the population level. The generalized linear model. Fixed effects and random effects.
- Logistic regression
- Causality models and causal reasoning.
- Event analysis. Survival analysis.
- Medical decision and ROC curves
- Experimental studies for therapy evaluation.
- Sample size calculations
- Experimental design and randomization methods in pre-clinical and clinical studies
- Metaanalysis and systematic reviews
- Statistical modeling for the implementation of metaanalyses in the context of evidence based medicine. The use of fixed and random effects in metanalysis
- Studies where observations are correlated
Organizer: Henrique Girão
Date: 25 a 29 de november de 2019
Organizer: José António Pereira da Silva
Date: 5 - 9 october and 14 - 18 december 2021
Background and Goals
The main objectives of this Course is to provide students with the coincepts and competencies needed to critically appraise, plan and execute clinical research projects. Attending to the specificities of clinical reasearch in the current national context, making locally initiated interventional clinocal trials highly unlikely, the course will focus in two main areas:
1) systematic literature review and meta-analysis, and
2) observational studies - methods and analysis.
Programme
- Systematic Reviews. Fundamentals. The Cochrane Collaboration
- PICO approach
- Preparing the protocol of a systematic review
- Searching the literature (I): PubMed
- Searching the literature (II): Embase, and others
- Bibliographic managers. Selection of Studies
- Collection & synthesis: Data collection forms. Evidence tables
- Meta-analysis. Principles.
- Meta-analysis and meta-regression. Examples with Stata
- How to write an article on a systematic review
- Critical appraisal of systematic reviews
- Fundamentals of observational research
- Research question
- Preparing the protocol of an observational study
- Basic designs
- Selection of subjects
- Measures and variables in observational designs
- Analysis plan
- Analysis of case control studies
- Analysis of longitudinal studies
- How to write an article on an observational study
- Critical appraisal of observational studies
Faculty
Loreto Carmona; Estibaliz Loza, María Jesús García de Yébenes, Aurelio Tobías Miguel, Castelo Branco; Pedro Monteiro ; Lino Gonçalves ; Isabel Santana.
Organizers: Isabel Carreira and Joana Barbosa de Melo
Date: 14 a 18 de outubro de 2019
The course schedule can be found here
Background and Goals:
The main objective of this course is to provide students with basic technical and scientific knowledge in areas related with biomedical research, including cell and molecular biology, physiology and molecular mechanisms of disease and development of new therapeutical strategies. The competencies gathered in this course allow the students to understand and integrate other more advanced and differentiated scientific contents covered in other specialized courses
Organizers: Henrique Girão
Date: 23 september - 4 october
Optional Courses
Organizer: Anabela Mota Pinto
Date: 10 - 21 February 2020
The course schedule can be found here
Background and Goals:
The overall aim of this course is to provide students with competences and skills in the aging process, at the end of the course they should know;
(1) the genetic and environmental factors, social, mental and stochastic molecular alterations and connective tissue repair in aging;
(2) the immunoinflammatory system as a model of aging and interface among environment and innate and adquire responses;
(3) the consequences of aging on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, pharmacological intervention in the elderly;
(4) the epidemiological and psycho-social factors in nutrition, food intake and nutritional status, the drug-food interaction in the elderly;
(5) interventions to reduce the loss of physical, functional and psychological skills in aging;
(6) the use of mathematical and physical models to study the inflammatory pathology of aging, both at laboratory and clinic experiments;
(7) apply the previous knowlege in elderly chronic disease.
Programme
Epidemiology, Biology and Pathophysiology of Aging - Biomarkers of Aging
Chronic disease of the elderly, a multidisciplinary approach, allergic pathology and osteoporosis
Genetics of aging - the aging omics research
The immunoinflammatory system as a model of aging at the interface between the environment and the innate and acquired responses
Mathematical models in the study of aging pathology -modeling and computational implementation of individual processes: how to get results from a mathematical model
Epidemiological, psychosocial factors in nutrition, food intake and nutritional status, drug-food interactions in the elderly
Promoting physical activity and functionality - physical activity in health promotion and disease prevention
Pharmacology/neuropharmacology in the Elderly - In therapy, which is clinically relevant in the elderly?
Psychosocial changes on Aging -Removing barriers to active aging
Organizer: Filomena Botelho
Date: 4 - 8 May 2020
The course schedule can be found here
Background and Goals:
The development of the use of animals as a model of human diseases runs, to a great extent, parallel to the development of medical science. From the end of the nineteenth century animal experimentation increased and become an integral part of biomedical research. Nowadays, due to ethical concerns of using humans in research, experimental animals are an indispensable alternative for medical research and safety testing, which caused a rapid increase in animal usage.
This one week course intends to give a general overview on the animal models of human diseases designed to be used in biomedical research, addressing the scientific, technological and ethical aspects of animal experimentation.
During the week course, students are introduced to the different animal models of human diseases, giving special emphasis to the basic criteria needed to design, select and validate the model that more closely reflect the human condition. This content will provide basic information and the background for students to integrate their knowledge into the design and implementation of a research project including an animal model. Students will be asked for participation and completion of a project including an animal model. A practical session will be carried out, during which the students will perform a biodistribution study of a radiopharmaceutical for studying the function of a particular organ.
Program:
Legislation and rules in animal manipulation.
Ethical concepts
Behaviour models in pharmacology
Cancer models – xenotransplants
Diabetes – general perspective
Retinal Degeneration diseases models
Surgical models – hepatocellular function
Controlled release models
Seminar: Experimental surgery
References:
Scientific papers and dedicated books in the areas referred above.
“Methods in mammary gland biology and breast cancer research”. Margot M. Ip and Bonnie B. Asch. Kluwer Academy, New York
“ Metastasis research protocols, Vol II”. Susan A. Brooks and Udo Schumacher. Humana Press, New Jersey.
“Principles of laboratory animal sciences”. L.F.M Van Zutphen, V. Baumens, A.C. Beynen. Elsevier.
Organizer: Ana Bela Sarmento Ribeiro e José Manuel Nascimento Costa
Date: 20 - 24 April 2020
The course schedule can be found here
Background and Goals:
Our goal through the PhD program in “Biological diagnosis, Imaging and Therapeutic advances in cancer patient´s management - From Bench-to-Bedside”, is to provide a good interdisciplinary training to help students in their careers of research scientists in the field of cancer therapeutic approaches and translational clinical oncology research.
Educational objectives: Acquisition of knowledge about
(1) Conventional anticancer therapies and Paliative Care
(2) Cancer Pharmacology, Biology of Drug Resistance and Response
(3) Hormonal Treatment of Cancer
(4) New therapeutic approaches in Cancer (Targeted Therapy, Drug delivery, photodynamic therapy, Genetic and immune therapy and Cell based therapy
(5) The role of clinical trials in drug development
Organizer: Lino Gonçalves e Henrique Girão
Date: 13 -17 April 2020
The course schedule can be found here
Background and Goals:
One of the objectives of this curricular unit is to provide students with the competences required to understand the importance of a transversal and multidisciplinary research process in the cardiovascular field, that integrates, in a coherent fashion, contents from basic research and translational/clinical research. With this it is intended that students have an integrated perspective of research in the cardiovascular field, from the molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in regulating cardiac function, as well as those related to physiopathological changes associated with cardiovascular disease. In this context, this course is intended to be multidisciplinary, where the student can integrate and relate concepts and knowledge stemming from emerging areas of cardiovascular research, including molecular and cellular biology, physiology, physiopathology, diagnostics and treatment.
Organizer: Vítor Rodrigues
Date: 18 - 22 May
Background and Goals:
O presente curso que é proposto pretende, assim:
1. Aprofundar os habituais conhecimentos adquiridos de Epidemiologia
2. Explicitar alguns conteúdos programáticos que não foram individualizados (ex.medição quantitativa e qualitativa, amostragem, meta-análise)
3. Aplicar esses conteúdos em trabalhos de investigação
A maior parte deste processo ensino-aprendizagem será realizado com recurso exaustivo e pormenorizado a bibliografia científica já publicada e com aplicação imediata na elaboração de projectos de investigação concreta
References:
Mark Elwwod. Critical appraisal of epidemiological studies and clinical trials. Oxford University Press, 2007
Trisha Greenhalgh. How to read a paper: the basics o evidence based medicine. BMJ Books, 2010
Steve Selvin. Epidemiologic analysis. A case-oriented approach. Oxford University Press, 2001
Organizer: Fernando Regateiro e Henriqueta Coimbra Silva
Date: 16 - 20 March 2020
Background and Goals:
The students should be able:
- to understand the basic genetics and molecular mechanisms involved in cancer development, and particularly in hereditary cancer;
- to understand the need for a multidisciplinary and specialized team;
- to identify cases suspected of being hereditary cancers, and describe how to study them;
- to identify family members in risk of being mutation carriers and to calculate this risk;
- to understand the limitations of genotyping and the difficulties in assessing genotype/phenotype correlations;
- to understand the major psychological and psychiatric problems associated with familial cancers and know the basic rules how to deal with them;
- to know the major legal issues concerning genetic counseling of familial cancer;
- to identify new areas of basic, translational and clinical research.
Programme
- The programme includes:
- A general survey on specific fundamental aspects of cancer genetics;
- The presentation of the most frequent hereditary syndromes: hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndromes, colorectal cancer syndromes such as Lynch syndrome, familial adenomatous polyposis and MYH associated polyposis, retinoblastoma, hereditary endocrine neoplasias and Li Fraumeni syndrome;
- The presentation of each syndrome in a translational and multi-disciplinary perspective, from molecular mechanisms, to the "state of the art" at the clinical level, with a particular focusing on genotype/phenotype correlations, the advances concerning diagnosis, treatment, follow-up and prevention, as well as genetic counselling;
-Discussion will also concern the identification of mutation carriers, risk reduction surgery and chemoprevention, as well as psychosocial, ethical and legal issues related with hereditary cancer cases
Faculty:
Fernando Regateiro, Henriqueta Coimbra Silva, Jorge Saraiva e Ana Teresa A Santos , Júlio Leite, António Manso, Jorge Saraiva, Margarida Silvestre (FMUC), João Loureiro (FDUC), Sheila Martins, Sónia Silva, Renata Oliveira, Cláudia Piedade, Alexandra Paúl (CHUC), Gabriela Souasa (IPO Coimbra), Manuel Lemos (UBI), Manuel Teixeira (ICBAS), José Carlos Machado (IPATIMUP), Álvaro Mendes (IBMCUP e UA), João Jesus Hernandez (Univ. Salamanca)
Bibliography:
- Christinat A e Pagani O. Practical aspects of genetic counseling in breast cancer: Lights and shadows. The Breast 2013;22: 375-382.
- Wells Jr SA, Pacini F, Robinson BG e Santoro M. Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Type 2 and Familial Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma: An Update. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2013;98: 3149–3164.
- Malkin D. Li-Fraumeni Syndrome. Genes & Cancer 2011;2:475–484.
- National Retinoblastoma Strategy Canadian Guidelines for Care Stratégie thérapeutique du rétinoblastome guide clinique canadien. Canadian J of Ophtlamology, vol.44, suppl.2, 2009.
- Stoffel EM e Chittenden A. Genetic Testing for Hereditary Colorectal Cancer: Challenges in Identifying, Counseling, and Managing High-Risk Patients. Mini-reviews and perspectives. Gastroenterology 2010;139:1436–1441.
- Tutlewska K, Lubinski J e Kurzawski G. Germline deletions in the EPCAM gene as a cause of Lynch syndrome – literature review. Hereditary Cancer in Clinical Practice 2013, 11:9
Organizer: Isabel Carreira and Joana Barbosa de Melo
Date: 2 - 6 March 2020
The course schedule can be found here
Background and Goals:
Discuss some concepts and basic mechanisms of genetics, cytogenetics and genomics associated with various genetic diseases.
Evaluate and describe what methodologies and technologies to use when faced with a particular genetic pathology.
Evaluate and describe what are the genetic changes that have direct impact on the phenotype of its carrier, and what is the impact for the offspring.
Distinguish between diseases of immediate or late manifestation.
Evaluate and describe what are the implications of a genetic diagnosis and genetic counselling both for, the patient as for the family.
Explore the strengths and weaknesses of the new technologies of molecular biology, cytogenetics and genomics as for example the arrayCGH and NGS.
Analyse the impact these new technologies have on diagnosis and research as well as the ethical implications
Programme
Review of concepts in genetics and genomics and the genotype/phenotype correlation.
New concepts of functional genomics and integrated (or integrative) and the implications for the phenotype
Laboratory diagnosis of genetic diseases, new diagnostic technologies, advantages and limitations. Legislation in the area of medical/laboratory genetics and diagnosis.
Diagnosis and implications associated with cognitive, cardiac, ophthalmic, neurological and late onset disorders. (The topics will differ from year to year, in order to introduce a variety of themes/areas), Discussion of the implications and diagnostic strategies both for the patient and for the family members at risk as well as in prenatal care.
Role of the clinical geneticist in genetic counselling.
Role of the clinical laboratory geneticist in the diagnosis and in the genotype/phenotype correlation.
Discussion of ethical issues associated with diagnosis and research; Quality controls; External evaluations of quality
Organizer: Miguel de Sá e Sousa de Castelo Branco
Date: 3 - 7 February 2020
The course schedule can be found here
Learning Outcomes
This course provides essential knowledge on experimental design and analysis using medical imaging and the implementation issues in terms of mechanisms of disease and evidence based medicine for biomarker discovery.
Programme
Understanding at a conceptual level of statistical image analysis methods in terms of diagnostic classification performances and understandin gof mechanims of disease.
How to process imaging data (measurements)
Tools for Image reconstruction.
Novel methods to solve problems in medical imaging. Quantitative analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography,
Image formation, methods of analysis. Measures of qualitative performance in the context of clinical imaging. Algorithms fundamental to the construction of medical images via methods of computed tomography, magnetic resonance, PET and ultrasound. Methods for clinical data interpretation.
Fundamentals of modern medical functional imaging. Exploration of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), arterial spin labeling (ASL), and positron emission tomography (PET). Statistical and digital signal processing methods specific for functional image analysis. Validation of diagnostic imaging biomarkers and relation to the understanding of disease mechanisms.
Organizer: Ana Cristina Rego and Isabel Santana
Date: 27 - 31 January 2020
The course schedule can be found here
Background and Goals:
The PhD course on ‘Neuroscience and Mental Health’ will focus on the latest research in the field of chronic neurodegenerative and mental health diseases and stroke, largely affecting the central and peripheral nervous system. Importantly, these pathologies are very common in the adult and aged portuguese community.
Programme
The course is intended to promote the understanding of molecular, biochemical and cellular mechanisms operating in these devastating diseases and their correlation with clinical outcomes and modifications. Furthermore, the course will cover novel detection methods and therapies that are under development or under clinical trials. Clinical, brain imaging and selective neuropathological aspects of these disorders will be discussed by experienced neurologists or psychiatrists.
Bibliography
Reviews and original papers on each one of the lectured themes.
Organizer: Maria Manuela M. Grazina
Date: 23 - 27 March 2020
The course schedule can be found here
Background and Goals:
This course is directed to students aiming to understand the basic concepts and clinical applications of Pharmacogenomics.
The course will teach the basic principles of Biochemical Genetics underlying the variability in response to therapeutics, according to the genetic individual profile. Additionally, the most recent developments in pharmacogenomic approach to diseases and epigenetic effects of particular chemicals will be brought to discussion. The knowledge of the mechanisms involved in genetic and epigenetic modification, together with the identification of the genes codifying factors involved in drug response, is essential to understand the relevance of Pharmacogenomics in the development of new therapeutic agents and in the application of more rational therapies.
A “meet the expert” session is included to provide the students to interact with international expert scientists.
Paper club discussions are organized for achieving the most relevant and up-to-date findings in current literature and international guidelines.
Students are asked to suggest a guideline for the application of pharmacogenomic assays in the clinical practice, in an open discussion special session.
References:
Nogueira A, Catarino R, Faustino I, Nogueira‐Silva C, Figueiredo T, Lombo L, Hilário‐Silva I, Pereira D, Medeiros R.
Role of the RAD51 G172T polymorphism in the clinical outcome of cervical cancer patients under concomitant chemoradiotherapy. Gene. 2012 May 24.
de Mello RA, Marques DS, Medeiros R, Araújo AM. Epidermal growth factor receptor and K‐Ras in non‐small cell lung cancer‐molecular pathways involved and targeted therapies. World J Clin Oncol. 2011 10;2(11):367‐76.
Araújo AP, Ribeiro R, Pinto D, Pereira D, Sousa B, Mauricio J, Lopes C, Medeiros R. Epidermal growth factor genetic variation, breast cancer risk, and waiting time to onset of disease. DNA and cell biology 2009;28(5):265‐9.
Teixeira AL, Ribeiro R, Morais A, Lobo F, Fraga A, Pina F, Calais‐da‐Silva FM, Calais‐da‐Silva FE, Medeiros R.
Combined analysis of EGF+61G>A and TGFB1+869T>C functional polymorphisms in the time to androgen independence and prostate cancer susceptibility. Pharmacogenomics J. 2009;9(5):341‐6.
Gladding P, Webster M, Zeng I, Farrell H, Stewart J, Ruygrok P, Ormiston J, El‐Jack S, Armstrong G, Kay P, Scott D, Gunes A, Dahl ML. The pharmacogenetics and pharmacodynamics of clopidogrel response: an analysis from the PRINC (Plavix Response in Coronary Intervention) trial. JACC Cardiovasc Interv. 2008;1(6):620‐7.
Gomez A, Ingelman‐Sundberg M. Epigenetic and microRNA‐dependent control of cytochrome P450 expression: a gap between DNA and protein. Pharmacogenomics. 2009;10(7):1067‐76.
Gupta M, Kaur H, Grover S, Kukreti R. Pharmacogenomics and treatment for dementia induced by Alzheimer's disease. Pharmacogenomics. 2008;9(7):895‐903.
Horstmann S, Binder EB. Pharmacogenomics of antidepressant drugs. Pharmacol Ther. 2009 Jun 27. [Epub ahead of print].
Jannetto PJ, Bratanow NC. Utilization of pharmacogenomics and therapeutic drug monitoring for opioid pain management. Pharmacogenomics. 2009;10(7):1157‐67.
Kim JH, Schwinn DA, Landau R. Pharmacogenomics and perioperative medicine‐‐implications for modern clinical
practice. Can J Anaesth. 2008;55(12):799‐806.
Ooteman W, Naassila M, Koeter MW, Verheul R, Schippers GM, Houchi H, Daoust M, van den Brink W.
Predicting the effect of naltrexone and acamprosate in alcohol‐dependent patients using genetic indicators. Addict Biol.
2009;14(3):328‐37.
Manolopoulos VG, Dechairo B, Huriez A, Kühn A, Llerena A, van Schaik RH, Yeo KT, Ragia G, Siest G.
Pharmacogenomics and personalized medicine in clinical practice. Pharmacogenomics. 2011;12(5):597‐610
Peñas‐Lledó EM, Blasco‐Fontecilla H, Dorado P, Vaquero‐Lorenzo C, Baca‐García E, Llerena A. CYP2D6 and the severity of suicide attempts. Pharmacogenomics. 2012;13(2):179‐84.
Peñas‐LLedó EM, Dorado P, Pacheco R, González I, LLerena A. Relation between CYP2D6 genotype, personality, neurocognition and overall psychopathology in healthy volunteers. Pharmacogenomics. 2009;10(7):1111‐20.
Other texts | outros textos.
Organizer: António Francisco Ambrósio e Rufino Silva
Date: 9 - 13 March 2020
The course schedule can be found here
Background and Goals
The aim of this Advanced Course is to give an overview of the anatomy and physiology of the eye, with a particular focus in the retina. However, the main focus are the retinal and optic nerve degenerative diseases, although other eye pathologies might be considered. Another aim is to analyse, in a transversal way, each disease, from the molecular and cellular mechanisms till the identification of potential targets and innovative therapies. Students must have a good knowledge about each pathology, at molecular, cellular and clinical level, and have also an idea about the state of the art in this field. Moreover, students must be able to prepare an innovative research project based on the knowledge acquired and on discussions about open questions in this field.
Bibliography
The Eye
Basic Sciences in Practice
John Forrester, Andrew Dick, Paul McMenamin, William R. Lee
Second Edition
Saunders (2003) (Free download)
Adler's Physiology of the Eye, 11th Edition
Leonard Levin, Siv Nilsson, James Ver Hoeve, Samuel Wu, Paul Kaufman and Albert Alm 11th Edition
Saunders (2011)
http://webvision.med.utah.edu/
Artigos de revisão e artígos sobre temas específicos da área das Ciências da Visão.
Review and original papers in the area of Vision Sciences.