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Masters´s degrees at the Faculty of Medicine

In 2012, the first Masters of Science, majoring in Translational Medicine, will receive their degrees from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Helsinki.

In 2010, the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Helsinki will launch a new master's degree programme in English and entitled Master of Translational Medicine. For students who have completed a lower university degree, the programme provides studies focusing on biomedicine and clinical medicine, setting up a basis for carrying out research in translational medicine.

Research in translational medicine combines basic research with the diagnostics and treatment of diseases. This accelerates the application of information created by basic research into clinical research and the treatment of patients, while promoting the utilisation of patient samples for investigating disease mechanisms and finding new methods of treatment.

“The significance of and need for translational research is increasing all the time as the slow progress of diagnostic and clinical application conflicts with the rapid progress of basic research,” says university lecturer Tiina Immonen, the coordinator for the new master's programme.

The objective of the new master’s programme, crossing traditional boundaries, is to educate students from many different fields into a new generation of researchers who understand human biology and diseases.

“We hope that the programme appeals to students from all around the world,” says Immonen.

Annually, a total of ten students, who have completed a lower university degree or corresponding studies in a suitable field, can be accepted to the two-year, research-oriented programme. International applications will commence in November 2009.

At its meeting yesterday, the University Senate granted the Faculty of Medicine the right to provide masters of science degrees within the framework of the new degree programme.

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Text: Päivi Lehtinen
Photo: Wilma Hurskainen
9.6.2009

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