Master’s Degree in Experimental Pathology

The work developed by a student during one academic year, according to the indicative plan of the course and on a full time basis, totals 60 ECTS.

General Objectives of the Course
The objectives of the course are:
1. To know the rules and essential legislation relating to laboratorial research in vivo with laboratory animals, in vitro and with the human species.
2. To know the morphofunctional and biopathological bases of the planification and the development of experimental models in Pathology.
3. To be able to express a reasoned critical opinion in terms of ethics and bioethics, including animals' well-being, regarding projects of Experimental Pathology.
4. To be able to plan a research project in Experimental Pathology.
5. To be able to carry out laboratorial procedures with laboratory animals, namely the collection of products for analysis and take part in the post-mortem examination.
6. To use tissue culture techniques for Experimental Pathology studies.

Admission Requirements
The candidates to second cycle study programs must be:
a) Holders of a first cycle or integrated cycle in the area of Health Sciences, Life Sciences and Technological Sciences;
b) Foreign degree holders of first cycle study programmes organised according to the Bolonha Process by a country in which this Process is available, in the areas mentioned in point a);
c) Foreign degree holders of courses recognised with the objectives of a licensee degree by the Scientific Council of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Coimbra;
d) Holders of academic, scientific or professional curricula recognised by the Scientific Council of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Coimbra, declaring abilities of the candidate to pursue this study programme.
Candidates should check the admission requirements available on this site, in addition to the information provided here.

Professional Goals
This Master’s degree is intended to create conditions for the improvement of the students' research abilities in the medium and long term. Thus, this Master’s degree contributes to the training of new specialists even more able to practice scientific research, particularly in the area of Pathology, using experimental models in vivo and in vitro. It promotes an increase in the quality of professional and scientific activities and in research.

Learning Objectives and Intended Skills
During the present study programme the main objective is to work in the laboratory with safety and to have competencies in planning and develop projects of research in Experimental Pathology, in its main areas. The students must acquire the following main objectives:
Know and apply procedures for Laboratory Safety, Laboratory Waste Management, Animal Facilities, Animal Maintenance and Manipulation.
Know and apply techniques for Light Microscopy, Histochemistry, Immunohistochemistry for Optical Microscopy, Electronic Microscopy, Molecular Biology, Morphometrics and Instrumental Techniques of Image Analysis, Tissue
cultures, Organ Baths, Informatics Simulation, Experimental techniques for Nuclear Medicine, Imagiology and Neurophysiology.
Know the basis about biomaterials and its medical applications. Know the principles of biomaterial testing, mainly concerning to biocompatibility.
Know and perform the procedures of collecting tissue fragments for Experimental Pathology and join the execution of the routine techniques of Histology; morphologic basis for the diagnosis in light microscopy.
Perform simple diagnosis of neoplastic and non-neoplastic lesions.
Recognise the differences between the morphologic lesions among different species, comparing to the human being.
Make the project and perform experimental models of neoplastic and non-neoplastic pathology of the different organic systems.
Perform an experimental model: project, accomplishment and report.
Know the organic action of toxics, its metabolization and the concepts about toxicity and reference values; techniques for toxic identification, applications and limitations; mechanisms of toxic actions specially for liver, kidney, heart, lung and nervous system; models of toxicology in vitro and in vivo. Project and accomplish these models. Know laboratory procedures for stem cells conditioning, mainly adult stem cells.
Know and accomplish procedures for analgesia and anesthesia in the laboratory small animals in experimental surgery, suturing techniques and surgical procedures in digestive and urinary tracts and splenectomy.
Contact with the reality in the society, mainly the clinical fields where the results of Experimental Pathology research are important and in the enterprises which resources and technologies can be applied in this kind of research.
The evaluation is always performed by a written exam, complemented in some cases with other exams: practical, technical/laboratory or monograph.

APPLICATIONS 2024/2025

1ª fase – 1 de março a 1 de abril de 2024

2ª fase – 3 de junho a 15 de julho de 2024

3ª fase – 2 a 13 de setembro de 2024

ON-LINE APPLICATIONS HTTPS://INFORESTUDANTE.UC.PT/NONIO/SECURITY/CANDIDATURAS.DO

https://www.uc.pt/en/applications/

Team

Ana Bela Sarmento, Ana Margarida Abrantes, Ana Rute Bertão, Anabela Mota Pinto, António Bernardes, Bárbara Oliveiros, Carlos Fontes Ribeiro, Carlos Miguel Marto, Ana Cristina Santos, Edgar Silva, Flávio Reis, Francelina da Cruz Lopes, Francisco Caramelo, Frederico Pereira, José Casanova, José Guilherme Tralhão, Lina Carvalho, Mafalda Laranjo, Manuel Marques Ferreira, Margarida Silvestre, Maria Filomena Botelho, Marília Dourado, Paulo Matafome, Raquel Seiça, Rui Alves, Salomé Pires, Varão Nolasco

Local

Subunidade 3 do Pólo III, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Coimbra

Friday from 2:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Saturdays from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm and from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm