Physics and Chemistry of Biological Systems

The course, which is organised by the Molecular and Statistical Biophysics group, offers an advanced, research-oriented training in theoretical and computational topics at the interface of Physics, Chemistry and Biology. The PhD program has a highly interdisciplinary character and, accordingly, the faculty includes members from the SISSA Physics and Mathematics areas, the CNR-IOM Democritos center and ICTP, the International Center for Theoretical Physics.

Students are typically admitted to the PhD program after a written and oral exam (though non-EU applicants may be pre-selected based exclusively on academic qualifications).

During the period November-April of the first year students follow a set of advanced courses, which include:

  • Statistical Mechanics, Numerical Methods in Computational Physics
  • System Biology, Statistics and Probability
  • Introduction to Biochemistry, Computational Biochemistry
  • Advanced Sampling Techniques
  • Statistical Mechanics of Polymers
  • Mechanical Aspects of Cell Biology and Bioinformatics
  • Introduction to Quantum Chemistry
  • Simulations in Molecular Medicine

At the end of the courses, each first year student takes on a supervised research project. The choice of the project topic and of the supervisor is arranged with the PhD faculty. The PhD program is typically completed in about 4 years. The successful progress of the PhD studies is monitored with an official annual evaluation (progress report) and the final PhD exam is based on a written dissertation that is defended orally with a board of international experts.

THE MOST RECENT PLACEMENTS AFTER PHD AT SISSA:
Among the students who have obtained the PhD since 2004, five now hold a permanent position in academia, two are on a tenure-track position and three hold permanent high-profile scientific-oriented positions in public or private companies. Other former students currently hold post-doc positions in European or American universities.

Additional information about the courses and the research activity can be found at http://www.sissa.it/sbp

Short fellowships may be awarded to students who will sit the entrance exam. Such fellowship will cover travel and accommodation expenses and will entitle students to stay in the school before the selection. Click here for further information.

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Phone: +39 040 3787 300

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