Environmental Toxicology

The course aims to provide students with a general knowledge on how the environment, and its modifications, impacts human health and the entire ecosystem. The course will present environmental factors-not only xenobiotics but also factors such as stress and lifestyles-that are capable of modifying gene expression, modulating phenotype, and having a major impact on both human health and the vital functions of animals and plants.

The following topics will be discussed during the course: i) basics of toxicity of different agents (chemical toxicity, physical toxicity etc.); ii) toxic effects - and consequences in the short and long term - on the environment and humans, also considering different age groups; iii) concept of stress as a toxic agent and its effects; notions of potential effects of food contaminants; iv ) basics of epigenetic processes; v) influence of environmental factors on epigenetic processes in humans, plants and animals; vi) environment and genetic mutations. At the end of the course the student will have acquired the necessary knowledge to evaluate the complexity of the interaction between environment and higher organisms as a result of processes, interconnected with each other, that occur at different level.