Veterinary sciences

Disciplinary area: Veterinary Science 
Department: Veterinary Medicine 
Coordinator: Prof. Fiammetta Berlinguer
Venue: Department of Veterinary Medicine  
Type of lessons: frontal and practical lessons 
Language: Italian - English

OVERVIEW
Brief description: The PhD program develops research training activities in a field that is extended to many scientific sectors of Veterinary Sciences. The aim is to develop research aimed at updating and improving veterinary practice and animal production techniques, at healthy domestic and wild animal nutrition and safety of feedstuffs, at optimizing reproductive performance of livestock and pet animals, at investigating the effect of different management systems on animal welfare, and at developing new production chains of foods of animal origin. Research topics include animal reproductive physiology and biotechnology, animal production (zootechnics, nutrition, animal welfare), pathology (parasitology, parasitic diseases, and pathological anatomy), obstetric, surgery, pharmacology, and toxicology. The safety, quality, and valorisation of food of animal origin are also part of the training objectives.
The PhD students, using biomedical research methods applied to veterinary sciences, food safety and zootechnical productions, will carry out their activities in laboratories, clinics and in all the facilities of the Department of Veterinary Medicine, food processing industries of animal origin and research institutions affiliated with the Department of Veterinary Medicine. All PhD students will be followed and guided in the development of the research project by a tutor.
The PhD program promotes internationalization through research periods abroad, the preparation of co-tutoring agreements with foreign researchers, the stipulation of agreements with foreign universities and research institutions and the presence in the course board of researchers belonging to universities and research institutions located outside the national territory. 

Teaching goals: The aim of the PhD course is to train qualified researchers in the disciplines that are part of the Veterinary Sciences through a multidisciplinary scientific and cultural training transferred also through the provision of specialized teaching of high qualification. In line with the two curricula, the specific educational objectives of the course are:

- possess a thorough and up-to-date knowledge of the mechanisms underlying the processes inherent in reproductive and productive biology and animal welfare conditions, with the aim of developing specific knowledge for the development and application of biotechnology in animal reproduction and to improve the reproductive performance and profitability of livestock farms;

- to acquire knowledge and technical experience regarding animal production in order to improve its quality through the careful management of resources and production processes;

- to develop specific knowledge for the study of animal pathologies and parasitosis, also in order to develop all those control measures that, through the optimization of pharmacological interventions, may allow the quantitative and qualitative improvement of productions;

- to deepen knowledge in the field of microbiology, epidemiology and infectious diseases and to develop specific skills in the study of pathogenesis, immunity, and control of transversal infectious diseases and zoonoses;

- deepen the most recent surgical, obstetric and internal medicine techniques in order to improve and update veterinary clinical practice;

- to develop specific competences in the fields of pharmacology and toxicology, food microbiology, control of abiotic contaminations, methodologies necessary to achieve the quality certification of the company system and the policies of quality brands recognized in the EU in order to enhance animal products and develop innovative processing techniques.

Expected employment and professional opportunities: The PhD students in Veterinary Science will be able to work in university and industrial research sectors, in national and foreign organizations and companies that develop research and innovation activities in the field of livestock and small animals breeding, providing their knowledge on reproduction techniques, the prevention and treatment of diseases, animal welfare, animal and food production techniques. The skills acquired can be exploited in the different phases of the animal food supply chain through the improvement of both livestock productive and reproductive management, and of food quality and security. The professionals can be involved in the processing and transformation of food, through consultancy activities for the management of process and product safety, traceability, study and product characterization and development of new products. They can also be used in the management and enhancement of the finished product, through product certification consultancy.

Language

All courses are taught in - Italian / English - and teachers use both languages during lessons.
PhD students can attend language course at the University Linguistic Center.

Laboratories, facilities, libraries, and databases 
The Department of Veterinary Medicine has the following research laboratories: food microbiology laboratory (No. 3), chemistry and rheological analysis of food (No. 1); microbial identification (1); molecular biology (No. 3); analysis of food for zootechnical use and animal products (No 1); study of the metabolic profile (no. 1); parasitological analysis (n.3); embryology laboratory (n.2), histology and cell culture (n.1); endocrinology laboratory (n.1), haematology and clinical biochemistry (n.1). Clinical research activities will be carried on in the teaching hospital and affiliated clinics, while research work focusing on animal production and breeding will be carried on in the department teaching farm and in the affiliated research centre, such as AGRIS Sardegna, private farms, the Comparative Surgery Centre of the University of Sassari, and at the Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology laboratory (n.1) at the University of Pisa. The research activities concerning the Safety of Food of Animal Origin will be developed at the following research laboratories of the Department of Veterinary Medicine: food microbiology, molecular identification and typing of pathogens, food chemistry and pilot plant (dairy and processed meat products) and also in the context of agreements, at public research institutes and food establishments.
The book collection available to the doctoral students includes 34,150 books on all the topics related to veterinary medicine and preparatory subjects for the study of veterinary medicine: anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, pathology, parasitic and infectious diseases, parasitology, surgery, anaesthesiology, endocrinology, inspection and control of food of animal origin. In addition, the PhD students have free access to the University Library System (http://sba.uniss.it/), which includes 40,000 electronic journals by subscription and another 10,000 selected journals among those free on the We;, more than 50 databases and over 600 freely selected resources available on-line as thematic portals, online catalogues, open archives collections, working papers collections; 15,000 e-books; free access to UnissResearch institutional archive which comprises the research products of the University and of other institutions and research centers operating in Northern Sardinia in the (10,500 publications including the PhD theses).

REQUIREMENTS
Education: master's degree
Selection process: Public call with evaluation of qualifications, research project and interview
Language: all applicants will have to demonstrate competence in the English language