Coordination:
All coordinators
Objectives
The aim of the SEED projects is to provide the student with a hands-on experience in research methods with science, engineering and clinical perspectives, and will be developed in different environments (research laboratories, hospitals and/or industry). These projects must have at their origin a clinical challenge and this course includes learning outcomes on: (1) learning to execute independently new techniques and protocols, and iteratively improve research and troubleshooting skills; (2) managing the schedule to execute the tasks efficiently in a timely manner; (3) critically analyse experimental results; (4) design new studies for future investigation and define research strategies; (5) presentation of the results in a written and oral form;
Program
The SEED project is an individual research project that combines interdisciplinary training in two out of 3 Education-Research vectors: (i) Stem Cell Biology, (ii) Stem Cell Process Engineering, and (iii) Stem cell-based Translational Medicine The SEED project shall address two complementary objectives:
(A) Design and execution of a research project on an area of regenerative medicine, with a focus on a clinical problem. This project will be designed by the student, under guidance of a Tutor and in active collaboration with a MD of the consortium. The project is expected to “emerge” following the 3 day Forum where MDs will present various clinical challenges to the students.
(B) Definition of the PhD work proposal, including the following key elements:
1. Identification of a research area of the student’s interest for his/her PhD studies;
2. Formulate a research question that addresses a challenge in Cell therapies and Regenerative Medicine, and has the potential to be developed as a PhD thesis; and
3. Draft of an interdisciplinary research strategy to approach the research question. The level of novelty, impact on the field and feasibility are central aspects of the PhD proposal.
Evaluation Methodology
The SEED Projects will be evaluated through:
Report on the results obtained by the students in the format of a short publication
Final presentations at the annual retreat
Abstract, Research aims and Research methodology of a PhD proposal.
