Biomedical Sciences

The Clinical Neuroscience specialisation explores one of the most fascinating questions in science: how does the brain give rise to behaviour, and what happens when brain circuits stop working properly?

In this programme, you will learn how discoveries about brain cells and networks can lead to real treatments for disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and depression. You will move step-by-step from understanding basic brain systems to exploring how new technologies, such as neuromodulation and brain-computer interfaces, are being developed to improve patients’ lives.

This specialisation combines scientific depth with real-world relevance. You will not only learn what we know about the brain, but also how we know it, and how we can use that knowledge to design better diagnostics and treatments.

This specialisation is a great fit if you:

• are curious about how the brain works,
• want to understand neurological or psychiatric disorders at a deeper level,
• are interested in medicine, psychology, biology, biomedical sciences, or health technology,
• like solving complex problems and thinking critically,
• want your studies to connect directly to real-world impact.

You will study how major brain circuits control movement, memory, and emotions, and how disruptions in these systems can lead to disease. Along the way, you will be introduced to research methods such as brain imaging (MRI, EEG), experimental models, and data analysis. 

Importantly, you do not need an advanced technical background to start this track. Technical skills are introduced gradually and always in the context of meaningful clinical questions. The focus is on understanding, critical thinking, and applying knowledge, not on becoming an engineer or programmer.

You will:

• have essential knowledge about neuroanatomy and neurophysiology,
• interpret and evaluate data from brain imaging techniques (fMRI, EEG, Microelectrode Recordings),
• understand how insights into the pathophysiology of the central nervous system can be translated into clinical interventions, 
• learn about current trials, developments, limitations, and future challenges in the field.
   

Brain disorders are among the biggest health challenges worldwide. At the same time, neuroscience and medical technology are advancing rapidly. This creates strong demand for people who understand both brain science and how to apply it responsibly in clinical settings.

Graduates of this specialisation go on to careers in:

• Academic research (for example, pursuing a PhD)
• Clinical research in hospitals or medical centres
• Neurotechnology and medical-device companies
• Pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries
• Data science and biomedical analytics
• Healthcare innovation and policy
• Science communication or consultancy

The combination of scientific insight, data literacy, and translational thinking gives you a flexible foundation that remains relevant as healthcare, digital medicine, and AI-driven technologies continue to evolve.

Clinical Neuroscience I: Fundamental Systems Neuroscience

This course introduces the fundamental principles by which brain systems give rise to behavior and disease. Using motor, memory, and emotion-regulation circuits as core examples, students develop a systems-level understanding of how neural activity emerges from synaptic and network mechanisms and how these processes can be measured and interpreted in preclinical and human studies. Emphasis is placed on model selection, validity, and the limits of inference, as well as on causal reasoning using perturbation approaches.

Clinical Neuroscience II: Translational Neuroscience and Neuromodulation

Building on the mechanistic and causal framework of Course I, this course focuses on the translation of circuit-level hypotheses into clinical interventions. Students examine neuromodulation approaches and brain-computer interfaces as circuit interventions, with attention to target engagement, biomarkers, and evidence generation in clinical trials. Disease-focused modules in Parkinson’s disease, depression, and Alzheimer’s disease are used to evaluate stratification strategies, endpoints, and common translational failure modes. The course concludes with emerging and future technologies in neuromodulation, emphasizing ethical, regulatory, and implementation challenges in bringing neuroscience innovations into real-world clinical practice.

Genetics and genomics both play roles in health and disease. Genetics helps us understand how diseases are inherited, what screening and testing options or treatments are available. Genomics helps us to discover why some people get sick from certain infections, environmental factors, and behaviours, while others do not.

This specialisation is developed in order to provide students with a strong foundation and expertise in the field of genetics. Main focus is on the application of genetics and genomics principles in scientific research and in the clinic with specific attention for cancer, cardiogenetics, neurogenetics, model systems, forensics and personalised medicine.

You will:

 obtain knowledge about technologies for high-throughput collection of 'omics' data and about models used for genetic manipulation or complex human disorders;
 learn about the concepts and limitations of genetic testing, genetics diversity and the influence of epigenetics on the fundamental regulation of gene expression;
 analyse data and define ethical and societal issues concerning genetics and genomics;
 apply the concepts of molecular genetics in the context of research and treatment of diseases (cancer progression, cardiogenetics and neurogenetics);
 identify genetic and biological pathways in complex diseases; 
 apply genetics and genomics in personal medicine.

This specialisation prepares you for a research-oriented future in the field of genetics and genomics in academia, biomedical companies and in the clinic.

In the first course, the basic principles of genetics and genomics will be taught. This course serves as the basis for work in the second course, which focuses on translation and application of the knowledge obtained in the first course to solve challenging clinical problems.

Course 1: Advanced Principles of Genetics and Genomics
In this course, the molecular mechanisms of genetic and environmental influences on gene expression and protein function are being addressed. Additionally, the principles of several algorithms and the databases and analytical programmes available in the public domain are being addressed. Finally, the impact of genetics and genomics on research and society with respect to personalised medicine and ethical issues will be discussed.

Course 2: Clinical and Applied Genetics and Genomics
This course further elaborates on the application of genetics and genomics principles in scientific research and clinical applications with specific attention for cancer, cardiogenetics, neurogenetics, model systems, forensics and personalised medicine.

Our ageing society is facing many pathophysiological threats. These include infections, but also oncologic, neurologic and cardiometabolic problems. Most of these problems have an inflammatory nature. This course aims to develop a thorough, clinically relevant understanding of different immune system-related mechanisms of disease development including sterile and non-sterile (infectious) inflammation, neurodegeneration, metabolic disease, autoimmunity, and tumor development. Our goal is to teach state-of-the-art knowledge on the immune system and to prepare students to contribute to the understanding of the role of inflammation in pathological threats. 

We aim to prepare you to contribute to the understanding of inflammation and pathological threats, and develop new treatment strategies. The development includes engineering of the immune system to develop cell therapies, antibody therapy, vaccination, drug development and gene therapy.

This is the specialisation for you:

• if you are interested in the immune system and how to target immune mechanisms, and
• if you wish to pursue a career either in industry (biotechnology) or academia.
   

You will:

• revise and/or obtain a solid knowledge of immunology and inflammation;
• learn techniques for the study of molecules, cells and organisms;
• obtain basic and clinical understanding of different mechanisms of disease, beyond textbook knowledge;
• appreciate the role of inflammation in several diseases;
• learn to target immunological threats;
• create new therapeutic strategies targeting the immune system;
• get prepared for a career in academy and industry;
• read and think critically;
• design, conduct, analyse, explain and defend your research (via research papers, essays, presentations), and;
• collaborate in small teams.

Goals of this specialisation are:

• to understand pathophysiology: the study of structural and functional changes in tissue and organs that lead to disease;  
• to understand the role of the immune system to evaluate different types of therapies, vaccination and immune system effector functions;
• to engineer the immune system, treatment of disease;
• to learn creative scientific thinking, project management and problem solving.

This specialisation prepares you for a research career in the broad field of inflammation and pathophysiology in academia, hospitals, and industry (biomedical companies), among others (e.g. PhD, embedded scientists, R&D).

This specialisation combines an education in concepts with a sophisticated training in immunological techniques.

Course 1: Inflammation and Pathophysiology

• Learn immunity to microbes and viruses.
• Explain sterile inflammation and related pathological threats.
• Explain immunity to tumors.
• Explain hypersensitivity disorders and autoimmunity.
• Explain microbe-host interactions in (immune) homeostasis.

Course 2: Inflammation and Pathophysiology - Engineering the Immune System, Treatment of Disease

• Explain and design antibody engineering.
• Explain and design cell therapy.
• Evaluate and design vaccination.
• Discuss organ transplantation.
• Appraise gene-therapy techniques.
• Assess the potential of microbiome targeting.

A lifestyle characterised by overnutrition of macronutrients and underconsumption of micronutrients, along with physical inactivity translates into derailments in metabolic health and ultimately into deteriorated function and health. A wide range of currently prevalent disorders in westernised societies find common ground in metabolism that goes awry.

The aim of this specialisation is to understand the physiology and the mechanisms underlying these derailments to provide the basis for the ultimate design and optimisation of preventive and therapeutic nutritional and life-style interventions that improve metabolic health and alleviate the diseased state.

• If you have a genuine interest in how diet, physical activity and a sedentary lifestyle affect health.
• If you are interested in the mechanisms (from molecule to man) governing the (mal)adaptive responses of the human body to changes in energy availability and demand.
• If you would like to know the state-of-the-art on how exercise and physical activity interventions can promote health.
• If you are eager to gain the knowledge needed to design novel life-style interventions to promote health.

Then this is the specialisation of your choice!

In this specialisation, you will study deeply into:

• the integrative and interorgan physiology of key metabolic processes;
• the biochemical and cellular basis for diet- and exercise-induced alterations in health;
• the biochemical and cellular basis for the health threatening effects of a sedentary life-style;
• how nutrition and physical activity affect non-communicable diseases;
• identification of routes fundamental to the design of non-exercise related life-style interventions to promote energy turnover and health.

To halt the progressive increase in prevalence of disorders that find common ground in disturbed metabolism, we need highly skilled people to identify potentially successful targets and routes for intervention via scientific research. This includes research in academia, hospitals and industry (ranging from biomedical and pharmaceutical companies to companies developing wearables to monitor health and physical activity). You can also apply the knowledge acquired in (academic) teaching or in public health settings to provide new scientific background to novel health promotion programmes.

Course 1: Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism: Fundamental Aspects
This course will provide in-depth insight into the major systems of human nutritional and exercise physiology and metabolism. With basic knowledge on nutrient uptake across the gastrointestinal tract as the starting point, the course will focus on cell and organ specific routes for conversion of macromolecules into their oxidizable derivatives. Importantly, the pivotal role of intermediary metabolism, metabolites and small circulatory hormones like peptides in metabolic control and inter-organ cross-talk (muscle-liver-adipose tissue-cardiovascular system-brain) will be thoroughly studied in the fasted, post-prandial and exercised state. This course will provide the mechanistic basis to understand how aberrations in energy and substrate metabolism can be the common denominator in multiple highly prevalent disorders like Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson, some types of cancer or metastases, COPD, sarcopenia, obesity, type 2 diabetes and related cardiovascular disorders. Alterations in energy status, energy sensing and energy turnover have all been associated with these disorders. These alterations may originate from compromised nuclear receptor signaling, post-transcriptional modulation via e.g. micro RNA’s, post-translational modification (acetylation, glycosylation, phosphorylation) hampering protein function and metabolic processes altering NAD+/NADH and ADP/ATP related energy status of the affected cells.

Course 2: Lifestyle Interventions and Metabolism; a Translational Perspective
In this course the role of diet and physical activity to prevent chronic disease in humans will be considered. Lifestyle factors modulating metabolism on a micro (cellular) and macro (organ) scale will be studied via a translational approach. This course will take conventional strategies to promote health (like nutritional and exercise interventions) to the next level by exploring the underlying mechanisms and how these interventions may prevent chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes. Interventions like weight loss, (nutritional) compounds, exercise, sedentary behaviour, sleep, stress management promoting metabolism will be topic of study. The basis for inter-individual differences in responsiveness, including genetics, will be studied in the light of personalised interventions to promote health and prevent disease.

An increasingly ageing population in the industrialised world is accompanied by a number of new challenges. For example, as ageing is combined with a more active lifestyle, the demand for treatments for damaged and diseased organs and tissues also increases.
The interventions that are used to successfully restore the function of damaged organs or tissues have also changed in the past decades. While some thirty years ago implants were used to passively take over the function of a poorly functioning tissue, nowadays the focus is on developing methods that temporary 'trigger' the body to repair or regenerate itself. Furthermore, such interventions need to be affordable, as the burden to our healthcare system is also growing.

To be able to develop successful and affordable regenerative strategies, knowledge must be integrated from different disciplines. An active collaboration between chemists, materials scientists, physicists, biologists, computational scientists and clinicians is required to make a true difference in the biomedical field.

This specialisation is developed for students with an interest in a multidisciplinary field aiming at creating solutions to restore structure and function of permanently damaged tissues and organs by using a combination of science and technology. Regenerative medicine (RM) is inherently translational and uses basic scientific knowledge to solve real clinical problems. Within this specialisation, topics will focus on both the molecular biological (including stem cell biology and gene therapies) and technological (including tissue engineering and bio-fabrication technologies) aspects, and the combination thereof within a clinical context.

You will:
 obtain an overview of the science and technology in the field of RM;
 be exposed to the essence of multi-disciplinarity within RM;
 understand the difference between basic science and translational science;
 learn how to bring novel inventions within the field of RM to the market;
 make the scientific journey from basic science and technology towards a clinical application; and
 learn to communicate specialised knowledge to a group of scientists with different background and specialisations.

This specialisation prepares you for a research-oriented future in the field of regenerative medicine in academia, biomedical companies, et cetera (e.g. PhD, embedded scientists, R&D).

In the first course the basic principles of RM are taught. This course serves as the basis for work in the second course, which focuses on translation and application of the knowledge obtained in course 1 to solve challenging clinical problems.

Course 1: The Science and Technology of Regenerative Therapeutics
This course is about exposure to the essence of multi-disciplinarity of RM. You will increase your level of knowledge on the technology and science behind regenerative medicine such as cell therapy, material science, fabrication technologies and combinations of these, within a clinical context.

Course 2: Translating Therapies into the Clinic and onto the Market
In this course, we will make the scientific journey from science and technology to the clinic and products. Using actual clinical challenges, you have to work out a new solution to that clinical problem supported by experts in the field. You will know where to put biomedical solutions in the Technology Readiness Level chain and you will learn how to take it a step further and learn to communicate specialised knowledge to a group of scientists from different disciplines.