PhD courses
As part of their PhD trajectory, students have to follow courses to deepen their knowledge and develop various transferable skills. Of note, the students are responsible for tracking their own educational progress.
General courses: Please visit the Utrecht 木瓜福利影视 PhD Course Center. These courses are free to all registered PhD students, except for the Laboraty Animal Science course.
RM PhD Course: See below for the RM PhD courses.
Absence Policy: If you will be absent from a course for any amount of time, please contact the program coordinator before the start of the course. Enrollment, number of ECTS and certificate of completion will be determined by the coordinator and course leaders. 28 hours = 1 ECTS.
Course Directors: Mylene Jansen, Simon Mastbergen
When: once every two years, next date: May 18 till 24, 2026 (5 days)
Programme: 5 days, 1.5 ECTS
Information: This course combines biological and medical science with business, law and bioethics. It aims to develop expertise in the biological, commercial and regulatory aspects of regenerative medicine, along with its application in biomedicine. Moreover, this course intends to acquaint students to think with a business-based mindset in addition to their scientific mindset to implement new findings in actual care.
The course will be fully on location.
Registration:
Course coordinator: Dr. Bas van Balkom, UMCU, Nephrology and Hypertension
When: Nov 10-14 (3 days) with optional exam on Nov 14, 2025, 1 to 1.5 ECTS
Course description
Extracellular vesicles are gaining a lot of attention as a potential therapeutic option in regenerative medicine. In this course, you will gain insight into the discovery of these vesicles, their biological content and functions in health and disease, and potential therapeutic applications. After this course, you will be able to interpret, design and implement research on extracellular vesicles.
Lecturers
Dr. Pieter Vader, UMCU, Clinical Chemistry and Hematology
Prof. Dr. Joost Sluijter, UMCU, Experimental Cardiology
Dr. Sander Kooijmans (UMCU), UMCU, CDL research
Dr. Esther Nolte-'t Hoen (UU), Biomolecular Health
Dr. Olivier de Jong (UU), Pharmaceutics
Dr. Frederik Verweij (UU), Biology
Prof. Dr. Marca Wauben (UU), Biomolecular Heath
This course is for both masters鈥 students as well as PhD students.
The exam for PhD students is optional. Without the exam you will get 1 ECTs. If you take the exam and pass you will earn 1.5 ECTs. If you fail the exam you need to take a re-exam in order to get the ECTS. If you fail you do not automatically get the 1 ECTs.
Registration:
Course Directors: Koen Braat
When: once per year, December 1 to 12, 2025.
Programme: 2 weeks + optional exam for PhD students. Taking and passing exam = 3.0 ECTS. If you do not take the exam, your course will end on December 11 and you will earn 2.4 ECTS.
Information: Stem cells have the remarkable potential to develop into many different cell types during development and tissue repair process. This course addresses the fundamental mechanisms regulating stem cell function and considers their use in stem cell-based therapies.
Registration:
Course Directors: Medical Humanities at UMC Utrecht
When: once per year, next date: TBA
Programme: 1 day, 0.3 ECTs
Information: Mandatory for RM PhD students. In the morning there will be a plenary programme and in the afternoon a group assignment followed by presentations.
The course will be organized yearly. Max number of participants is 20 - LUNCH IS INCLUDED
Registration: TBA
Course coordinators: Jaqueline Rios, Mylene Jansen, Koen Braat
When: March 23 to 27, 2026
Programme: 4 or 5 days, 1.2-1.5 ECTS
Information
Dive into the world of bone and cartilage health! This course equips you with the knowledge and hands-on skills to tackle diseases, explore cutting-edge research, and apply innovative clinical techniques鈥攆rom regenerative medicine technologies to in vitro and animal models鈥攕haping the future of bone and cartilage care.
Course aim: To provide students with a comprehensive understanding of bone and cartilage biology, development, and pathology, along with the skills to apply various research and clinical techniques for diagnosing and treating bone and cartilage diseases. The course will cover comparative anatomy across species, in vitro and animal models, and regenerative medicine technologies, equipping students with the knowledge to engage in cutting-edge research and clinical applications in the field of bone and cartilage health.
After completion of this course the student will:
- understand the basics of bone and cartilage
- be able to describe how bone and cartilage are developed from embryogenesis till maturity
- be able to differentiate between healthy and diseased bone and cartilage
- be able to distinguish bone and cartilage structure within different species
- be able to choose an appropriate in vitro model for bone and cartilage diseases
- be able to choose an appropriate animal model for bone and cartilage diseases
- be able to list the main tools and technologies in regenerative medicine for bone and cartilage
- be able to explain the application of different bone/cartilage imaging techniques in clinic
- be able to list different regenerative treatment options for bone and cartilage in clinic
For PhD students, the exam is optional. If you do not take the exam you will receive 1.2 ECs. If you take the exam, you will receive 1.5 ECs. If you take the exam, you need to pass (5.5>). If you fail, you need to take the re-exam. You do not get the 1.2 ECs if you fail the exam.
Unfortunately, our experience is that sometimes people do not show up for a course and therefore sometimes hinder the participation of other students. We now ask you to provide the WBS/kostenplaats of your group. There are NO costs for joining the course. However, we cannot accept last minute cancellations. Cancellations can be done at latest Feb 26 13.00. If you do not show up or have passed the deadline to cancel, 200 euros will be charged to the WBS/kostenplaats.
For questions: Mylene Jansen m.p.jansen-36@umcutrecht.nl
Registration:
Course Directors: Koen Braat and Bart Spee
When: once per year, next date: 6-10 July 2026
Programme: 5 days, 1.5 ECTS
Information: Mandatory for all new PhD students, please enroll as soon as possible after you start your PhD project. This course introduces students to the fundamentals of regenerative medicine and highlights research in Utrecht. Students are joined in the mornings by international summer school students.
Registration:
Course Directors: PhD committee and Koen Braat
When: once per year, next date: TBH
Programme: a day with networking and posterpresenations and a guest lecture
Information: All RM-PhDs are expected to join the yearly PhD poster and networking event at Het Spoorwegmuseum in Utrecht.
Registration: closed
Course Directors: Laura Creemers, Kelly Warmink and Jaqueline Rios Lourdes
When: once every 2 years, next date: TBA
Programme: 5 days + presentation, 1.5 ECTS
Information: The course aims to give an overview of state-of-the-art technologies that can be applied in biomedical research and regenerative medicine.
Registration: closed
Course Directors: Nalan Liv and Corlinda ten Brink
When: once per year, next date: TBA
Programme: 1 day, 0.3 ECTS
Location: UMCU, 鈥渃ellbiology鈥
Please note that lunch will not be provided.
Registration: closed
Course Directors: Dr. Saskia C.A. de Jager / Dr. Alain van Mil
When: TBA
Programme: 10 meetings of 1 hour and 45 minutes
Information: Translational research requires adequate models to bridge the gap between in-vitro experiments and clinical reality. Animal and cell models basically serve 3 aims:
1) to gain mechanistic insights into (patho)physiological processes, 2) to mimic human disease and 3) to test experimental therapeutic approaches, either separately or combined. The aim of this course is to make PhD candidates familiar with cardiovascular animal models and advanced cell systems used in the different experimental laboratories. This enables the student to get a broader view of animal and cell models, their advantages and disadvantages, which model is appropriate to use for which type of research question, and to use these insights to optimize own models.
Registration is closed.
Format: The course will be given in such a way that both, the PhD candidates and the teachers will be able to incorporate this course in their daily work. The course will provide interactive lectures by experts that are all connected to UMC focus areas 鈥榗irculatory health鈥 and 鈥榬egenerative medicine. Besides theoretical background of cardiovascular experimental models, the PhD students can visit/monitor an animal experiment (facultative). Make an appointment with E. Velema (e.velema@umcutrecht.nl / large animals) or M. Brans (M.A.D.Brans@umcutrecht.nl / mouse models).
Language: The course is given in English.
Certificate: To qualify for the certificate and 3 ECTS, participants must attend all lectures. Attendance will be registered.
Number of participants: All PhD students can register, however if more than 30 persons register, the organization reserves the right to make a selection. We require a minimal of 10 participants, in case the number of participants is lower the organization will decide if the course will proceed or not.
Costs: No charge for registered PhD students.
Course coordinators:
Dr. Saskia C.A. de Jager, UMC Utrecht, Division Heart and Lungs, Laboratory for Experimental Cardiology, email: s.c.a.dejager@umcutrecht.nl
Dr. Alain van Mil, UMC Utrecht, Division Heart and Lungs, Center for Regenerative medicine, email: A.vanMil-2@umcutrecht.nl
Registration: closed
Course Director: Jeroen van Velzen, head of the FACS core facility
When: 1-3 times per year, next date: TBA
Programme: 1 day
Information: This course is hosted by the FACS core facility in UMC Utrecht and combines theory and application. Space is limited (6-8 persons) and you will be charged in case of cancellation. It is recommended to watch 鈥榦verview鈥, 鈥榝luidics鈥檃nd 鈥榦ptics鈥 on this before attending this course.
Registration: closed
Course Directors: Koen Braat and Paul Coffer
When: Once per year, next dates: 25鈥26 September 2025
Programme: 2 days
Information: All RM-PhDs are invited to the yearly PhD retreat, this time at Priorij Corsendonk in Oud-Turnhout, Belgium, featuring workshops, seminars, games, and fun!
Registration: