Personalised Medicine, also referred to as precision medicine, is the latest addition to the Harvey Medicine course curriculum. The course aims at providing the student with current clinical examples and the basic scientific knowledge on this state-of-the-art revolutionary approach to medicine. Personalised medicine started with the sequencing of the human genome at the beginning of the 21^st century and was accelerated by huge advancements made in DNA sequencing and diagnostic technologies combined with the a rapidly-increasing understanding of the molecular basis for disease and, as important, huge financial investments by governments and industry.

The future of Medicine is Personalised Precision Medicine and the course will demonstrate its current application in Pavia and many other leading research hospitals around the world, making this an essential (optional) course for future doctors.

 

Currently two lecturers are assigned to this course:

Professor Mario Cazzola who is a leading expert in the field of hematological disease and will give excellent examples of the application of precision medicine in the clinic and the latest scientific research from his department that supports these treatments.

Professor Hugo de Jonge has a background in molecular biology and has been working on fundamental cancer research as well as regenerative medicine. He will present the overall view and concept of personalised medicine and explain the technologies that drive this rapidly evolving approach to medicine.

William Harvey Degree Course - Blood Diseases (code no. 501854)

Lecturers: Mario Cazzola (coordinator), Luca Arcaini, Paolo Bernasconi, Luca Malcovati

Topics to be covered for exam preparation:

1. Bone Marrow and Peripheral Blood

2. Hematopoietic stem cells & growth factors

3. Hematologic Alterations

• Erythropoiesis: Anemia and Polycythemia

• Hemostasis: Bleeding and Thrombosis

• Enlargement of Lymph Nodes & Spleen

• Disorders of Granulocytes and Monocytes

4. Erythron, erythropoietin, and classification of anemia

5. Aplastic Anemia

6. Iron Metabolism, Iron Deficiency Anemia and Genetic Hemochromatosis

7. Anemia of Inflammation

8. Megaloblastic Anemias

9. Thalassemia Syndromes

10. Sickle cell disease

11. Hemolytic anemias

12. Myeloproliferative Neoplasms: Chronic Myeloid Leukemia

13. Myeloproliferative Neoplasms: Polycythemia Vera, Essential Thrombocythemia and Primary Myelofibrosis

14. Myeloid Neoplasms: Myelodysplastic Syndromes

15. Myeloid Neoplasms: Acute Myeloid Leukemia

16. Lymphoid Neoplasms: Acute Lymphoid Leukemia

17. Lymphoid Neoplasms: Hodgkin's Lymphoma

18. Lymphoid Neoplasms: Malignant Lymphomas

19. Lymphoid Neoplasms: Chronic Lymphatic Leukemia

20. Plasma Cell Neoplasms: Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance (MGUS), Multiple Myeloma, and Waldenström's Macroglobulinemia

21. AL amyloidosis

22. Disorders of Platelets and Vessel Wall

• Thrombocytopenia (Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura, Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia, Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura)

• von Willebrand Disease

23 .Coagulation Disorders

• Hemophilia

• Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation

• Arterial and Venous Thrombosis

• Antiplatelet & Anticoagulant Drugs

24. Transfusion Biology and Therapy

25. Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation

Reference Textbook: Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine Nota bene: several updates of chapters of the Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine are discussed every year in the formal lectures.

Objective. The student attending this course is expected to acquire fundamental knowledge of the pathophysiology of blood diseases and their clinical features, and to learn basic concepts of therapy.

Exam modalities

The exam consists of a written test and an oral test, both required. The written test includes 60 questions, each with five possible answers and only one correct, to be completed in 120 minutes. In the evaluation of the written test, the following scores are assigned:

• 1 for each correct answer

• 0 for any failure to reply

• -0.25 for each wrong answer

To be admitted to the oral exam, a student must have obtained a minimum of 36/60 in the written test. The final score is a weighted average of written and oral test outcomes.

Exam registration must be done online, while examinations take place in the classroom located in Clinica Ematologica, inside Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo.

There are 4 exam sessions in an academic year (January-February, June-July, September, and December), overall with 6 exam dates (2 in January-February, 2 in June-July, 1 in September, and 1 in December).

Please contact the Clinical Ematologica secretariat for further information (phone 0382-527857).