Epidemic and pandemic infections pose a threat to global health and the economic stability of countries. Innovation in diagnosis, therapy and vaccines for infections at epidemic and pandemic risk is of crucial importance in the current context and within the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR).

The objective of this PhD of National Interest is to train a new generation of highly qualified researchers capable of tackling the challenges of infections at epidemic-pandemic risk, through innovative research, multidisciplinary collaboration and the practical application of the results of the research.

The PhD course aims to provide PhD students with an in-depth knowledge of the most advanced diagnostic, vaccination and therapeutic technologies, as well as the ability to apply their knowledge to develop new solutions to combat infections at epidemic-pandemic risk. The training course aims to ensure that PhD students acquire scientific skills and technologies that can be used in the industrial, research and public administration sectors in the “pandemic preparedness” sector.

The PhD of National Interest is coordinated by the University of Siena with the participation of 13 other universities: Humanitas University, Sapienza University of Rome, University of Bologna, University of Campania, University of Catania, University of Florence, Federico II University of Naples, University of Padua, University of Pisa, University of Salento,  University of Sassari, University of Turin, University of Urbino.

The PhD course is highly multidisciplinary and involves professors from the 14  Italian universities together with professors from prestigious foreign universities and research centers, from the CNR, from the Istituto Superiore di Sanità and the Nanotechnology Center of Ispra, from the Biotecnopolo Foundation of Siena, all of very high international scientific profile.

The support of the Biotecnopolo Foundation of Siena (https://www.biotecnopolo.it/), which co-finances 30 scholarships for the 39th and 40th cycle, represents an important opportunity for training and a guarantee of the long-term sustainability of the PhD of National Interest. The Biotecnopolo Foundation of Siena acts as an anti-pandemic hub for the research, development and production of vaccines and monoclonal antibodies against emerging epidemic-pandemic infections.