Graduate Program in Applied Cellular and Molecular Biology

The UNIVERSIDADE DE PERNAMBUCO – UPE (UNIVERSITY OF PERNAMBUCO) originated as Fundação de Ensino Superior de Pernambuco – FESP ( Foundation of Higher Education of Pernambuco), which had maintained a group of pre-existing Higher Education Units in the state of Pernambuco since 1965. When FESP was abolished in 1990, the Universidade de Pernambuco - UPE became a public institution, established by State Law No. 10,518 on November 29, 1990 and recognized by Ministerial Decree No. 964, on June 12, 1991, of the Ministry of Education, and is linked to the Secretariat of Science and Technology of the State of Pernambuco. UPE has a multi-campus structure, made up of teaching units (in the metropolitan region of Recife, Camaragibe and cities in the interior of Pernambuco), as well as teaching and healthcare units in Recife.

The Instituto de Ciências Biológicas - ICB (Institute of Biological Sciences),founded on January 30, 1976, provides undergraduate education in the health area, serving as the gateway to the Universidade de Pernambuco for students entering the Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing and Physical Education courses. In 2000, the Bachelor's Degree in Biological Sciences was established, which trains professionals in Parasitic Biology, Biotechnology, and Environmental Biology.

Today, graduate activities and scientific production are extremely important within the ICB, as well as for the advancement and consolidation of UPE as a University. Throughout its existence, the Institute has consolidated itself as an important institution of higher education, training specialized human resources through its undergraduate and graduate Lato sensu courses. In July 2007, the Coordenação  de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior -  CAPES (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel) recommended the graduate course in Applied Cellular and Molecular Biology, with a grade of  3, in accordance with Ministerial Decree No. 2,265, dated December 19, 1997.

General objective: to train highly qualified human resources (masters and doctors) to work as researchers, scientists, teachers and technicians in public or private educational, scientific, technological, healthcare, and welfare institutions in Brazil and abroad.

Specific objectives:

• To train professionals to master in-depth knowledge in the field of cellular and molecular biology, enabling them to perform with excellence in the development of projects and in professional activities that require mastery of these areas, as well as their biotechnological applications;
• To train professionals to engage in the educational process, contributing to the training of new professionals with a critical and reflective view;
• To provide knowledge of technologies that enable the creation and innovation in biotechnological processes, immobilization of biological materials, aiming for technological innovation in the creation of equipment applicable in the areas of health and  environment;
• To train professionals to expand intra- and inter-institutional relations, optimizing the local and regional human potential that develops research in various areas, with an emphasis on molecular biology, cellular biology and biotechnology.

 The teaching and research activities of the course began in March 2008, with ten permanent professors and ten students selected in the selection process held in February 2008. 12, 14, 11 and 17 were selected through the selection process in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 respectively. The first ten dissertation defenses took place in the last week of February 2010, and correspond to the work carried out by students of the first Master's degree class. Some alumni of the course are currently studying for a doctorate, providing services in laboratories, and teaching at universities, as proposed in the alumni profile.

It is worth mentioning that the Master's program in Applied Cellular and Molecular Biology supports research groups that are located in regions far from urban academic centers within UPE, through its participation in the Programa Dinter Novas Fronteiras UNICAMP/IB-UPE/ICB, whose main objective is to train professors so that they can open new lines of research and strengthen existing lines at the University. The merit of this proposal was approved in 2009. In addition, CAPES approved R$515,031.92 to fund this Programa Dinter. The students in this program include 10 professors, nine of whom are from UPE (Petrolina Campus and Recife Campus) and one professor from the Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco/Garanhuns (Federal Rural University of Pernambuco/Garanhuns), a co-participating university. Six professors from the master's program are co-supervisors of the theses developed in the Programa Dinter.

The Master's and doctorate program in Applied Cellular and Molecular Biology has a duration of  two years for the master's level (24 months) and four years for the doctorate (48 months), with activities organized on a semester basis. As of the last update of disciplines, the program currently has a total of 24 disciplines for the master's degree and 24 for the doctorate, including compulsory and elective disciplines. To obtain a master's degree, the student needs to complete a total of 24 credits (12 from compulsory disciplines and 12 from elective disciplines), as well as taking a qualifying exam and defend their dissertation. At the end of the first year of the course, the student will take a qualifying exam, which involves presenting their ongoing master's project, including preliminary data, to a board of examiners. After passing the qualifying exam, and during the second year of the course, the student completes their master's dissertation and proceeds to its defense, which will be evaluated by a board consisting of 3 faculty members/researchers with expertise in the line of research developed by the student, at least one of whom is a faculty member/researcher from outside the program. Upon approval of the defense, the student is eligible to receive a Master's degree in Applied Cellular and Molecular Biology.

To obtain a doctorate, the student needs to complete a total of 28 credits (14 from compulsory disciplines and 14 from elective disciplines), as well as taking the qualifying exam and defend their thesis. At the end of the second year of the course, the student will take a qualifying exam, which involves presenting their ongoing doctoral project, including preliminary data, to a board of examiners. After passing the qualifying exam, and during the next two years of the course, the student will complete their doctoral thesis and proceed to its defense, which will be evaluated by a board consisting of 5 faculty members/researchers with expertise in the line of research developed by the student, at least 2 of whom are faculty members/researchers from outside the program. Upon approval of the defense, the student is eligible to receive their doctorate in Applied Cellular and Molecular Biology.

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Alumni Profile

The Master's Program in Applied Cellular and Molecular Biology focuses on training human resources to work as researchers/scientists in public or private educational and technological institutions, highlighting the following main competencies and aptitudes:

• Mastery of the state of the art in their field and understanding of it, the power to argue and support their ideas among their peers and in other fields of knowledge with a view to building partnerships or networks for the production of scientific knowledge;
• In-depth knowledge in the field of cellular and molecular biology that enables excellent performance in the development of projects and in professional activities that require mastery of these areas, as well as their biotechnological applications;
• Engagement in the educational process, collaborating in the training of new professionals and researchers with a critical and reflective view through the guidance of undergraduate students in the development of research projects;
• Competence in molecular methods such as handling tissues, cells, and nucleic acids, genome analysis, gene identification, etc;
• Knowledge of technologies that enable the immobilization of biological materials, with a view to technological innovation in the creation of equipment applicable in the areas of health and environment.