Branch programme/details

Immunology is a dynamically evolving discipline integrating the knowledge of molecular and cell biology, physiology, histology and functional morphology (in the context of evolution and ontogenesis) relevant to the immune system, self-defense unit composed of functionally interacting molecules, cells, and tissues involved in immune responses. Immunology outputs show a major impact in a multitude of biomedical fields today. Topics such as transplantation, allergy, immune deficiency, autoimmunity, immunosuppression, immunotherapy, or anti-tumor immunity are typical areas of interest to immunologists. Immunology covers all levels of biological knowledge from molecules (cytokines, immunoglobulins, receptors, signaling molecules), cells (a wide array of immunocompetent cells), whole organisms (having transgenic animal models in use and interaction with immune system is being investigated) and communities (evolution of immune mechanisms, e.g. frequencies of different alleles regulating the immune response within a population). Clinical immunology is an important emancipated immunology specialization, for which human immune system is the object of studies and understanding of the mechanism of its action leads to the development of potential therapeutic applications.

Typically, a four-year postgraduate's study of immunology deepens the master's education by having more specialized lectures and mainly by intensive scientific education by the supervisor. Courses and lectures are provided by specialists from the Faculty of Science and Faculties of Medicine of Charles University and, to a great extent, experts from the institutes of Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (mainly IMG and IM). Students are conducting doctoral theses, in these institutions mainly, but also in hospitals, clinical laboratories or private companies - biotechnology development centers. Students are repeatedly reporting their progress of their doctoral theses at conferences, as of a poster or an oral presentation. For their projects, students can receive support through various grant calls. They learn about the international dimension of scientific cooperation in foreign laboratories. The output of scientific activities associated with the elaboration of doctoral theses is numerous posters and presentations at international conferences and publications in internationally impacted journals. The key activity of the Immunology programme guarantor as well as the immunologists at the Faculty of Science is student project supervision, stimulation of their independent experimental work and critical evaluation of the primary literature. In order to achieve that, we provide the course Advances in Immunology (in English).

The programme is carried out without any specialization.

The entrance examination is a one-round interview, which will mainly cover the issues of the planned dissertation and the candidate's knowledge within the field of expertise of the given study programme. It consists of several parts and takes place over the course of one day in the form of presentations, interviews and discussions on questions or problems set by the committee. Candidates present to the committee their results from their Master's studies (in English) and a proposal for their PhD project.
In the entrance examination, candidates must demonstrate their professional and linguistic ability to study the relevant programme and their aptitude for independent scientific work.

The examination is marked with a maximum of 100 points. The evaluation includes the quality of the dissertation project, its feasibility and the way it is presented.

All applicants who obtain at least 50 points out of a possible 100 points in the entrance examination will be admitted to study.

Admission to Doctoral studies is conditioned by successful completion of a Master's study programme.

Verification method:	entrance exam
Confirmation date (of entrance exam) from:	01.06.2024	Until:	30.06.2024
Alternative date (of entrance exam):	06.06.2024	Until:	10.08.2024

Readings are recommended by individual potential supervisors, and are based on professional issues of the potential dissertation and the chosen particular discipline. In particular, monographs and respected IF magazines. Suggested literature and resources can be viewed within the profiles of the specific supervisors.

Our graduate has an excellent knowledge of modern immunology, ranging from theoretical molecular and cellular bases, through practical methodological aspects of experimental immunology, to the basics of clinical immunology. In addition to specialized knowledge of immunology in the strict sense, they also acquire good theoretical knowledge and basic practical experimental skills in related fields of molecular and cell biology, biochemistry and microbiology. After defending the doctoral thesis, students are familiar with specialized experimental methods, tools for critical evaluation of literature and with general principles of ethics and scientific work soft skills.

Graduates are able to solve both theoretical and practical problems they encounter in their research activities. They communicate fluently in advanced scientific English.