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For more
than 100 years, drug research
and development (R&D) have
been a major focus of academic
and non-academic research in
the Frankfurt area.
In recent
years, therapeutic biomolecules
(biologicals)
have proven to have a great
innovative potential and the
number of newly approved biologicals
has increased dramatically.
However, these biologicals
are almost exclusively protein
drugs that act extracellularly,
such as antibodies, cytokines
and growth factors. Other biomolecules
are rarely found in drug pipelines
of the pharmaceutical industry.
In
the proposed research training
group (GK), especially innovative
research on biologicals in
Frankfurt, such as the development
of therapeutic RNAs, intracellularly
active proteins and gene therapy,
will be brought together. All
stages of drug R&D, from
target validation to Phase
I and II clinical trials, will
be represented. The GK will
be open to graduate students
from the Natural Sciences,
Medicine, Pharmacy, and Biotechnology.
The supervising scientists
are either affiliated with
the faculties of Medicine and
of Chemical and Pharmaceutical
Sciences or they work at the
Biomedical Research Institute
Georg-Speyer-Haus and at the
Paul-Ehrlich-Institut. Thus,
knowledge and know-how from
a broad range of diverse fields
(Chemistry, Biochemistry, Cell
Biology, Molecular Biology,
Pharmacy, Pharmacology und
Toxicology, Clinical Pharmacology,
Clinical Medicine, Biotechnology,
drug approval) are represented
by the supervisors within the
GK and will be fully accessible
to the students. This interdisciplinary
environment is an essential
prerequisite for a successful
PhD thesis on drug development
and can rarely be provided
within one research group alone.
The primary aim of the GK
is to educate the graduate
students so that they can develop
into independent and creative
researchers. This will be the
primary task of the supervisor
and the two co-supervisors.
Furthermore, the students will
learn to present and discuss
their work in the internal
seminars and workshops. In
addition, the basic knowledge
and technological know-how
required for the development
of new drugs will be taught.
For all stages of drug development
and all types of therapeutic
biomolecules, projects within
the GK can be used to exemplify
the teachings. Thereby, teaching
and research within the GK
become synergistic. This broad
education will serve as a sound
basis for a career in academic
or non-academic drug R&D.
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