Infection, Immunity & Transplantation (IIT)

The PhD program “Infection, Immunity & Transplantation” (IIT) compiles all doctoral (i.e. postgraduate) studies in the framework of infectious diseases, immunity and transplantation in a pre-clinical and clinical context. The IIT program and the integrated MYCOS program (https://www.mui-mycos.at/content/home/) at the Medical University of Innsbruck cover a wide range of timely subjects including medical microbiology, immunology and transplantation. This program is dedicated to connect scientists with medics and to promote basic and translational research. Within the IIT program we host MYCOS – a tailored PhD training program with an emphasis on a ONE HEALTH approach on azole exposure and azole resistance. For more information see www.mui-mycos.at

The PhD program requires 180 ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) to complete. 160 ECTS will be accredited with the doctoral thesis, and 20 ECTS credits will be accredited with lectures and courses, including general subjects, IIT core subjects and seminars. The IIT-specific core subjects of the program are launched annually and the flexibility of the program allows students to choose most subjects. The IIT design is further detailed below. An attendance rate of 80% is required to complete any lecture or course.

For questions regarding the IIT program, please contact IIT@i-med.ac.at. For more information regarding the MYCOS program please contact mycos@i-med.ac.at

Lectures and Courses

Lectures and courses from three categories (general subjects, core courses, and seminars) will provide at least 20 ECTS which are required to submit your thesis, according to the credit calculator of the Medical University of Innsbruck (https://www.i-med.ac.at/studium/formulare/).

The Core Courses (Kernfach, KF) of the program are taught on an annual basis (i.e. once a year, if these are lectures), starting with the Ring Lecture in October. All courses can be found at i-med inside and your login details. The student is free to choose specific subjects.

The students are encouraged to attend courses of other PhD programs (normally one or two) of the Medical University of Innsbruck, especially in later semesters. As the IIT program encourages international exchange, courses taken abroad may be accepted for the different categories, which is subject to evaluation by the IIT coordinator.

If a student wishes to start the doctoral work later during the winter term, or at the beginning of the summer term, other courses can be attended before the core courses (e.g. IIT Seminars, General Subjects or other Core Courses), to avoid any delay of the study progress. The mandatory Ring Lecture can be attended in the following winter term.

An example of the PhD trajectory of lectures and courses is schematically depicted below. The minimum and maximum ECTS accredited for each category are contained in the credit calculator, and further information can be found here: https://www.i-med.ac.at/studium/formulare/.

Legends (numbers = ECTS- points = SWS):
RING LECT…….. IIT Ring Lecture (1.5 ECTS) and MYCOS Ring Lecture (1 ECTS) PRS……………… IIT Progress Reports (Seminars 1 ECTS)
JC……………….. IIT/MYCOS Journal Clubs (Seminars 1 ECTS)


LECTURES & COURSES

Core Courses 

Ring Lectures (IIT Ring lecture, 1.5 ECTS, obligatory, LV-Nr. 45001, MYCOS Ring Lecture 1 ECTS, LV-Nr. 45020, obligatory for MYCOS students) Ring Lectures will provide you with a broad overview on subjects related to infection, immunity and transplantation. No registration is required before the lectures, your attendance will be tracked by signature.

Other Core Courses 
Other Core Courses (minimum 5.5, maximum 7.5 ECTS) Please see section IIT Core Courses below – these courses are specific to the IIT or MYCOS program. To attend lectures no registration is required. To attend practical courses, please register at IIT@i-med.ac.at or, for MYCOS courses at mycos@i-med.ac.at and you will allocated a slot within the next semester(s) (dependent on availability).

Seminars (progress reports and journal clubs – 6 ECTS)

IIT Progress Report Seminars (PRS 1 ECTS, 45008 / 45508)
These are “work progress seminars” of each PhD student enrolled in the program. Each progress report enables the dissertation committee to assess the students’ progress, and promotes the interaction between IIT researchers. The discussion after each presentation should be fostered by the students. The dissertation committee and supervisor may also participate in the discussion and will meet afterwards to discuss the past and future progress in the presence of that student. A protocol must be compiled by the student summarizing the features discussed. All students have to present their progress yearly.


Comprehensive Center for Infectiology, Immunology and Transplantation (CIIT)
These are clinical seminars with discussion of patient trajectories to connect researchers with clinicians. More Information can be found at https://www.i-med.ac.at/ciit/index.html.

Journal Clubs (JC, 1 ECTS, 45509) 
IIT or MYCOS Journal Clubs are seminars where each student will choose one important scientific paper not too close to her/his own project, but of general interest which she/he will present to the peers. Students have to actively participate in these talks by asking questions (minimum one question per semester) and each student also has to moderate one talk.

The Journal Club is optional, but it is strongly advised to take at least one Journal Club during the study to compensate for a missing Progress Report Seminar.

General Subjects (minimum 4, maximum 6 ECTS)
General Subjects are open to all PhD programs and provide general news and views common to all biomedical research areas. They can be found in i-med inside here: General Subjects (i.e. courses for all PhD programs), organized by Univ.-Prof. Dr.rer.nat. Patrizia Stoitzner.

General Subjects (for all programs) are organised by Ao.Univ.-Prof.DDr. R. Würzner.

To complete your studies, 8-10 ECTS in core courses are required with the following offers below. The core courses will provide the student to obtain state-of-the-art knowledge in the field of infection, immunology and transplantation by experts in their field. These core courses providing a more detailed and thorough view in the field, including the discussion of provocative and aberrant views in addition to the (obligatory) Ring lecture. The core courses are detailed below; ECTS=SWS, different SWS in ().

WINTERECTS (SWS)SUMMERECTS (SWS)
IIT Ring Lecture (45001)1.5Fungal Infections (45517)1
MYCOS Ring Lecture (45020)1Viral Infections (45502)1
Host Defence Mechanisms
(45006)
1Chemotherapy, Antibiotics and Resistance1
Vaccination (45015)0.5Chemotherapy, Antibiotics and Resistance
(45511)
1
Clinical Immunology
(45004)
1 (1.5)Clinical Immunology
(45004)
1 (1.5)
Novel Methods (45005)1 (1.5)Novel Methods (45005)1 (1.5)
Infectious Disease Diagnostics in Daily Routine (45019)1 (1.5)Infectious Disease Diagnostics in Daily Routine (45019)1 (1.5)
Clinical Week (45002)1 (1.5)Clinical Week (45002)1 (1.5)
WHO Fungal Priority Pathogens1
Outbreak Game1

TOPICS OF CORE COURSES

Host defence mechanisms: General introduction into the immune system with particular respect to infectious diseases.

Clinical Immunology: Pathophysiology, diagnostics, clinical pictures and management of immune-mediated diseases.

Vaccination: History of vaccinations and recent developments, advantages and disadvantages of immunization.

Fungal infections: Fungal infections & their impact in intensive care medicine, Candida spp., Aspergillus spp., emerging fungi.

Chemotherapy, Antibiotics and Resistance: History, General aspects of treatment, bioavailability, drug metabolism and resistance mechanisms.

Viral Infections: Aspects of viral infections, up-to-date examples.

Novel Methods: Practical hands-on course on novel biomedical techniques.

Infectious disease diagnostics: Demonstration of most recent developments in diagnostic clinical routine.

Clinical Week: Demonstration of pediatric, transplant, surgical and internal medicine cases with patients on the ward

WHO Fungal Priority Pathogens: Overview on WHO priorities and pathogen surveillance. Outbreak Game: Simulation and management of a pandemic.

To complete your studies, 6 ECTS in seminars are required either with IIT progress reports, Journal Clubs or other seminars.

IIT Progress Report Seminars
These are “work progress seminars” of each PhD student enrolled in the program. Each progress report enables the dissertation committee to assess the students’ progress, and promotes the interaction between IIT researchers. The discussion after each presentation should be fostered by the students. The dissertation committee and supervisor may also participate in the discussion and will meet afterwards to discuss the past and future progress in the presence of that student. A protocol must be compiled by the student summarizing the features discussed. All students have to present their progress yearly and participation is strongly recommended every semester, to compile 6 ECTS in 3 years.

IIT Journal Clubs
IIT Journal Clubs are currently organized by MYCOS in the summer term. Seminars focus on WHO fungal priority pathogens. The Journal Club is optional, but it is strongly advised to participate, for example to compensate for a missing Progress Report Seminar. Please register in advance at mycos@i-med.ac.at.

Other Seminars
As part of the MYCOS program, the seminars “AI versus Human” and “Fake News” are held in the next terms. For more information and registration please contact mycos@i-med.ac.at.

General Subjects are open to all programs and provide general news and views common to all biomedical research areas. 

General Subjects (for all programs) are organised by Univ.-Prof. Dr.rer.nat. Patrizia Stoitzner. To complete your studies, 4-6 ECTS in general subjects are required.

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