CRONIC-PPF
“Clinical & Research Oriented Network for Innovative Classification
of Progressive Pulmonary Fibrosis”
Doctoral education
Research training and technical skills
Scientific research project: The core element of the training is the thesis project. The majority of time is spent in the laboratory performing hypothesis-driven cutting-edge research in close contact with their supervisors and CRONIC-PPF faculty members.Basics in molecular biology: MD students learn biochemical, molecular and cell biological concepts and commonly used laboratory methods. Theoretical knowledge includes the genomic organization, (sub)cellular structure and signal transduction. The practical part addresses basic molecular biological techniques and cutting-edge omics-approaches.
Introduction to clinical medicine: The course covers pathobiology of the major inflammatory and neoplastic diseases of the lung. It gives insight into different clinical processes and problems including current unmet medical needs thereby illustrating the importance of basic inflammation research in respiratory medicine.
Lab visits: These seminars deliver profound insights into the research landscape and technical circumstances of the consortium, develop personal and professional networks and initiate first collaborations. All faculty members introduce their research topic and discuss their research data. Advanced PhD students and postdocs give detailed overviews of available methodologies.
Statistics, data management plan and open data policy: Students will be introduced to the fundamentals of biostatistics including a standardized data management plan how to record, analyze and store their data. This implements full quality control, facilitates the exchange of data sets and secures long-term availability of results.
Research integrity, ethics and responsible research: A strict sense of research integrity must be attained from the very beginning and students must observe national/international codes of ethics and good scientific/clinical practice.
Clinical trials and evidence-based medicine: To understand the scientific background of state-of-the-art clinical procedures and where unmet clinical needs still exist, students will gain insights into the most relevant clinical trials and how findings were translated into clinical routine. To furnish students with a solid translational foundation, additional structured courses will cover crucial aspects of translational medicine.
Additional training goals
Bioinformatics: A course dealing with big data “system approaches” will be held.Scientific presentations and discussions: Compelling presentation of own research data and ability to critically discuss the work of peers is a crucial requirement in scientific life. CRONIC-PPF provides: Workshop on scientific presentations skills, journal clubs, work-in-progress technical workshops, and the annual retreat. The students will gain a solid foundation of the pathomechanisms and current treatment options of all respiratory diseases in the series of lectures, courses and discussion panels which will build on the current PhD curriculum at the Med Uni Graz. Journal clubs will deal with newest molecular advances and with current clinical trials, regarding diagnosis, treatment and biomarkers in the lung diseases. Every student has to be prepared for this course work as the discussion of the figures is interactive.
Teaching experience: Students in their third year are given the opportunity to act as tutors for undergraduate and beginner students in methodological courses, or as co-supervisors of master students.
Academic spirit and scholarship: Fostering the participation of PhD researchers on international conferences / workshops and to invite renowned international guest speakers is one of the key aspects within CRONIC-PPF.
Career management: As not all PhD graduates will continue an academic career, an individual career development plan will be created after the second year.
Personal and complementary skills: Networking, project management and organisational skills, communication skills / presentation techniques (written and verbal), and intercultural communication will be offered.
Industrial orientation: PhDs will be also introduced and exposed to work within the private sector.
Specific CRONIC-PPF courses
Principles of PPF: the course covers the pathobiology of the major ILD with focus on PPF. It gives insight into different clinical processes and problems, including current unmet medical needs, thereby illustrating the importance of basic inflammation and remodeling research in clinical medicine.Bioinformatics: A course dealing with big data “system approaches” which will be held by Dr. Marek Bartkuhn (Institute of Bioinformatic, JLU, Giessen, Germany), Dr. Jochen Wilhelm (ECCPS, Giessen, Germany) and Dr. Alexander Avian (Med Uni Graz).
Clinical trials and evidence-based medicine: To understand the scientific background of state-of-the-art clinical procedures and to learn where unmet clinical needs exist, students will gain insights into the most relevant clinical trials and how the findings have been translated into clinical routine. To furnish students with a solid translational basis, additional structured courses will cover crucial aspects of translational medicine: a) biobanking and ethics (Christian Gülly, head of biobank), b) clinical study design (Kneidinger, Milger, Singer), c) pathophysiology in lung fibrosis (Gorkiewicz, Heitzer, Kovács, Kwapiszewska, Marsh), and d) immunopharmacology (Böhm, Heinemann).
Science Communication: CRONIC-PPF seeks to incorporate the essential field of science communication directly into the education of our PhD students. This initiative includes workshops and seminars that will guide all candidates over the course of three years, each year focusing on a specific topic.
Patient involvement: Patient groups will be invited to take part in the final CRONIC-PPF retreat to facilitate direct communication between basic researchers and patients. This aim is supported by the “Lung fibrosis Forum Austria”. This aims to foster mutual understanding, motivation, and the creation of a shared vision for the future.
Scientific presentations and discussions: Courses will help to effectively present research data and critically engage with the work of peers. CRONIC-PPF offers a range of opportunities to develop these skills, including workshops, seminars and individual coaching on scientific presentation techniques, journal clubs, discussion panels, work-in-progress technical workshops, and the annual CRONIC-PPF retreat. Once a year, a representative from one of the companies will be invited to participate in the discussion and to deliver commercial input to the projects. Journal clubs will deal with the newest molecular advances and current clinical trials in diagnosis, treatment, and biomarkers for interstitial lung diseases.
Academic spirit and scholarliness: CRONIC-PPF provides special funding to encourage the participation of PhD students in international conferences/workshops and to invite renowned international guest speakers.
Grant writing: CRONIC-PPF PhD students will be trained in PI-led peer groups to apply for competitive grants supporting research stays abroad and early postdoctoral research. They will gain grant-writing insights through seminars with successful researchers and early exposure to scholarships and exchange programs / networks.
Career Management: Recognizing diverse career paths, students will create an individual career plan after their second year and receive annual coaching. They will also participate in workshops featuring industry professionals from pharma, biotech, contract research (refer to Table 1). Additional workshops will cover CV writing, interview techniques, and job applications.
Personal and complementary skills: Networking, project management and organizational skills, communication skills / presentation techniques (written and verbal), and intercultural communication are offered by the Med Uni Graz Career Centre (Career Center).
Monitoring of the PhD project
Supervisor: The supervisor oversees the candidate’s research and advises them on which scientific, personal, academic and professional skills. In this way the supervisor provides the candidate with a skills base that is appropriate to successfully complete a PhD but also for a future career either in or outside academia. The supervisor also advises the PhD candidate in all matters of university regulations and affairs and introduces them to relevant research and administration offices and resources including the Office for Doctoral Studies. To ensure adequate interaction with the supervisor, the MOLMED program management recommends that the number of PhD candidates supervised by a faculty member should be limited.Dissertation Committee: The main supervisor and at least two co-supervisors form the Dissertation Committee. One member must be affiliated with an institute or clinical department other than that where the thesis project is performed. The Dissertation Committee convenes at least once a year in a formal meeting to discuss the progress of the thesis project and provide critical advice and feedback.
Dissertation agreement: This agreement is signed by the PhD candidate, all members of the Dissertation Committee and the Dean of Doctoral Studies. The students accept that their involvement in the current research of a group requires continuous and coordinated work and that the project can be assigned to others if the student fails to observe project milestones without any third-party fault. The supervisor guides the students, organizes required resources, and supports the students in the preparation and presentation of results and in all matters related to the research project. The supervisors and the stu-dent agree to comply with the Standards of Good Scientific Practice as set out by Med Uni Graz.
Progress report: The PhD student has to compose an annual progress report according to respective guidelines set out by Med Uni Graz. Over the years this report is being developed and extended towards the thesis and follows appropriate international standards. In addition, the student gives account of all difficulties encountered, adequate approaches to solve them and future directions of the research. The written progress report needs to be forwarded to the Dissertation Committee in advance to the committee meeting. The progress report and the comments and recommendations of the Dissertation Committee are formally approved and filed by the Office for Doctoral Studies.
Mentor: In addition to the supervisor and the Dissertation Committee, each student is invited to nominate an official mentor who is not a member of the MOLMED faculty. The mentor provides independent advice on the student’s research and training advances and career plans and supports the student to cope with professional and personal conflicts related to work.
Development of supervisors (staff development): Recognizing that supervision is a responsible but complex task, the Office for Doctoral Studies has initiated workshops to prepare supervisors and train them for their role as mentors of PhD students. In these workshops, the criteria for a successful supervisor – student relationship are discussed and best-practice examples are presented. In the future all CRONIC-PPF faculty members will be required to attend a workshop on “Successful Supervision of Doc-toral Candidates” at Med Uni Graz.