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The Department of Structural and Functional Biology (DBSF) was founded in February 1997 to organize the biological research activities of the University of Milano in the city of Varese, in a lakes and alpine region, close to the Swiss border. With the establishment of the new University of Insubria, in 1998, the DBSF became part of it. The DBSF includes over 40 staff scientists and technicians, plus several research and PhD students, postdocs and undergraduate students in Biology, Biotechnology and Natural Sciences.
At the Department two main research areas may be identified, one with a naturalistic and environmental character, the second bound to functional and structural themes. All these studies have strong connections with the interests of the region in which the University of Insubria is located, where problems concerning the protection of the environment are strictly related to a wide and highly qualified industrial presence.
The environmental and naturalistic research shows a relevant applicative character, and is aimed to catalogue ecological systems, to study their dynamics and to monitor pollutants. Mathematical models predictive of the properties and fate of the environmental chemicals are developed and applied.
The functional and structural studies are developed at the molecular and cellular levels in a number of fields, including physiology, molecular biology, biochemistry and pharmacology. The most preeminent aim is the enhancement of knowledge, but the possible links with applied research in biotechnology, medicine and industry are also considered.
The Sections on Environmental Studies, Physiology and Biophysics, Zoology and Palaeontology are located in Varese, while the Sections of Molecular Biology and Pathology and of Pharmacology are located in Busto Arsizio.
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