The Agriculture Science and Biotechnology PhD School of the University of Udine offers a large panel of research topics of outstanding level in the field of plant, animal and microbial sciences.

Training goals

The three research curricula of the PhD course address different scientific topics in the agricultural sector in order to produce results which can be exploited for the modernization of the primary sector, both from the technological point of view and with respect to the new needs expressed by the public (such as the safety and quality of food and the coexistence of modern agricultural activities with non-degraded rural environments). The three curricula are characterized by the common biological background and the similar biotechnological approach.
The training course will allow the students to develop the necessary critical thinking for analyzing the scientific problems and the capacity to select the appropriate methods and conceptual tools for solving them. Another important goal is the acquisition of the capacity to exploit the appropriate methods and equipment for carrying out the research, after understanding the theoretical foundations on which tools and methods are based. Furthermore, PhD students will acquire skills in the use of IT tools with particular reference to those used in modern bibliographic research and those employed for the most innovative statistical analyses. Finally, doctoral students must have an adequate knowledge of English.

Scientific Disciplinary Sectors

• • AGR/02 - Agronomy and field crops;
  • AGR/03 - Arboriculture and fruitculture;
  • AGR/07 - Agricultural genetics;
  • AGR/11 - General and applied entomology;
  • AGR/12 - Plant pathology;
  • AGR/13 - Agricultural chemistry;
  • AGR/15 - Food science and technology;
  • AGR/17 - Livestock systems, animal breeding and genetics;
  • AGR/18 - Animal nutrition and feeding;
  • AGR/19 - Animal science;
  • AGR/20 - Aquaculture, poultry and rabbit science;
  • BIO/04 - Plant physiology;
  • BIO/18 - Genetics;
  • VET/03 - Veterinary pathology.

Curricula

• BIOLOGY AND PLANT PRODUCTION. Markers, genetic maps and marker-assisted selection, genetic transformation, in-vitro culture, somatic embryogenesis and hybridization, bioenergetics and biomembranes, plant stress physiology, plant nutrition, genome structure and function, metagenomics gene expression, in situ hybridization.
• BIOLOGY AND LIVESTOCK SCIENCE. Animal feeding and nutrition, dietetics, hygiene and safety of feeds, low input livestock systems, livestock systems for high quality foods, animal biodiversity and genetics, marker assisted selection, GWAs, metagenomics, nutrigenomics, animal biotechnology, biotechnology of animal reproduction, fish biology and aquaculture, wildlife management.
• BIOLOGY OF PATHOGEN AND PLANT DEFENCE. Innovative methods for pathogen and pest control. Biological, molecular and taxonomic characterization of arthropods, fungal, bacterial and viral pathogens. Signals and responses during host interaction with pathogens and parasites. Biotechnology of phytopathogens.

Employment opportunities

• Research in public Institutions and private companies
• Management / technical positions in high-tech agri-food companies
• Consultancy

Administrative venue of the course

Università degli Studi di Udine: Dipartimento di Scienze agroalimentari, ambientali e animali (DI4A) - Via delle Scienze, 206 - UDINE

Asssociated venue

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Research Partners

• Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS), Aberystwyth University, United Kingdom
• Scottish Crop Research Institute, Dundee, United Kingdom
• Hannah Research Institute, Ayr, United Kingdom
• School of Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, United Kingdom
• Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Herts, United Kingdom
• John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, United Kingdom
• Centre de recherche sur la biodiversité, Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium
• Department of Plant Genetics Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology (VIB), Belgium
• Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculté universitaire des sciences agronomiques de Gembloux, Belgium
• Institut fuer Biologie II, University Albert-Ludwigs of Friburg, Germany
• Fachhochschule-Forschungsanstalt Weinbau und Oenologie Wiesbaden-Geisenheim, Germany
• Institute fur Phytomedicine, University of Hohenhein, Germany
• Istitut fur Biologie II, Albert-Ludwigs Universitat Freiburg, Germany
• Humboldt-Universität, Berlin, Germany
• Departamento Ciència Animal i des Alimentos, Universidad de Barcelona, Spagna
• Departamento Producción Agraria, Instituto de Agrobiotecnología, Universidad Pública de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
• Genoscope Centre Nationale de Séquencage, Evry, France
• INRA Institute National de Recherche Agricole, Colmar, France
• Enology and Viticulture Department, UC Davis, USA
• Metabolomics Core, Genome Center dell’University of California in Davis, USA
• Department of Systems Biology, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark
• Département des Sciences Animales, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
• Botanische Garten, Università di Zurigo, Swiss
• Plant&Food, Auckland, New Zeland
• Department of Biology, University of Oulu , Finland
• Blood Transfusion Centre of Slovenia, Slovenia
• Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University, Czech Republic
• Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan