Orientation Design Project
Full course description
The aim of this project is for students to experience the full research and development cycle from analysing a clinical problem / identifying potential solutions / techniques to address the problem, conducting (clinical) research and developing (part of) a new clinical application/device/material/therapy themselves. An orientation on -and preparations for the conduct of- the design project will be launched in year 1. During the first year, students visit research labs and interview experts being clinicians and scientists involved in regenerative medicine (working in hospital, labs, industry). Moreover, ample attention in the year 1 ‘design project orientation’ will be provided to gain insight in examples of clinical applications in regenerative medicine and to learn how these applications have travelled and will travel ‘from bench to bed’ and have been implemented ‘into the market’. This will also be achieved by doing journal clubs where specific articles on the themes of the experts interviewed are scrutinized to enhance the student’s understanding. This line interacts closely with the academic line and the practical skills line.
The Design Project line’s main activities in year 1 are therefore:
- Interview with expert
- Site visits (partially in combination with visiting the expert)
- Journal clubs
- Project pitch after choosing the expert/project
The (orientation on) the design project line thus introduces aspects of entrepreneurship & marketisation and encompasses an initial labour market orientation. At the end of year 1, the students select a project to work on in year 2. There are two main project orientations which students can choose from; a clinical or technological track. In the clinical track, the students interact with an expert from the clinic on a direct clinical problem. In the technological track, the students perform their project in an academic laboratory setting or in an industrial research & development setting. The projects of both tracks are on designing a regeneration project, but the emphasis is different depending on the expert.
Course objectives
The learning goals will be achieved through expert interviews, journal clubs, and designing the project to be carried out in year 2.
After this the student:
- Is able to independently apply relevant laboratory skills and techniques to conduct research in regenerative medicine.
- Understands, appreciates and critically assesses the process of scientific research to obtain academic knowledge and insight, and is able to draw conclusions based on evidence in a logically structured fashion.
- Readily evaluates, selects and applies scientific methodology and available technology to address current challenges and problems in regenerative medicine or in a related biomedical field, and contributes to finding an innovative solution.
- Based on obtained research results or applied technologies, contributes to the realisation of novel, innovative and marketable clinical or biomedical products/therapies.
- Organises study, work and research efficiently and effectively, and within given time constraints.
- Shows awareness of various team roles, functions efficiently in multidisciplinary and otherwise diverse teams, values diversity in a broader sense, and takes into account ethical standards and societal, economic and regional and global contexts.
Communicates professionally and adjusts style and type of communication and argumentation to the audience and the occasion.
Recommended reading
This depends on which expert is interviewed. But examples of papers are: Eur Cell Mater. 2020;39:183-192. doi: 10.22203/eCM.v039a12. Enhancement of fracture healing after citrulline supplementation in mice D M Meesters , P F Hannemann, H M van Eijk, V T Schriebl, P R Brink, M Poeze, K A Wijnands (Trauma Surgery) PLoS One 2020;15(10):e0241296. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0241296 A comparison of the corneal biomechanics in pseudoexfoliation glaucoma, primary open-angle glaucoma and healthy controls using Corvis ST Zia Sultan Pradhan, Sujit Deshmukh, Shivani Dixit, Shruthi Sreenivasaiah, Sujani Shroff, Sathi Devi, Carroll A B Webers, Harsha Laxmana Rao (Opthalmology) Sci Rep 2019;9(1):12076. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-48369-w. Electrical stimulation promotes the angiogenic potential of adipose-derived stem cells Jip Beugels, Daniel G M Molin, Daan R M G Ophelders, Teun Rutten, Lilian Kessels, Nico Kloosterboer, Andrzej A Piatkowski de Grzymala, Boris W W Kramer, René R W J van der Hulst, Tim G A M Wolfs (plastic surgery and pediatric research) Sci Rep 2021;11(1):19663. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-99096-0. BMP7 reduces the fibrocartilage chondrocyte phenotype Ellen G J Ripmeester, Marjolein M J Caron, Guus G H van den Akker, Jessica Steijns, Don A M Surtel, Andy Cremers, Laura C W Peeters, Lodewijk W van Rhijn, Tim J M Welting (cartilage research) Control Release 2011;152 Suppl 1:e10-1. doi: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2011.08.090. Amino acid based polyesteramides and polyesterurethanes: cell responsive matrices for drug delivery Aylvin A Dias, Bart Plum, G Mihov, Bill Turnell (company DSM)