Through a comprehensive training programme, our Collaborative Research Centre supports early-career scientists pursuing research within the interdisciplinary field of multiscale imaging of inflammation. In our Integrated Research Training Group, doctoral researchers complete several mandatory programme modules over a period of approximately three years.
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Integrated Research Training Group “Multiscale Imaging”

Our Integrated Research Training Group (IRTG) offers early-career researchers comprehensive scientific training in the field of “multiscale imaging” and individual support for their doctoral thesis projects. Our network members from various disciplines research interdisciplinary topics and go through a joint training programme that supports them on their way to early scientific independence and supervises their personal career development. We support and encourage junior scientists to contribute their ideas, not only to our network’s research projects but also to various committees including the Executive Board, the careers committee and the equal opportunity committee.

Members of our IRTG include doctoral researchers in the natural sciences, mathematics and computer science whose positions are funded through our network’s research projects or who work on topics relevant to our research focus, both in research groups of principal investigators within our network and beyond.

In addition, our programme is open to junior physicians who wish to combine patient care and scientific activities by conducting research within our network’s working groups (IRTG-light membership). This includes both clinician scientists undertaking their research rotations and medical students working on their medical doctoral thesis within the “Medizinerkolleg (MedK)” or their master’s thesis in “Experimental Medicine”.

Junior scientists who are interested in joining our IRTG, are welcome to get in touch with a description of their research project and their CV. Our careers committee decides on the admission of new members to our programme.

  • Scientific exchange & networking

    • Progress report meetings
      The early-career scientists in our Integrated Research Training Group meet twice a month to discuss their individual research projects with the cohort. All IRTG members regularly attend the meetings and present their projects once a year.
    • Retreats
      All members of our research network meet at annual retreats to exchange knowledge with the other project teams and develop ideas together.
    • Inflammation & imaging lecture series
      Twice a month, our members come together with members from several research networks at our university to focus on the dynamics and imaging of inflammation and infection as a community. Invited international colleagues and our networks’ project teams take turns presenting their latest results and research ideas. Both principal investigators and junior researchers participate regularly and the junior researchers take over some of the project presentations.
    • Inflammation & imaging symposia
      Together with several research networks from our university, we organise an annual symposium with renowned international speakers.

  • Scientific skills & career development training

    • Block seminars and hands-on training on multiscale imaging
      During regular multi-day events, our network’s junior researchers receive scientific input from our principal investigators, are trained in using optical and preclinical imaging techniques and gain knowledge of the (bio)chemical and mathematical aspects of our interdisciplinary research field.
      Summer lectures 2022 (PDF)
      Summer lectures 2023 (PDF) 
    • Skills workshops
      As part of the training programme, all doctoral researchers are required to complete a workshop on good scientific practise, research documentation and principles of ethical conduct as well as a workshop on statistics. We recommend attendance at two additional workshops after consultation with the thesis advisory committee to support personal career progression.

    We organise some of our workshops in cooperation with other graduate programmes in the field of inflammation and imaging and our university’s Centre for Emerging Researchers. The latter also offers junior researchers further courses on a variety of topics.

  • Scientific supervision & personal mentoring

    At the beginning of the doctorate, each PhD student selects a thesis advisory committee (TAC), which consists of the supervising principal investigator and two other established scientists – ideally principal investigators from our research network.

    The doctoral candidate enters into a “supervision agreement” with their committee at the beginning of their doctoral studies and fixes the obligatory modules for their scientific training. The candidate meets with their committee annually to discuss the progress of their research project and seek individual and personal advice about their career development. The committee also has the task of ensuring that the doctoral training can be successfully completed within a reasonable period of approximately three years.

  • Funding opportunities for junior projects & research rotations

    Developing your own project ideas and acquiring funding for them is a crucial step in a scientific career. In our research network, early-career researchers have the opportunity to independently develop and manage their first research projects. Furthermore, we support medical students and graduates in flexibly combining their clinical education and activities with research.