An Integrative Framework for EWAS in Challenging Environmental Contexts: Application to Chronic Hypobaric Hypoxia

Abstract Background: Over the past decade, Epigenome-Wide Association Studies (EWAS) have emerged as a powerful approach to link environmental exposures, gene regulation, and phenotypes beyond genetic variation, but their ability to explain complex adaptations remains limited, highlighting the need for integrative strategies. Aims: This Thesis aimed to investigate DNA methylation alterations associated with chronic hypobaric hypoxia at high altitude, considering environmental, lifestyle, gene...

Gambling in Italy: Epidemiological Evidence and Public Health Implications

Gambling represents an increasingly relevant public health concern. This doctoral project was developed to address the scarcity of independent population-based evidence on gambling in Italy, integrating multiple data sources to quantify its burden and explore its determinants. The research was articulated through a sequence of empirical studies ranging from local school-based surveillance to large national surveys of adults and adolescents, complemented by a methodological study on health mon...

Epigenetics of Covid-19: A Systems Biology Approach

This thesis investigates how DNA methylation serves as a critical regulatory layer that explains the extreme variability in COVID-19 outcomes, moving beyond the limitations of purely genetic explanations. By conducting an epigenome-wide association study on blood samples, the research initially identified 880 CpG sites significantly associated with disease severity, many of which are located within genes central to immune and inflammatory responses like SAMHD1 and NLRP3. While these individua...

Leveraging Machine Learning for Innovation in Public and Medical Healthcare

Improving psychosis detection and management using precision medicine.

Psychosis is a debilitating disorder that imposes substantial societal costs and disrupts the lives of predominantly young people. Comprehensive management across all clinical stages—including indicated prevention during the prodromal phase, early intervention in first-episode psychosis, and long-term care for chronic patients—is essential to improve prognosis, symptoms, and functioning. Advances in precision medicine have shown promise in enhancing detection of at-risk individuals and optimi...

Don't waste the waste: by-products from viticulture and local crops management as source of extracts and/or secondary metabolites with biological properties

ASIC Front-End Integrato nella Sonda per Imaging Ultrasonico Biomedico 3D basato su MUT

Questo lavoro ha presentato la progettazione, l’implementazione e la validazione sperimentale di un ASIC front-end personalizzato a quattro canali per sistemi di imaging in-probe basati su CMUT, realizzato in tecnologia BCD-SOI a 160 nm. L’obiettivo principale è stato quello di ottenere un’interfaccia mista analogico-digitale compatta, a basso rumore ed elevata efficienza energetica, in grado di operare nel rispetto dei requisiti stringenti imposti dall’eccitazione ad alta tensione dei CMUT e...

Biodiversity valorization: development of new active food ingredients

La forma dell'assenza. Memoria funeraria tra spazio, disegno e informazione