The Medical Faculty will be able to invest approximately €3 million of funding for the PRIME program (Clinician Scientist PRogram In Vascular MEdicine) over five years, in a partnership between the German Research Foundation, providing 80%, and the Faculty's own funds, making up the remaining 20%.
Diseases of the blood vessels (vascular diseases) are very often the cause of other cardiovascular diseases and strokes. In order to target early prevention, exactly how blood vessels change during vascular diseases must be better understood. Vascular medicine and the transfer of new research findings into applications that can benefit patients are therefore a central focus of the Medical Faculty of the LMU and of the DZHK.
"In order to better understand the development of cardiovascular diseases and develop new treatments, we need clinicians who combine research with their clinical practice," says Prof. Steffen Massberg, initiator of PRIME, Director of the Medical Clinic and Polyclinic I and scientist at the DZHK. However, the commercialization of medicine and increasing burden on doctors’ time leaves less and less opportunity for this.
Within the framework of PRIME, young doctors will receive 18 months of protected research time during their 3 year specialist training period. During this period they don’t have to see patients as part of their usual clinical duties. Instead, they can then intensively engage in experimental research in the lab or in clinical research. During the funding period, the participants will also complete a qualification program and receive rigorous mentoring.
Young doctors from all clinics and institutes of the LMU Hospital in Munich can apply to conduct vascular research. The application deadline is 23 January 2019.