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  • Medical Biotechnology MSc

Cellular-Level Knowledge, Tuned for Healing

Medical Biotechnology MSc
at Pázmány ITK

Join our Online Open Day to learn more​


5 December 2024 (Thu), 3.00 pm CET
8 January 2025 (Wed), 3.00 pm CET
(Central European Time)

From Data to Health

Learn to apply and develop advanced molecular diagnostic and bioinformatics methods, manipulate cells and biomolecules, and model and simulate biological systems.

Research and Innovation for Our Health

Our graduates can pursue careers in areas where new therapeutic and investigative procedures are developed. They can shape the future of healthcare in diagnostic and biotechnological companies, research laboratories, and experimental medical science institutes.

Specializations

Key Focus Areas

Bionano-
technology

Biopharmacy-
pharmacokinetics

Recombinant DNA Techniques

Bioinformatics

Lecturers

Zoltán Gáspári

professor

Biologist, protein structure researcher. His research spans multiple areas of bioinformatics, with expertise in method development and data analysis. Regularly publishes in interdisciplinary, molecular biological, and bioinformatics journals. Regular reviewer for PhD theses, domestic and international grants. Member of the Presidency of the Hungarian Bioinformatics Society. Head of Program for the Medical Biotechnology MSc.

Tamás Garay

assistant professor

Tumor biologist, and expert in cell biology and related experimental techniques. Collaborates with Semmelweis University to seek answers to questions alongside clinical beds, complementing engineering and medical/biological competencies.

Balázs Ligeti

Research fellow

Bioinformatician, an expert in genomic language models and molecular data processing. Coordinator of the COST Action ML4Microbiome Hungarian team, focusing on microbiome analysis involving a European research group and industrial players.

Main Subjects

Fundamentals in Natural Sciences and Biology (15-25 credits)

The storage,maintenance and expression of genetic information, as well as their molecular mechanismsare fundamental topics of the course. DNA replication, DNA damage and repair,RNA synthesis and processing, protein synthesis, maturation and targeting, and differentways of regulation of gene expression are discussed. Regulation of cell cycleand apoptosis, in the light of the molecular background of tumor development isalso part of the subject. Some of the lectures provide insights into molecularbiology research.

The course offers aconcise overview of the dynamic metabolic networks in the cell focusing on thegeneral principles of enzyme kinetics, structure and control of metabolicpathways. Aspects essential for future specialists in Biotechnology areemphasized: modern biochemical techniques in the characterization ofintermolecular interactions and enzyme action, in silico modelling of biochemical processes and systems. Medicalorientation is implemented with discussion of the molecular basis of selecteddiseases with major public health impact (cardiovascular, neurodegenerativediseases) focusing on the molecular targets of therapy. Students participate informal lectures, tutorials and computer-simulated practical lessons.  

Cell biology background of physiological functions of the human body (electophysiological background of the function/activity of excitable tissues) differences and similarities of different muscle types. Organization and function of the cardiovascular system. The respiratory system, ventilation and gas exchange. Regulation of the circulation and respiration based on the knowledge of the autonomic nervous system.  Understanding the composition of the body fluids with focusing on the blood (significance of solubile and cellular components including defense reactions and hemostasis). 

 

The function of the kidneys, urin formation, regulation of the body fluid volume and osmotic parameters. Acid-base balance. Function of the gastrointestinal tract, energy metabolism, regulatin of the body temperature. Endocrine regulation of physiological processes, the hypothalamo-hypophyseal unit; the adrenal, thyroid glands, calcium metabolism together with bone physiology. Organization of the nervous system, regulation of motor function. The somatosensory system. Sensory organs vision, hearing taste and smell. 

Chemical aspects of biological processes. Proteins ans biopolymers, postttranslational modifications. Intrinsically disordered proteins. Chemical aspects of protein synthesis in the laboratory and in the cell. Internal dynamics of proteins and its significance, basic concepts in protein NMR spectroscopy. Chromatin organization and introduction to epigenetics. 

Skills in Medical Biotechnology (15-35 credits)

The course is divided into two parts: 1.) Cell biology – summary and intensification of cell biology knowledge with special emphasis to cell physiology; 2.) Cell technology – theoretical knowledge in preclinical (cancer) research: whow to use (cancer) cells as model system in in vitro and in vivo experiments. 

The course covers the following topics: Qualitative and quantitative modelling in biology; Formation of biological structures; Structural hierarchy of proteins; Stability of biological structures; Experimental methods to study biological structures; Microscopy studies of intracellular structures; Super-resolution microscopy; Dynamic intracellular protein structures; Single molecule biological activity.

 

Diffusion, polymerization, reptation; Motor proteins, processes far from equilibrium; Second law of thermodynamics is small systems, Evans-Searles fluctuation theorem; Crooks fluctuation theorem, Jarzinski equality; Thermodynamics of molecular motors; Microscopy of motor proteins – Laboratory demonstration; Protein structure prediction, use of structural databases; Molecular dynamics modeling; Thermodynamic characterization of  protein – protein and protein-ligand interactions.

During the lectures, the students get familiar with the following concepts and examples: Definition of recombinant DNA, genomic and cDNA libraries. Molecular hybridization techniques. The Human Genome Project. Differences between individual genomes. Gene identification and genome annotation. Polymerase chain reaction and targeted mutagenesis. Gene expression platforms. Cloning into bacteria. Insulin, the first human recombinant medicine. Trasgenic animals and animal cloning. Use of recombinant DNA techniques in the pharmaceutical industry. Human gene therapy. Bioinformatics in recombinant DNA technology.

In the practicals, the sudents perform the following experiments: Preparation of genomic DNA and genotyping by PCR-RFLP, PCR-ASA and real-time PCR; Isolation and purification of plasmid DNA, restriction mapping; PCR amplification of recombinant DNA fragments and subsequent agarose gel electrophoresis; Protein expression using bacterial cells and in vitro translation systems.

Stem cell biology is currently one of the most intensely studied areas of biomedical research, and our knowledge on stem cells is constantly growing each day. During our lectures we give an introduction on different stem cells, clinical research data, recent results and difficulties in the field of stem cells. There will be an emphasis on critical evaluation of information about stem cells, stem cell banking and stem cell treatments. 

Specialization in Applied Bioinformatics (30-50 credits)

Structural representations of macromolecular structures, the Protein Data Bank and the PDB file format. Quality assessment of experimentally solved macromolecular structures. Assignment of secondary structural elements in 3D structures. Detection of domains. Algorithms for 3D structure comparison and alignment, structural classification databases. Predicting protein function from structure, identifying functionally important residues and contacts. Introduction to protein structure prediction methods, from ’1D’ to full 3D predictions. Basics of protein:ligand docking. Inclusion of internal dynamics in structural representations. Principles of protein design. 

Advanced course in Bioinformatics. The aim of the course is to provide deeper and hands onknowledge in the fields of bioinformatics working with big data, especiallydealing with large scale sequencing data. DNA sequencing, covering the topicsof metagenomics, exome sequencing, RNA-seq, etc. Algorithms and statisticalmethods to gain novel information of biological data such as NGS algorithms(BWT, FM-index). Modern data representations and frameworks (i.e. networkanalysis docker containers, working in HPC environment, SPARK).  Understanding and designing capability ofcomplex pipelines. Modern machine learning algorithms in biology (CART, LASSO,T-SNE, PCA, permanova). R and Python data science platforms. Data visualisations. 

This course covers the following fundamentals of data mining: 1.  Input and output of data mining process; 2.  Task types (e.g., clustering, classification, numeric prediction, association rule mining); 3.  Evaluation; 4.  Selected algorithms; 5.  Pre-processing and post processing6.  Ensemble learning methods.  

The course is focusing on how to use a two-photon laser scanning microscope in research. This is a multitask subject, when the students are not just learn the theoretical basics of multifoton microscopy but also get some knowledge of the engineering side. Moreover they have to improve the retorical skills (presenting scientific articles) and do some labwork in the Two-photon Laboratory. During the semester the students will learn how a microscope build up and how to use in a neurobiological project.

The aim of the course is to understand the basics needed to understand and manage random fluctuations in natural phenomena. Introduction of the methodology of evaluation of research and measurement results. Acquire the knowledge needed to understand the scientific literature. 

In this course the students will become familiar with the new developments of neural engineering in the field of neuroprosthetic devices that can restore lost neural functions. These devices require direct interfaces with the peripheral and central nervous system. Some of these devices are already routinely used in the clinical practice like the cochlear prostheses for restoring hearing, others are still in the developmental or experimental phase. 

The goal of this course is to highlight recent results in systems biology-oriented applications.Local and guest lecturers will present the basic concepts and advanced researchtopics in key directions of systems biology. Discussed topics include:biological networks, network motifs, stochastic simulations, logical modelling,whole-cell models, metabolic networks, circadian rhythms, riboswitches, cancer and others.

Content of the course: Basic concepts of the theory of continuous time and discrete time dynamical systems (induced by ordinary differential equations and continuous mappings, respectively): well-posedness of problems in differential equations, linearization  near hyperbolic equilibria, stability and attraction for compact invariant sets, structural stability and bifurcations, chaos and fractals with indicators and applications, synchronization between two chaotic Chua circuits, elements of time-series analysis.

 

Objective of the course: Dynamical systems as a basic model for describing spatiotemporal processes, their numerics, and related computer exercises. In addition to basic concepts of nonlinear dynamics, the emphasis is laid on error estimates between exact and approximate solutions, on the preservation of  qualitative properties of the dynamics by numerical approximations as well as on developing a critical attitude to results provided by the computer.

Specialization in Molecular Biotechnology (30-50 credits)

Currently, malignancie sare the second most frequent causes of death in Hungary. Several genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors predispose to the development of tumors.The lectures provide up-to-date insights into the (epi)genetics, molecular biology and metabolism of neoplasias. We review potential molecular targets (enzymes, transporters and nucleic acids) and molecular mechanisms of action of conventional and targeted anti-tumor chemotherapeutical drugs. The principal goal of the course is to make students familiar with a molecular way of thinking that might be useful in the understanding of the molecular basis of targeted chemotherapy in particular and in the pathogenesis of human diseases in general.

The aim of the course is to understand the basics needed to understand and manage random fluctuations in natural phenomena. Introduction of the methodology of evaluation of research and measurement results. Acquire the knowledge needed to understand the scientific literature. 

Introduction to the Java programming langauge.

Main topics:

• Basics of object-oriented programming in Java

• Classes, interfaces, inheritance, function overloading

• Basics of file input/output

• Basics of GUI programming

• Concept of threading in Java

• Use of external APIs to solve bioinformatics-related tasks

The course covers the following topics: 1. Basic pharmacology: Pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics 2. Pharmacology of autonomic nervous system  (sympathetic, parasympathetic) 3. Pharmacology of central nervous system (sedatohypnotics, anxiolytics, antidepressive, antipsychotic agents, local, general anesthetics) 4. Cardiovascular pharmacology (pharmacology of ischemic heart disease, hypertension, cardiac failure, diuretics) 5. Pharmacology of endocrinology (adrenals, anticoncipients)  6. Pharmacology of pain and inflammation (opioid, non-opioid analgesics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.  7. Pharmacology of gastrointestinal tract (pharmacology of gastric ulcer and inflammatory bowel diseases).

The goal of this course is to highlight recent results in systems biology-oriented applications.Local and guest lecturers will present the basic concepts and advanced researchtopics in key directions of systems biology. Discussed topics include:biological networks, network motifs, stochastic simulations, logical modelling,whole-cell models, metabolic networks, circadian rhythms, riboswitches, cancer and others.

The course aims at providing advanced knowledge in the following subjects:

– design, investigation and application of self-assembling systems

– methods for cargo transport in biological systems

– principles of molecular delivery through biomembranes

– molecular design for enyzme catalysis

– principles and applications of directed evolution techniques

– applications of molecular recognition in medical diagnostics

– design and application of biocompatible nanomaterials.

The subject is recommended for the students interested in the areas of pharmaceutical development related to the formulation of dosage forms and medicinal preparations. Drug Delivery Systems can be defined as carrier systems for the desired application route of the dosage forms using the principles of the optimized pharmacokinetics, as well as improving the effectiveness and tolerability with less side effects. The subject is focusing on the relationships between the pharmaceutical dosage forms and fate of the drug in the body, the time course of drug action and intensity and the physicochemical properties of the drug as well as the dosage form.

The course is focusing on how to use a two-photon laser scanning microscope in research. This is a multitask subject, when the students are not just learn the theoretical basics of multifoton microscopy but also get some knowledge of the engineering side. Moreover they have to improve the retorical skills (presenting scientific articles) and do some labwork in the Two-photon Laboratory. During the semester the students will learn how a microscope build up and how to use in a neurobiological project.

Economics and Humanities (5-10 credits)

The direct goal of the course is to create the foundations of an innovation ecosystem that helps the market translation of research in subject areas close to the Faculty, thus helping PPKE-ITK students and researchers to work on their innovative ideas in an inspiring environment in which they can – sustainably and motivated – develop their creativity and acquire the business and soft skills that are most necessary for success in today’s competitive world of startup companies that catalyze technology development.

In this course, students will learn about the concept and role of projects, the life cycle of projects, and the concept of success. Throughout the semester, the course will pay particular attention to the roles and choices available, helping students make more informed decisions in their future careers. The main project support procedures, the applied methodologies for IT development projects, and the areas (financial, legal, marketing, etc.) that affect project implementation will be discussed. The elements of controlling, resourcing, planning, and financing will be presented, as well as the role of quality assurance. At the end of the course, case studies will be used to demonstrate the knowledge acquired.

Thesis Work (29 credits)

This course offers the opportunity to work for 3 semesters on a specific problem in faculty laboratories or in research groups in collaborating institutions.