Program

Program

Entry into the training program for medical students is competitive and the students must be officially enrolled in the respective graduate/medical schools of the host institutions. The success of the training and the progress of research project is ensured by advisory committees The composition of their advisory committee includes at least two PIs from the CRC (one must be from a different project than the students are working on). The committees for the PhD students meet once per year; for the MD students twice during their experimental year. To support our young students, we have established an internal counseling and mentoring program in which PhD students act as mentors to introduce and guide MD students during their work for the CRC (P4M program). Coaching for PhD students by PIs will be offered starting in 2022.

Regular ‘Journal Clubs’ in which new high-impact papers are presented and discussed by the students/postdocs, complement the seminars and methodological courses. As members of the CRC, the trainees participate in our monthly Science Afternoon, consisting of an invited guest lecture followed by progress reports from the CRC projects. A major yearly event for all CRC researchers is the annual Scientific Retreat, with a program that integrates scientific presentations from young and established researchers, poster party and social events.

To increase student’s exposure and promote international scientific cooperation, the MD and PhD students can organize short-term visits, with the aim of learning new techniques, to the labs of other PIs of the CRC (Hamburg, Göttingen, Bonn, and Munich) or to other national or international cooperation partners. The students are also responsible for inviting some of the seminar speakers and keynote speakers for the annual retreat.

Both MD and PhD students are expected to publish their research in peer-reviewed PubMed listed journals. Published papers may be used by MD and PhD students to submit a cumulative thesis, according to the regulations of the host degree-granting institution. While we will offer MD studentships for one year under the IRTG, it may be that some of the MD students will elect to extend their research to two years in order to qualify to obtain an MD/PhD which is offered at the UKE and other institutions. Support for the extension of their research period is organized by the host laboratory or by successfully applying for a stipendium. Students wishing to obtain and MD/PhD have to apply to and be accepted into the MD or PhD program of their host institutions. PhD students are expected to complete their studies and submit their thesis within the normal 3 to 4 years. After the PhD thesis is completed, our Faculty offers different forms of support to continue in research with the goal of obtaining pilot data for submitting DFG (or equivalent) grant applications.

 

In summary, the combination of all training elements will improve students’ understanding of the basic mechanisms of inflammatory diseases and of AN biology, and at the same time prepare them for a future career in biomedical research.

 

These elements will improve students’ understanding of the basic mechanisms of inflammatory diseases and of AN biology, and will facilitate the translation of this knowledge into experimental and clinical settings. The students will obtain the necessary credit points as stipulated by the respective faculties. The courses in the list below are a sample of what they may choose from to meet these requirements.

Regular journal clubs in which new high-impact papers will be presented and discussed by the students/postdocs, will complement the seminars and methodological courses. As members of the CRC the trainees will participate in a monthly Science Afternoon, consisting of an invited lecture and progress reports from the CRC projects and attend the annual Scientific Retreat. Trainees who are not in Hamburg will participate via video conference.

 

To increase student’s exposure and promote international scientific cooperation, the MD and PhD students will be able to organize short-term visits, with the aim of learning new techniques, to the labs of other PIs of the CRC (Hamburg, Göttingen, Bonn, and Munich) or to other national or international cooperation partners. The students will also be responsible for inviting some of the seminar speakers and keynote speakers for the annual retreat.