The PhD Programme in Critical Care Sciences aims, through a strongly multidisciplinary approach, to facilitate the transfer of the latest findings from basic research into clinical practice. Critical care, by its very nature, deals with complex needs and frail patients, where comorbidity, pain, drug toxicity, psychological distress and advanced age make clinical intervention a highly complex challenge.

In this context, research plays a crucial yet demanding role. The PhD programme was established to address these challenges, with the aim of developing innovative knowledge and tools for the protection of health, understood as physical, psychological and social well-being. Key areas of study include: the search for biomarkers of organ dysfunction, the development of advanced pharmacological therapies, innovative clinical protocols, emerging technologies and the integration of gender-specific medicine.

The training programme combines research and teaching activities, supplemented by seminars, journal clubs and participation in congresses and conferences, with the aim of training researchers capable of making a tangible impact on the development of critical care medicine.

Each PhD student will be assigned a tutor with whom they will define a research project; the tutor will oversee the experimental work and monitor the progress made by the student under their supervision right up to the thesis.
PhD students will also have the opportunity to undertake specialised training in the study of biopsychosocial models of psychiatric disorders, with a focus on the role and mechanisms of social exclusion as a factor contributing to vulnerability to severe mental disorders. Young researchers will be encouraged to present the results of their work to a wider public, to undertake training periods at universities and/or research institutes abroad, and to complete training placements at companies and laboratories of national and international significance, including pharmaceutical companies and industries, as well as at public health facilities.

This multidisciplinary approach, covering a broad scope of activity in critical care, can draw on numerous experts and supervisors who will be able to guide PhD students effectively towards specific research topics in both clinical and basic research, fostering students’ independence and leading them to undertake specific projects for publication at an international level. Furthermore, issues relating to gender-specific medicine and the challenges involved in such research will be addressed, as well as the importance of communication in the doctor-patient relationship. In particular, the programme will focus on the voices of the patients themselves.

The ultimate aim is, in fact, for PhD students to acquire critical thinking skills and investigative autonomy, whilst also enhancing their clinical knowledge of critically ill patients, the mechanisms underlying specific diseases, and new therapeutic options.