16.12.2021
New Kolleg allows PhD in medical research for researchers in the natural sciences
Tübingen is awarded a Medical Scientist Kolleg, funded by the Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung (EKFS). In a joint effort with our Cluster of Excellence, numerous Tübingen institutions are involved in the Kolleg titled "ClinBrAIn: Artificial Intelligence for Clinical Brain Research". Jakob Macke, Professor for "Machine Learning in Science" at our Cluster, is the spokesperson of the Kolleg.
To improve medical research, it is crucial that researchers in the natural sciences - so-called Medical Scientists - work on patient-oriented topics as well. However, career perspectives are rarely clearly defined and there is a lack of systematic training and continuous education programs. This is where the new EKFS funding line kicks in. After funding of two Else Kröner Medical Scientist Kollegs for Postdocs in Essen and Münster was announced in September, a Kolleg for younger scientists will now be established in Tübingen.
"ClinBrAIn" promotes Medical Scientists alraedy at the PhD level
Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have the potential to improve medical research and practice. Yet it is enormously difficult to transfer theoretical advances in AI research to medical practice. The goal of the Else Kröner Medical Scientist Kolleg ClinBrAIn is to close this gap. It aims to train 'Medical Machine Learning-Scientists' who, together with clinical experts, will develop and apply tailored AI methods for clinical problems.
ClinBrAIn, which is led by Prof. Dr. Jakob Macke together with PD Dr. Kathrin Brockmann and Prof. Dr. Martin Giese, is a joint initiative of working groups from AI research (the Cluster of Excellence Machine Learning, the Tübingen AI Center and the Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Tübingen) and clinical groups from the University Hospital and the Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research. The Kolleg focuses on various diseases of the nervous system in order to develop specific methods based on a number of model applications. These have the potential to lead to clinically relevant improvements.
Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung (EKFS) - Advancing research. Helping people.
The non-profit Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung is dedicated to promoting medical research and supporting medical-humanitarian projects. To date, it has funded roughly 2.200 projects. With an annual funding volume of currently more than 60 million euros, it is Germany's largest foundation supporting medicine. For more information, please visit www.ekfs.de
After a press release of the Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung [German only]