Introduction

Choosing this track means that you will learn about a broad range of basic and applied clinical research subjects in the heart of an academic hospital. The track is a collaboration between the Faculty of Science and the academic hospital of the UvA and is fully taught at the Academic Medical Center (AMC). Courses are given by top basic and clinical researchers, each with their own specialisation.

Because Experimental Internal Medicine is comprised of a wide variety of specialisms, the topics addressed cover a large part of the biomedical sciences spectrum. Consequently, the track gives you an insight into the many research and career possibilities an academic hospital has to offer to biomedical sciences Master’s students.

Programme Outline

Year 1

The first year contains one general course and two track-specific courses. After these three obligatory courses you start with the first research project (30-60 ECTS) and a literature review (12 ECTS).

Courses 

• Course: Molecular Biology of the Cell (4 weeks)
  This basic theoretical course is the same for all Master’s tracks in the Medical Biology cluster and recaps the molecular basis of cell function: including proteins, membranes, DNA structure, cell metabolism, protein synthesis and cellular signaling.
• Course: Neuroendocrinology and Translational Metabolism (4 weeks)
  In the first track specific course, you will be introduced to the current basic and clinical knowledge of three medical disciplines, Neurogenetics, Pathology and Endocrinology and will be immersed in state-of-the-art research in these areas. Central topics of the neurogenetics subcourse are nerve growth and repair of nerve injuries. During the week reserved for pathology, basic and clinical aspects of renal transplantation will be discussed. This includes in vitro and in vivo models of renal ischemia-reperfusion injury and repair, pathology of renal allograft rejection, immunosuppressive therapies and their complications. The two weeks of endocrinology will be focused on the endocrinological aspects of two large clinical areas: energy metabolism and reproduction.

• Course: Gastrointestinal disease and Cardiovascular disease (4 weeks)
  Students are taken on a journey through the normal functioning intestine and liver. You will not only learn how our digestive system functions under normal conditions  but also what happens when inflammatory or metabolic diseases affect proper functioning of these organs. Diseases important in cardiovascular biology comprise a large area; Cardiac pump function and heart failure, cardiac excitation and sudden cardiac death, vascular pathology and ischemic heart disease. You will receive up to date state scientific insights into basic and clinical aspects of these areas, and the experimental techniques used to unravel the biological basis of the normal and diseased cardiovascular systems. 

Additional scientific fields that will be covered in the track specific courses range from molecular biology, metabolism, immunology, oncology, function and interactions between our neural and endocrine systems to clinical treatment and (transplantation) surgery.

Year 2 

In the second year you can opt for the regular programme by choosing elective courses (0-18 ECTS), start a second research project or write the literature review. You may also choose to do a major or a minor. The AMC offers internship opportunities and additional courses in a great variety of specialisms. However, elective courses and internships can also be carried out elsewhere. 

Is Experimental Internal Medicine the track for me?

The programme is looking for students who:

• want a broad view of biomedical science at an academic hospital;
• are interested in functioning of internal organs at the molecular and organismal level in health and disease;
• have a keen interest in the physiology and pathophysiology of major diseases;
• enjoy doing laboratory experiments;
• are enthusiastic, creative and accurate.

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