• Graduation

    Doctor of Philosophy - PhD

  • ECTS-Points

    180

  • Learning format

    Blended Learning

  • Duration

    6 semesters

  • Admission requirements

    Diploma or master's degree

  • Language

    English

  • Study location

    Krems (AT)

  • Curriculum

    Curriculum (PDF | 160 KB)

Demographic change and the spread of diseases are challenging our society like never before. Regenerative medicine procedures and therapies offer solutions even for diseases that were previously difficult or impossible to treat. The first cell therapies, e. g. for the regeneration of skin or cartilage, are already clinically applied and a growing number of cellular therapies are undergoing clinical trials. Regenerative medicine deals with regenerating dysfunctional cells, tissues and organs by means of biological replacement by stimulating the body's own regeneration and repair processes. This demonstrates its enormous potential and social significance.
Michael Bernhard Fischer

Regenerative medicine procedures and therapies represent a future field, even for diseases that were previously difficult or impossible to treat.

Univ.-Prof. Dr.
Michael Bernhard Fischer

PhD Coordinator

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Elisabeth Hintermayer

Elisabeth Hintermayer

Administrative Assistant

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Benefit from our PhD program

The PhD program Regenerative Medicine combines excellent research in various areas of tissue and organ regeneration with an innovative curriculum. As "Early Stage Researchers", our students conduct research on topics such as inflammation and tissue damage and the resulting regenerative mechanisms.

The students are involved in externally funded research projects and are guided and supported on their scientific path by established researchers. Our aim is to optimally prepare students for research-based positions in both academia and industry.

In 2015, the Agency for Quality Assurance and Accreditation (AQ Austria) accredited the first two PhD programs at the University for Continuing Education Krems: “Migration Studies” and “Regenerative Medicine”. This made the University for Continuing Education Krems one of the first public universities in Austria to have its PhD programs accredited according to international standards. In 2021, the PhD program "Technology, Innovation and Cohesive Societies" was also successfully accredited by AQ Austria. Most recently, the PhD program "Applied Evidence Synthesis in Health Research" was accredited by AQ-Austria in December 2023.

Quality Management at the University for Continuing Education Krems
Agency for Quality Assurance and Accreditation Austria

The innovative curriculum of the PhD program "Regenerative Medicine" combines compulsory modules with elective activities and work on the research project.

The program comprises 180 ECTS credits. The courses comprise 30 ECTS credits; the dissertation is worth 145 ECTS credits and the viva voce is worth 5 ECTS credits. 1 ECTS point corresponds to 25 hours of student work (in accordance with UG § 51 (26)).

ECTS

  • Contents

    Scientific Work and Good Scientific Practice

    Ethics in Science

    Scientific Presentations and Publications

    Medical Biostatistics and Mathematics

    Project Management

    Study Design

    Translation: From Theory to Clinical Application

  • Contents

    Cell Biology

    Molecular Biology, Signal Transduction

    Biochemistry

  • Contents

    Principles of Regenerative Medicine

    Principles of Tissue Engineering

    Biology of Stem Cells and Cell-Based Therapy

    Inflammation and Sepsis

    Inherited and Acquired Immunity

    Flow Cytometry and Imaging (Microscopy, SEM, AFM, LSM etc.)

    Cell Culture Models in Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Engineering

  • Contents

    Biomaterials: Overview and Chemistry

    Scaffolds

    Polymer Materials in Blood Purification

    Blood/Material Interaction

  • Contents

    Liver: Regeneration and Support

    Degeneration and Regeneration of the Nervous System

    Cartilage Regeneration

    Applied Cell Therapy

  • Contents

    Journal Club

    Doctoral Degree Candidates Seminar

The dissertation agreement – an agreement between the applicant and the first supervisor of the research work – is drawn up at the beginning of the degree program. It sets out the collaboration on the project as well as goals and plans. The supervisory team is also named.

All students are involved in collaborative research projects providing cross-disciplinary experience. Each student is assigned a primary and secondary supervisor with appropriate independent expertise in the project area. The progress is monitored by a PhD Committee that includes the two supervisors and at least one additional senior scientist, who meet to provide feedback on regular written and oral presentations.

The topic of the dissertation must be meaningfully related to the field of regenerative medicine, in particular to the following subject areas:

  • Methods of organ support and extracorporeal blood purification
  • Pathophysiology of sepsis and investigating inflammatory mechanisms
  • Interaction of blood and/or tissue with biomaterials
  • Regeneration of articular surfaces (cartilage transplants, therapy with growth factors, implanting mesenchymal stem cells)
  • Immune regulatory mechanisms of mesenchymal stem cells
  • Tissue and organ replacement/regeneration using stem cells
  • Neuro-rehabilitation
  • Geriatric rehabilitation and nursing science

Students & Projects

The students are involved in externally funded research projects.


Overview of current students and projects
Michael Bernhard Fischer

Univ.-Prof. Dr.
Michael Bernhard Fischer

Department for Biomedical Research

Core Faculty

Michael Bernhard Fischer

Univ.-Prof. Dr.
Michael Bernhard Fischer

Professor of Tissue and Organ Replacement

Thomas Klestil

Univ.-Prof. Dr. Dr.
Thomas Klestil

Professor for Clinical Research in Orthopedics and Traumatology

Stefan Nehrer

Univ.-Prof. Dr.
Stefan Nehrer, MSc

Professor for Tissue Engineering

Viktoria Weber

Univ.-Prof. Dr.
Viktoria Weber

Professor for Medical Chemistry

ASSOCIATED MEMBERS OF PHD FACULTY

Prof. (FH) Mag. Dr.
Christoph Wiesner

Department of Science and Technology, Institute Biotechnology, IMC University of Applied Sciences Krems

Priv. Doz. Dr.
Reinhard Klein

Department of Science and Technology, Institute Biotechnology, IMC University of Applied Sciences Krems

Priv. Doz. Prof. (FH) Mag. Dr.
Andreas Eger

Deputy Head of Institute / Institute Krems Bioanalytics, IMC University of Applied Sciences Krems

Extended Faculty

Gerald Gartlehner

Univ.-Prof. Dr.
Gerald Gartlehner, MPH

Professor for Evidence Based Medicine

Prof. Dott. Ing.
Emanuele Gatti

Professor for Translation of Biomedical Innovations - Visiting Professor

Univ.-Prof. Dr.
Christoph Pieh

Professor for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy

Univ.-Prof. Dr.
Michaela M. Pinter, MAS

Professor for Neurorehabilitation Research

Thore Zantop

Univ.-Prof. PD Dr.
Thore Zantop

Professor for Sports and Exercise Medicine

Here you can find more information about the PhD program.

Curriculum (in German)
PDF | 119 KB
Infoflyer
PDF | 496 KB

Admission to the PhD program "Regenerative Medicine" follows a two-stage process:

  1. Announcement of third-party-funded PhD positions
  2. Selection procedure by the PhD Commission

PhD students are generally employed on the basis of research projects with third-party funding (FWF reference rates). The PhD Commission selects students on the basis of their application documents and the presentation of their dissertation project.

Required application documents are

  • Curriculum Vitae
  • Proof of identity (passport, identity card)
  • Final degree certificate
  • Degree, diploma or master's degree certificate
  • Summary of research idea
  • Letter of motivation
  • Recommendation letters and references

Students will be admitted to the program once all requirements have been met.

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