Utrecht, Netherlands

Biomedical Research Lab

This interdisciplinary lab course gives you a realistic insight into the life of a biomedical researcher. We provide advanced bachelor students (with backgrounds in medicine and/or life sciences) the opportunity to conduct authentic and real-world biomedical research in small interdisciplinary groups. The research is conducted in a well-equipped (wet) laboratory and focuses on urgent medical cases or ongoing translational medicine research problems. Each group will study the same hypothesis from different perspectives by applying different research methods. At the end of the course, you will collectively write a short research report and present the outcomes of your project.

This interdisciplinary lab course gives you a realistic insight into the life of a biomedical researcher. During this intensive 2 week course, we provide advanced bachelor students (with a background in medicine and/or life sciences) the opportunity to conduct authentic and real-world research in a well-equipped (wet) laboratory. This research topic will focus on an urgent medical need, e.g. on an actual patient case with an unknown medical problem or on an ongoing translational medicine research problem. All participants are divided into subgroups that will all study the same problem from different perspectives by applying different research methods.

In the first 2 days of this course, together with your peers, you will define a hypothesis through conducting a brief literature study, using (unpublished) research documents or a medical patient file. Then, you will all test the same hypothesis in a biomedical laboratory by using different approaches and research methods. You will be extensively supervised by experts in the field and qualified laboratory staff. You will have work meetings with the supervisors and the other students where the obtained data and plans are discussed.

At the end of the course, you will together write a brief research report with the acquired data. In addition, you will present the final outcomes of your project to your peers and the staff, just like professional researchers do at research conferences.

The interdisciplinary nature of this course will bridge the gap between biomedicine and (translational) medical research to further enhance ongoing and actual medical (research and patient) problems.

Course leader

Dr. Niels Bovenschen

Target group

This course is open to advanced bachelor students with a medicine and/or life science/ biomedical sciences background. We are aiming for a balance between the different study backgrounds. Background knowledge on the following topics is recommended: molecular biology, cell biology, physiology, and pathology.

Course aim

After completing this course, you will be able to

Explain, clarify, and discuss the most important theories and research concepts of your research;
Define a research question from a (bio)medical problem;
Perform (translational) research in a research laboratory;
Interpret your obtained data, write a research report, and present your data to peers;
Work together in an interdisciplinary team.

Fee info

EUR 2450: Course + course materials
EUR 450: Housing fee (optional)