MSc Program Structure

1st Semester

MSc Taught Courses

Taught Courses consist of four main modules, which will be attended in parallel during the whole 1st Semester, both at the Medical School of the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens and at BSRC "Alexander Fleming".
The four modules will cover the following individual fields:

1. Mechanisms of Disease (MOD)

• Introduction to Basic Laboratory and Clinical Research Methodology
• Molecular and cellular mechanisms in immunological diseases and chronic inflammation
• Molecular and cellular mechanisms in cancer
• Molecular and cellular mechanisms in neurodegenerative diseases
• Molecular and cellular mechanisms in metabolic diseases
• Molecular and cellular mechanisms in infectious diseases
• Systems Biology and identification of new targets: Prevention, diagnosis and targeted therapies

2. Molecular and Cellular therapies (MCT)

• Biological therapies (molecular, genetic and cellular)
• Cutting-edge technologies in molecular biology and genetics (genomics, metabolomics, proteomics, metagenomics, epigenetics etc.)
• Biomarkers and companion diagnostic kits for personalised approaches
• Fundamental principles in Bioinformatics, Computational Biology and Biostatistics
• Precision Medicine: Methods, trends and challenges
• Drug development process - from in silico to in vivo; Innovation in medical product evaluation
• Orphan drugs / Orphan diseases
• Drug repositioning

3. Bio-innovation (BI)

• Emerging markets in the pharmaceutical sector and healthcare
• Basic principles of entrepreneurship and innovation: Start-ups, spin-offs and investment funds
• Successful examples of business innovation
• Advanced Biomaterials and Nanotechnologies
• Intellectual property and exploitation of results: the life cycle of a patent
• Technology transfer: from academia to industry
• Opportunities and challenges in the "big data" era
• Ethical, legal and social implications of personalized medicine

4. Transferable Skills (TRFS)

• Oral presentations of research results or new business products
• Writing research grant proposals or plans for business sponsorship/funding
• Writing scientific articles or reports on the activities of companies
• Bioethics and ethics in science and the business world
• Good safety practices in laboratory areas etc.

5. Journal Clubs (JC) - Group discussions on pioneering scientific literature

• Students will also attend ​and participate in Journal Clubs, a weekly gathering in which they will initially learn how to read & present research articles found in the current scientific literature. They will then initiate group discussions on specific articles presented by their colleagues and discuss it, all together, by asking clarifying questions and critically commenting on the methods, on the approaches and on the article's scientific conclusions & biomedical perspectives. Students are expected through these forums to develop their own personal skills for presenting in public and exchanging scientific thoughts & ideas.

For each taught course, there will be an examination period. A first intensive one will take place at the end of the 1st semester (in January) and a second, more concise, at the end of the 2nd semester (in July).

2nd Semester

Lab Rotations

During the second semester, MSc students will undertake two 3-month rotations, in two different laboratories, under the supervision of our MSc Lecturers & Research Collaborators (in Greece or abroad, between February–April and May–July).

Under their Mentors' supervision, students will be introduced to the different laboratory techniques, be initiated to independent thinking, learn to critically analyze & evaluate their scientific results, develop cooperations with other lab members, etc.

At the beginning of each practical rotation, students will submit a brief Research Proposal for their intended research work. At the end, they will write and submit an Overall Report covering the aim/methodology/results/conclusions of the research program.

Research Proposal & Report will be written in English.

3rd and 4th Semesters

MSc Dissertation Thesis

During the second year, MSc students will undertake a 1-year internship in one the laboratories of our MSc Lecturers and Research Collaborators and develop a full Research Project. The thesis project will be supervised by a three-member Examination Committee which consists of Faculty Members and Lecturers/Research Collaborators of the MSc program. The Commitee will be responsible for monitoring students’ progress during their MSc Dissertation Thesis.

Following completion of the mentored internship at the end of the 4th semester, students are expected to write a Dissertation Thesis and present it along with their research work to the members of the Examination Committee, at the occasion of the Diploma Dissertation Oral Presentation.

This Thesis will be defended in public, in an open seminar, before the Commitee.

The Dissertation Research is a core component of our MSc program designed to prepare our students for a further advanced degree and/or to pursue successful careers in Science, Industry, Health and Public engagement sectors.