Vollantrag zu Molecular fundamentals of inflammation - MOLIN

MOLIN - "Molecular Fundamentals of Inflammation" is an educational program located at the Medical University of Graz (MUG), based on equal financial funding by the Doktoratkolleg (DK) scheme of the Austrian Science Foundation FWF and the MUG. MOLIN will bring forward a multidisciplinary graduate training program scrutinizing the molecular mechanisms and cellular functions involved in the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases, the pathogenetic role of inflammation in diseases, and novel therapeutic targets to modulate inflammation. The program will cover a range of specific diseases and the fundamental mechanisms governing inflammatory responses. Indeed, each of the 15 faculty members is associated with one major inflammatory disease entity and/or a related mechanistic topic. The thematic diversity of the doctoral program allows introducing the participating students to relevant areas of biomedical research within and beyond the focus of their own research goals; furthermore, research topics synergistically converge with respect to conceptual approaches and exchange of technical knowhow. The program thereby ensures that mechanistic and methodological approaches employed by the involved groups are transferable between projects, thus creating a highly competitive network of expertise. This network enables the student to advance their thesis projects rapidly by means of a large variety of state-of-the-art equipment and the respective expertise provided by the faculty. In order to accomplish these goals, the MOLIN faculty was selected for their academic and scientific achievements, the covered research fields and expertises as evidenced by their track records in publishing, external funding and training of PhD students. The majority of the faculty has a biomedical background including a representative mix of clinical disciplines and comprises both established and young scientists. Faculty members are integrated into existing local and international research networks, ensuring appropriate cooperation and communication within, and in extension of, the faculty. Moreover, this doctoral program will complement the existing DK Doctoral Program "Metabolic and Cardiovascular Disease" and cover a highly essential field of biomedical research relevant to the education of graduate students at the MUG. The faculty has devoted itself to the mainstays of the proposed doctoral program, including a multidisciplinary translational approach bridging basic research to clinical medicine, merit-based student selection, joint supervision by thesis committees, and international student exchange options. The formal curricular activities include medical and molecular biology fundamentals, journal clubs, methodological workshops, work-in-progress seminars and a summer school on personal skill development, and will facilitate the interactions between the participating laboratories. Thus, MOLIN will provide a highly competitive PhD educational program which ensures that its graduates will be able to pursue their future careers with equal success in academia, industry or health authorities.