Final Activity Report Summary - IMBA PHD PROGRAMME (Research training in functional genomics and molecular medicine) The goal of this project was to establish an international PhD programme at the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology in Vienna. The institute conducted a broad range of biomedical research activities whose common goal was to understand the molecular mechanisms of disease. Student education was been established in conjunction with the pre-existing PhD programme at the Vienna Biocenter. During the course of the project, four PhD students successfully conducted research towards obtaining a PhD. Their research activities covered a broad area ranging from the control of micro ribonucleic acids (RNAs) in tetrahymena to stem cell biology in the fruit fly drosophila. Research activities were complemented by an extensive training programme, which included a lecture series on diverse topics in highly active research areas. Students also had the opportunity to organise an annual scientific conference together with the Vienna Biocenter (VBC) PhD program and to invite seminar speakers within the institute's weekly international seminar programme. The progress of the PhD students was monitored by a committee of three scientists from local institutes who evaluated the research performed and also took on mentoring activities for the students. The programme was highly successful. Of the four students recruited, two successfully obtained their PhD while the other two were expected to graduate within the few months following the project completion.
