Master in Translational Medicine University of Helsinki

How Can Personalized Medicine Revolutionize Human Health?

Translational medicine aims to facilitate new therapies and medical procedures by implementing research findings in patient care, and by applying clinical data in research. This requires understanding of both science and medicine.

In the Master's Programme in Translational Medicine (TRANSMED) this is promoted throughout the curriculum, which is based on interactive, student-centred educational approaches. The students also have ample opportunities for direct interactions with both researchers and clinicians to adopt and practice interdisciplinary communication skills.

Studying

In the Master's Programme in Translational Medicine (TRANSMED), you learn to facilitate new therapies and medical procedures by implementing research findings in patient care, and by applying clinical data in research. This requires understanding both science and medicine. You also interact directly with researchers and clinicians to adopt and practice interdisciplinary communication skills.

The TRANSMED curriculum is a joint effort of an internationally renowned medical campus of the Academic Medical Centre Helsinki (AMCH). The interacting parties are the Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, the Helsinki University Central Hospital (HUCH) and the Helsinki Institute of Life Science (HiLIFE) including the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM) and the Neuroscience Center (NC).

Struc­ture, con­tent and courses

The studies in the Master's Programme in Translational Medicine (TRANSMED) are built upon three central themes: medicine, research skills and interprofessional communication. The scope of the MSc (Translational Medicine) degree is 120 credits (ECTS).

• Common studies (35 ECTS) include working life relevant courses in career orientation, academic writing and critical reading, research skills such as research ethics and bioinformatics, and biomedical subjects such as anatomy and physiology, pharmacology, laboratory medicine, medical genetics and epidemiology.
• Study track specific studies (60-80 ECTS) are advanced studies including courses on human disease, advanced research methods, clinical rounds in the Helsinki University Hospital, writing a research proposal, and a Master’s thesis. The study track is chosen during the first study year based on student's own interest.
  The study tracks are Cancer, Regenerative Medicine, Metabolic Disorders, Neuroscience and Psychobiology and Cross-disciplinary Translational Medicine.
• Optional studies may include e.g. methods courses, an internship in a company or research group, courses from other programmes, language studies, administrative duties, or courses completed during student exchange.

Mas­ter's thesis

The Master's thesis (30 ECTS) consists of both experimental and written work. It is always an individual work and conducted in a research group under supervision. With your Master's thesis, you demonstrate:

• your ability to conduct independent research work and retrieve relevant information

• your ability to use up-to-date research methods and perform experiments

• your skills in scientific reasoning and the critical assessment of your research results

• your ability to write scientifically and effectively present your data

• your knowledge and your ability to critically assess the existing research literature

The topic of the thesis must be related to the selected study track. The research group for conducting the thesis work can be agreed between the student and the group leader - the topics are not decided or pre-selected by TRANSMED programme.

Supervisors and research groups where TRANSMED theses have been completed include e.g.

• Kari Alitalo – Translational cancer biology

• Petri Hyytiä – Neurobiology of addiction

• Riikka Kivelä - En­dothelial and stem cells reg­u­lat­ing tis­sue func­tion

• Riitta Korpela - Medical Nutrition Physiology Group

• Satu Mustjoki – Hematology Research Unit Helsinki

• Päivi Ojala – Cancer cell biology

• Timo Otonkoski – Pluripotency and disease modeling

• Tiina Paunio – Sleep and health

• Tuula Salo – Oral cancer

• Anu Wartiovaara – Mitochondrial medicine

Stu­dent life and benefits

Student life and especially the student organisation culture is exceptionally rich and diverse in Finland. Also at the University of Helsinki, the student community is very active. More than 250 student organisations operate within the Student Union of the University of Helsinki (HYY), ranging from faculty and subject organisations to political and societal organisations, and from choirs and orchestras to sports and game clubs. Their activities include anniversary celebrations, academic dinner parties, cultural events, get-togethers and excursions.

As a student and member of the Student Union (HYY), you are entitled to many benefits and services. For example, affordable student housing, basic healthcare services, sports facilities and student-priced meals. You also get numerous discounts, for example on public transport fees across the country.

Why Translational Medicine?

The aim of TRANSMED is to provide a solid basis for academic or non-academic careers in the health sector.

Upon graduation, the students are able to:

• discuss key concepts of medical sciences and the needs of clinical practice from the point of view of a researcher
• describe and apply up-to-date translational research methodologies
• practice scientific reasoning and critically analyse scientific literature
• design a research project which follows the regulatory and ethical aspects of biomedical and clinical research and applies current methodologies and translational approaches, and to discuss the research plan orally using both scientific and medical terminologies

Who should apply

TRANSMED attracts and accepts students from all over the world. Also the educational backgrounds of the accepted applicants cover a wide range of disciplines - we value and welcome diversity in the class.

We are looking for candidates with career goals in academia or in health sector enterprises. If you have well-developed skills in time management and a curious and inquisitive mind, if you enjoy team work and diversity, if you are not afraid of intensive studies, reading and writing, and you have a habit of meeting deadlines, you might be exactly what we are looking for!

Career

Health sciences and translational medicine are fields with growing importance as the population ages and the costs of new therapies steadily increase. Thus, the demand for well-trained specialists in the field of translational medicine is likely to increase, providing excellent career prospects globally. Recruitment to such enterprises occurs both at the graduate (MSc) and postgraduate (PhD) levels.

Around 40% of our graduates have been directly employed within the private sector in Finland or abroad. More than half of the graduates continue to doctoral studies.

The following application period is 1.12.2021-5.1.2022