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Life Sciences

Working Group

Chair: Aloïs Palmetshofer

Alois Palmetshofer, Priv.-Doz. Dr., is the coordinator of BioCareers at the University of Würzburg and is active in teaching, study program development, student support and quality management. He was habilitated in Pathobiochemistry and Cell Biology and is the author of 30 scientific papers in the biomedical field. Since 2013, he has been Chair of the German Conference of Biological Faculties. Since the initiation of the Coimbra Group Life Sciences, he has been active as Vice Chair of the group. In November 2022, he got elected as Chair.

Vice-Chair: Marta Camps Camprubi

Focus of Working Group

Proposed actions aim at increasing the excellence and competitiveness of our Universities in the context of the Life Sciences, considering the whole field of academic engagement, i.e., teaching, research and transfer, all understood in their widest context. The focus of the WG is clearly oriented towards the development of common strategies of teaching and research. Master programmes are considered of utmost importance for high level education and development of skills for future high level bioscientists as well the initial step for the development of bioscience research and the promotion of vocations in the bioscience area. Several Master programme projects have been identified of common interest.

Priorities for 2024-2026

  • Master Cancer Biology
  • Master Global Change Ecology
  • Master Infection Biology
  • Blended Intensive Programmes and Student Mobility

Recent highlights 

  • Preparation of joint BIPs (Blended Intensive Programmes) between CG Universities involved in the Life Sciences Working Group (LS WG).
  • Follow-up of developments towards a European Joint Degree and exploration of potential opportunities for the Life Sciences WG.

Ongoing / Forthcoming activities

MASTER BIOSCIENCES PROGRAMMES

  • Master Cancer Biology, 2025: Reapplication for Erasmus Mundus funding (Pavia, Montpellier, Montreal) under the coordination of the University of Pavia. The universities of Åbo Akademi, Barcelona, Coimbra, Köln, Montpellier, Pavia, Salamanca, Tartu, Turku, Utrecht, Vilnius and Würzburg are involved.
  • Master Global Change Ecology, 2024: Double Degree programme of the Universities of Bergen and Würzburg, other CG universities may be involved.
  • Master Infection Biology 2026: Starting with a BIP, a double degree programme will be developed by the Universities of Montpellier and Würzburg. More CG universities will be involved.

BLENDED INTENSIVE PROGRAMMES

  • Environmental Remote Sensing (2024-2025), coordinated by Dr. Shawn Carlisle Kefauver, University of Barcelona:
    • Presentation of basic to advanced techniques and concepts of environmental remote sensing in the field of applications in agriculture and forestry, ecology, water quality, oceanography, urban planning, air pollution monitoring, and climate change.
    • Theory and current use of fixed sensors, field sensors, manned and unmanned aerial platforms, and ESA and NASA satellites.
    • Discuss concepts, methodologies, and best practices related to the remote sensing of different natural, anthropogenic and hybrid environments, including quantitative measurements related to plants, water, soil, geological, and urban assessments.

  • Stem Cells and Gene Editing (July 2024) coordinated by Dr. Ana Sevilla, University of Barcelona, with the Universities of Montpellier and Vilnius:
    • Stem cells biology and regenerative medicine.
    • Reprogramming methods, characterization, differentiation to specific lineages, brain organoids and genetic manipulation.
    • Ethics, public engagement/ and science communication.
    • Immunofluorescence, PCR and FACS analysis.
  • Modern methods in Infection Biology (2025) coordinated by Prof. Mauld Lamarque, University of Montpellier, and Susanne Kramer and Christian Janzen, University of Würzburg:
    • Acquire the fundamental knowledge in microscopy.
    • Introduce basic concepts of image analysis.
    • Develop transdisciplinary approaches applied to infection biology including biology / bioinformatics, biology/one health using a range of human parasites.
    • Develop critical thinking about the technical limitations of the microscopy techniques.
    • Acquire diverse expertise in infectious microbiology, complex datasets analyses (“omics”…), images and FACS analyses.
    • Become sensitized to the integrated “One Health” concept.
    • Develop oral presentation skills, language proficiency and collaborative teamwork.
  • Redox Biology in Health and Diseases (2025) coordinated by Prof. Teresa Carbonell, University of Barcelona, with the Universities of Coimbra, Montpellier, and Pavia:
    • Stress signaling, survival and resilience during the evolutionary development of life.
    • Redox chemistry based on sulphide, nitrogen and oxygen.
    • Formation of ROS in the body. Enzymatic production of superoxide, hydrogen peroxide, nitric oxide and derived species. redox interactome.
    • Effects of free radicals on biomolecules: lipoperoxidation. Protein oxidation. Oxidation of carbohydrates. DNA oxidation.
    • ROS scavenging: the Keap1-Nrf2 pathway. Enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants. The glutathione system.
    • Oxidative stress in physiology. Nutrition and antioxidants. Aging and frailty.
    • Redox signaling as a fundamental control for adaptations to the physiology of physical exercise.
    • Redox imbalance and oxidative damage in pathological processes: Metabolic diseases. Atherosclerosis Neurodegenerative diseases. Cancer.
    • Methodologies for the analysis of markers of oxidative stress, oxidants and antioxidants.

  • Liposomes to improve pharmacological treatments of infectious and cancer diseases (2025) coordinated by Prof. Amparo Sanchez Navarro, University of Salamanca, with the University of Würzburg:
    • Relevance of nanotechnology in the pharmaceutical area to improve the benefit/risk balance of pharmacological treatments, in particular for cancer and infectious diseases.
    • Advantages and disadvantages of liposomes as drug nanocarriers for drug targeting.
    • Integrate molecular biology of cancer or infections with pharmacology and pharmaceutical technology.
    • Design liposomes tailored for the efficient delivery of drugs at the tumours or infected tissues.
  • Skeleton, from new research technologies to therapeutics  (2025) coordinated by Prof Antonella Forlino and Prof. Antonio Rossi, University of Pavia, with the Universities of Ghent, Linz, Lublin and Paris Cité:
    • Overview of modern skeletal biology as emerged from the latest genetic and molecular characterization of rare and common disorders.
    • Bone: evolutionary developmental biology (Ghent University, Belgium).
    • Modelling skeletal diseases: from cells to mammals (University Paris-Cité, France).
    • Genetics and Omics; from Common to Rare bone diseases (University of Barcelona, Spain).
    • Innovative therapy targeting bone signaling pathway (University of Pavia, Italy).
    • Provide the students with a deep knowledge of skeletal biology focusing on the new discovered therapeutic targets used for innovative therapeutic approaches.
    • Provide the students with a deep knowledge of skeletal biology focusing on the new discovered therapeutic targets used for innovative therapeutic approaches.

Contact person at the CG Office: Catarina Moleiro (moleiro@coimbra-group.eu)