Advances and discoveries in biology and medicine are major targets of current academic and industrial research because of the huge impact that they can have on human health. Nevertheless, biomedical science is nowadays no more a field where biologists and medical doctors act alone towards this common target. Scientists and engineers coming from other disciplines are becoming real enablers. Major developments in micro and optical technologies have been supporting biomedical science for several decades, and they are still growing very fast. Clinical diagnostics, drug discovery and medical therapies are some of the fields which have already profited from this technical evolution.

This field will have a key role in empowering breakthrough advances in biology and medicine, and with this summer school we aim at giving an overview of the current landscape in micro and optical technologies for applications in biomedical science. The focus will be on technologies that have been proven successful tools for fundamental biological research or medical application. Topics will cover: micro-instrumentation,microtechnologymicrofluidicsoptical microscopy and optical devices.

Scientists in these fields will present their work related to life sciences. Moreover, we will show some industrial outcomes of such technologies, by inviting R&D engineers from companies working in these sectors. Special sessions on innovation management will present methods to value creativity and applications of such technologies. Finally, space will be given to teamwork on projects and industry workshops, which will be evaluated along with presentations and posters to assess the student participation. Everything will be accompanied with ludic and social activities.