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Be up to date! Have a look at our most recent news.
On June 19th, 2023 Lisa was the first of our excellent CORVOS students to defend her thesis. In the past three years, she developed immunoassays for the measurement of C1s/C1-INH complex and MASP-1/C1-INH complex in human serum and plasma. Finally, these assays were characterized and validated in cohorts of COVID-19 and sepsis patients. Both complexes were proven to be specific biomarkers for early classical and early lectin pathway activation. Lisa was supervised by Prof. Zoltán Prohászka, MD, PhD from the Doctoral School of Theoretical and Translational Medicine Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary and Prof. Reinhard Würzner, MD, PhD from the Institute of Hygiene and Medical Microbiology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria. In addition to her main studies in Budapest, Lisa spend 6 months at the Medical University of Innsbruck (Austria), did 1 month clinical training at the University Hospital in Helsinki (Finland), did 1 month of industrial entrepreneurship and 6 months industrial secondment at Hycult Biotech (The Netherlands). Congratulations, welcome to the Alumni club and all the best for your future.
Doctoral training prepares doctoral candidates for their future careers in a constantly changing society. In this context, MUI is a member of the Organisation for PhD Education in Biomedicine and Health Sciences in the European System, or ORPHEUS, which aims to safeguard the PhD as a research degree by supporting graduate schools, faculties and departments, research students and their supervisors, through quality assurance mechanisms, advocation of best practices, professional development and training.
At this year’s ORPHEUS conference, which took place from the 13th to the 15th of April in Leuven (Belgium), alongside international keynote speakers and presenters selected from submitted abstracts, CORVOS Speaker Prof. Dr. Reinhard Würzner and CORVOS ESR Dr. Pedro Medeiros showcased how CORVOS has been successfully implemented in several European countries. At the annual meeting, opportunities and challenges associated with these contemporary elements of doctoral training and research activities were also discussed. There were namely workshops, panel discussions, presentations and poster sessions, meeting new colleagues and several networking possibilities.
On February the 27th 2023, four CORVOS ESRs began their industrial entrepreneurship secondment at SSI DIAGNOSTICA and AJvaccines. The ESRs (Alejandro, Frerich, Maximilian, and Michal), started at SSI Diagnostica in companionship with Professor Karen Angeliki Krogfelt. On the first day, they were introduced to a wide variety of basic knowledge of Legionella & Pneumococcus bacteria, their epidemiology and serotyping, associated diseases, and diagnostics led by Pernille L. Elverdal. Later that day, the Ph.D. candidates were introduced to the development of lateral flow tests by Ian C. Skovsted, one of the main business branches of SSI Diagnostica.
The next day, the ESRs applied the theory and developed and assembled their very own lateral flow assays. In the afternoon, they learned about Pneumococcal antigens and how SSI Diagnostica conducts research and diagnostics on Pneumococcus. Later that day, the students were introduced to the different bacterial identification methods and the new products that the company is developing for testing resistant bacteria, phenotyping, and serotyping them.
After an exciting day producing a range of their new products and learning about some specific pathogenic bacteria, the ESRs went to dinner with many of the SSI DIAGNOSTICA employees as well as the host, Professor Krogfelt. The students shared some common outlooks and perspectives regarding what to do after obtaining the Ph.D., and they got a lot of helpful feedback, as well as some input from people that have been in the industry for a long time. Another successful network opportunity within the scope of CORVOS.
On the last day at the company, the Ph.D. students visited the laboratories again and were introduced to the different working areas regarding Salmonella and E. coli, their epidemiology and serotyping, as well as the production line for some specific products for diagnosis of bacterial identification. Later that day, the students met the head of R&D, Karen Korsholm, to talk about new developments on their Luminex. Finally, the ESRs were introduced to the new legislation regarding IVDR, how much this impacts the product pipelines and what is needed to make a CE-certified kit. After those information-packed and engaging days at the company, the students decided to join Prof. Krogfelt at the Louisiana museum of modern arts for a get-together and some informal conversation about future perspectives in industry or academia.
The next day, the students visited another company, AJvaccines, where they met Sylvester Larsen and received an introduction to the production of the polio vaccine. AJvaccines being one of the last manufacturers of this crucial vaccine. They also got to know about the production of the BCG vaccine, the BCG culture for cancer treatment and the production of their tetanus vaccine. After this session, the students took a guided tour of the polio vaccine production facility. With this, the students said their goodbyes to the fantastic host Professor Krogfelt who made it possible to experience this opportunity and gain all of these new insights into the industrial processes.
As last year, our retreat to the beautiful Obergurgl could be held from 07th to 9th of January 2023 - this time without restrictions. Once again members of two PhD programmes of excellence, HOROS (Host response in opportunistic infections) and CORVOS (Complement regulation and variations in opportunistic infections) as well as local PhD candidates from the IIT (Infection, Immunology, and Transplantation, Innsbruck, Austria) program came together to enjoy scientific discussions and do networking to push their research projects forward. Renowned scientists from across Europe, including Jörg Köhl (Lübeck, Germany), Seppo Meri (Helsinki, Finland), Tom Eirik Mollnes (Oslo, Norway), Peter Garred (Copenhagen, Denmark), Zoltán Prohászka (Budapest, Hungary) Mohamend R. Daha (Leiden, Netherlands) representing CORVOS as well as Christian Karsten (Lübeck, Germany) and Mikkel-Ole Skjødt, both member of the HOROS advisory board, participated and inspired with their talks. Especially for our PhD candidates it was a perfect environment to prove their scientific and presentational skills in front of experts in the field of opportunistic infections and immunology in a relaxed and private atmosphere. Additionally, representatives of the CORVOS industrial partner Hycult Biotechnology (Uden, Netherlands), namely Loek Willems, Eirik Toonen, and the CEO & Owner Ronald de Niet as well as of the company Novartis (Schaftenau, Austria), Marco Grasse (former CORVOS Administrator) were present.
Besides a tight schedule, there was still time for networking and team building with PhD students and principal investigators. The majority of participants enjoyed skiing at the lovely nearby slopes or assisted one another in learning how to ski while some went hiking or sledding. Another highlight was ice-skating were we played the popular Hungarian “catch on ice” game. No matter the favorite sport, they were all ideal for interacting with other scientists.
Be up to date! Have a look at our most recent news.
On June 19th, 2023 Lisa was the first of our excellent CORVOS students to defend her thesis. In the past three years, she developed immunoassays for the measurement of C1s/C1-INH complex and MASP-1/C1-INH complex in human serum and plasma. Finally, these assays were characterized and validated in cohorts of COVID-19 and sepsis patients. Both complexes were proven to be specific biomarkers for early classical and early lectin pathway activation. Lisa was supervised by Prof. Zoltán Prohászka, MD, PhD from the Doctoral School of Theoretical and Translational Medicine Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary and Prof. Reinhard Würzner, MD, PhD from the Institute of Hygiene and Medical Microbiology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria. In addition to her main studies in Budapest, Lisa spend 6 months at the Medical University of Innsbruck (Austria), did 1 month clinical training at the University Hospital in Helsinki (Finland), did 1 month of industrial entrepreneurship and 6 months industrial secondment at Hycult Biotech (The Netherlands). Congratulations, welcome to the Alumni club and all the best for your future.
Doctoral training prepares doctoral candidates for their future careers in a constantly changing society. In this context, MUI is a member of the Organisation for PhD Education in Biomedicine and Health Sciences in the European System, or ORPHEUS, which aims to safeguard the PhD as a research degree by supporting graduate schools, faculties and departments, research students and their supervisors, through quality assurance mechanisms, advocation of best practices, professional development and training.
At this year’s ORPHEUS conference, which took place from the 13th to the 15th of April in Leuven (Belgium), alongside international keynote speakers and presenters selected from submitted abstracts, CORVOS Speaker Prof. Dr. Reinhard Würzner and CORVOS ESR Dr. Pedro Medeiros showcased how CORVOS has been successfully implemented in several European countries. At the annual meeting, opportunities and challenges associated with these contemporary elements of doctoral training and research activities were also discussed. There were namely workshops, panel discussions, presentations and poster sessions, meeting new colleagues and several networking possibilities.
On February the 27th 2023, four CORVOS ESRs began their industrial entrepreneurship secondment at SSI DIAGNOSTICA and AJvaccines. The ESRs (Alejandro, Frerich, Maximilian, and Michal), started at SSI Diagnostica in companionship with Professor Karen Angeliki Krogfelt. On the first day, they were introduced to a wide variety of basic knowledge of Legionella & Pneumococcus bacteria, their epidemiology and serotyping, associated diseases, and diagnostics led by Pernille L. Elverdal. Later that day, the Ph.D. candidates were introduced to the development of lateral flow tests by Ian C. Skovsted, one of the main business branches of SSI Diagnostica.
The next day, the ESRs applied the theory and developed and assembled their very own lateral flow assays. In the afternoon, they learned about Pneumococcal antigens and how SSI Diagnostica conducts research and diagnostics on Pneumococcus. Later that day, the students were introduced to the different bacterial identification methods and the new products that the company is developing for testing resistant bacteria, phenotyping, and serotyping them.
After an exciting day producing a range of their new products and learning about some specific pathogenic bacteria, the ESRs went to dinner with many of the SSI DIAGNOSTICA employees as well as the host, Professor Krogfelt. The students shared some common outlooks and perspectives regarding what to do after obtaining the Ph.D., and they got a lot of helpful feedback, as well as some input from people that have been in the industry for a long time. Another successful network opportunity within the scope of CORVOS.
On the last day at the company, the Ph.D. students visited the laboratories again and were introduced to the different working areas regarding Salmonella and E. coli, their epidemiology and serotyping, as well as the production line for some specific products for diagnosis of bacterial identification. Later that day, the students met the head of R&D, Karen Korsholm, to talk about new developments on their Luminex. Finally, the ESRs were introduced to the new legislation regarding IVDR, how much this impacts the product pipelines and what is needed to make a CE-certified kit. After those information-packed and engaging days at the company, the students decided to join Prof. Krogfelt at the Louisiana museum of modern arts for a get-together and some informal conversation about future perspectives in industry or academia.
The next day, the students visited another company, AJvaccines, where they met Sylvester Larsen and received an introduction to the production of the polio vaccine. AJvaccines being one of the last manufacturers of this crucial vaccine. They also got to know about the production of the BCG vaccine, the BCG culture for cancer treatment and the production of their tetanus vaccine. After this session, the students took a guided tour of the polio vaccine production facility. With this, the students said their goodbyes to the fantastic host Professor Krogfelt who made it possible to experience this opportunity and gain all of these new insights into the industrial processes.
As last year, our retreat to the beautiful Obergurgl could be held from 07th to 9th of January 2023 - this time without restrictions. Once again members of two PhD programmes of excellence, HOROS (Host response in opportunistic infections) and CORVOS (Complement regulation and variations in opportunistic infections) as well as local PhD candidates from the IIT (Infection, Immunology, and Transplantation, Innsbruck, Austria) program came together to enjoy scientific discussions and do networking to push their research projects forward. Renowned scientists from across Europe, including Jörg Köhl (Lübeck, Germany), Seppo Meri (Helsinki, Finland), Tom Eirik Mollnes (Oslo, Norway), Peter Garred (Copenhagen, Denmark), Zoltán Prohászka (Budapest, Hungary) Mohamend R. Daha (Leiden, Netherlands) representing CORVOS as well as Christian Karsten (Lübeck, Germany) and Mikkel-Ole Skjødt, both member of the HOROS advisory board, participated and inspired with their talks. Especially for our PhD candidates it was a perfect environment to prove their scientific and presentational skills in front of experts in the field of opportunistic infections and immunology in a relaxed and private atmosphere. Additionally, representatives of the CORVOS industrial partner Hycult Biotechnology (Uden, Netherlands), namely Loek Willems, Eirik Toonen, and the CEO & Owner Ronald de Niet as well as of the company Novartis (Schaftenau, Austria), Marco Grasse (former CORVOS Administrator) were present.
Besides a tight schedule, there was still time for networking and team building with PhD students and principal investigators. The majority of participants enjoyed skiing at the lovely nearby slopes or assisted one another in learning how to ski while some went hiking or sledding. Another highlight was ice-skating were we played the popular Hungarian “catch on ice” game. No matter the favorite sport, they were all ideal for interacting with other scientists.
Innsbruck has a long history of training PhD candidates in biomedicine. Initiatives to build an "international state of the art" in PhD education were started even two years before the Medical University of Innsbruck was founded in 2004. Last week, 20 years of effective PhD education in Innsbruck were celebrated!
Vice-Rector Bandtlow emphasized Georg Wick's exceptional achievement in convincing the relevant ministry to fund doctoral programs at Austrian institutions between 2003 and 2005 while serving as the President of the Austrian Science Fund (FWF). After all, the Medical Institution of Innsbruck was the first Austrian medical university to provide an FWF-funded Doctoral College, and the program's success ultimately helped universities to further establish organized doctorates.
The doctoral programs at the Medical University of Innsbruck that have been and are still being funded by the FWF and the EU are known by the acronyms MCBO, SPIN, HOROS, CORVOS, as well as CavX, IGDT+, and CBD. Some of these programs have been run in collaboration with the University of Innsbruck, hastening the internationalization of doctoral training.
Besides Bernhard Flucher whose PhD college MCBO was seen as a “role model” for other Austrian medical graduate colleges, Reinhard Würzner’s dedication to doctoral education by being the speaker of HOROS and the first EU doctoral college in the life sciences sector coordinated by an Austrian university, CORVOS, was particularly highlighted.
Foto: D. Bullock, MUI
