It is our pleasure to inform you about the creation of two unique doctoral programmes created in collaboration with the National Institute for Cancer Research (NICR) and under its patronage. The two programmes are Molecular and Translational Medicine at the Palacký University, Olomouc, and Experimental and Clinical Oncology at the Charles University.
Molecural and translation medicine
This programme is guaranteed and accredited thanks to the efforts of experts from the Institute for Molecular and Translational Medicine of the Faculty of Medicine of Palacký University, Olomouc (www.imtm.cz) and the EATRIS-CZ (www.eatris.cz), a large research infrastructure for translational medicine, under the leadership of Marián Hajdúch, head of the field board and medical director of the NICR.
What we offer
The doctoral programme Molecular and Translational Medicine focuses on understanding the molecular foundation of human diseases and the possibilities of their diagnosis and treatment. In particular, it searches for new molecular targets, biomarkers of diseases, and innovative therapeutic methods, while developing healthcare informatics and personalised medicine that targets cancers and infectious,
neurogenerative, and inflammatory diseases.
Graduates of this programme will be able to independently analyse a problem, define research goals, prepare research projects, choose appropriate methods, organise data collection, and evaluate and publish results of this work. The programme also aims at teaching graduates how to clearly, convincingly, and understandably present scientific results and share their knowledge with both academic and general public.
What makes us different
Special attention is paid to translational research and ‘bed-to-bench’ approach, i.e., to a fast transfer of research results from laboratories to medical practice and the end recipients, that is, patients.
Doctoral programme Molecular and Translational Medicine responds to the need for increased interdisciplinary and intersectoral collaboration and the desirability of collaboration between clinical centres and the application sphere by entrusting a greater role in research to academic institutions. It is focused on developing in its graduates the ability to implement longer-term projects that require excellent scientific
facilities. Such facilities should be sought through closer collaboration with not only healthcare facilities (clinical studies) but also in collaboration with institutions that conduct basic and applied (translational) research.
Last but not least, the aim of the programme is to link the research centres and teams active in areas closely related to this programme: working together, they should be able to successfully set new research directions, develop advanced technologies, and reach their full potential in terms of winning national and international grants.
Why we are looking for you
The graduates of doctoral programme Molecular and Translational Medicine will, in the future, fill a gap in the job market where there is a clear lack of interdisciplinary experts capable of understanding the needs of translational research in medicine who also have a sufficient grasp of the particular processes required in realisation of projects aimed at a practical application of research results in practice.
The doctoral programme is available both in Czech and in English and already in the first year, it attracted over a dozen Czech and international students. Further information about the programme, relevant subjects, and conditions of the selection process can be found at https://imtm.cz/careers/doctoral.
Experimental and clinical oncology
This doctoral programme was created as a joint project of the First and Second Faculty of Medicine of the Charles University under the leadership of Professor Miroslav Zavoral, head of the field board and guarantor of the programme, with representation of numerous members of the NICR both in the field board and among supervising tutors
What we offer
The goal of the doctoral programme Experimental and Clinical Oncology is to familiarise students with the basic principles that apply to scientific activity in biomedical fields: work with information, preparation of a research project, formulation of hypotheses, the concept of basic and advanced statistical methods, the logistics of research project realisation as such, collection, analysis, and critical interpretation of data, formulation of conclusions, preparation of scholarly communication (presentations, posters, manuscripts) and their presentation at conferences, as well as the rules and strategies of publication activities.
An important part of the study is to teach the doctoral students how to apply for grants including all the related organisational affairs, such as international registration of a clinical project, the rules of work with genetically modified organisms, animals,
or radioisotopes, the role of ethics committees, the role of the State Institute for Drug Control, etc. The aim is to prepare graduates capable of project formulation, successful grant application, project implementation, and a competent presentation of its results.
What makes us different
‘Experimental and clinical oncology’ is an interdisciplinary doctoral programme that neither replaces nor duplicates any of the existing programmes of the two participating medical schools and is open to supervising tutors with relevant qualification also from other institutions (universities, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic).
Why we are looking for you
This doctoral programme thematically covers all fields of oncology with stress on its academic (research) aspect. This is reflected both in the composition of the field board and in the range of participating supervising tutors. The programme is therefore open to graduates of all relevant faculties, including non-medical ones, who are professionally interested in subjects that include:
- Cellular and molecular biology in relation to oncology;
- 2D and 3D cell models, animal models;
- Preclinical oncology;
- Predictive pathology;
- The microbiome and microbiota;
- Tumour immunology;
- Clinical oncology with an academic component;
- Palliative and thanatological care;
- Translational medicine and clinical academic studies in oncology.
Successful completion of this doctoral programme forms a strong basis for independent scientific work and a starting point for further academic career of graduates. For further information, feel free to contact directly the programme administrator at jaroslav.kozel@uvn.cz.