REASONS FOR INITIATING THE PROGRAM
THE ASSESSMENT OF NEEDS
The neuroscience currently represents the central field of international research cooperation, especially within the European Research Area. The neuroscience has been one of priorities in all European Framework Programs to date. Research in neuroscience represents an important fraction of current genomic and proteomic investigations, because approximately 60% of human genes is expressed in the nervous system, and 30% of genes is specifically expressed in the brain. Furthermore, about one third of known diseases affects the nervous system. Therefore, the neuroscience has a very prominent role in the pharmaceutical industry and in diagnosis and treatment of numerous psychiatric, neurological and neuroendocrine disorders (e.g., mental diseases, Alzheimer's disease, neurodegenerative diseases). In addition, certain traditional (neuropharmacology, neurobiology, neurogenetics, neuroimmunology, molecular neurobiology) as well as new branches of neuroscience (neuroethics, neuroeconomics, neuroinformatics, neurolinguistics) are expected to assume a prominent role in other realms of public life and private business enterprise.
We estimate the needs for neuroscience training as follows:
- the recruitment of trained investigators is needed in at least 5 research teams at our leading research institutes (Institute Ruđer Bošković, IMI and others);
- the recruitment of at least 6 researchers/teachers per academic year is needed at four Croatian universities, for both teaching and research (e.g., 28 coordinated long-term research grants currently exist just at the School of Medicine Zagreb and Croatian Institute for Brain Research);
- Researchers with PhD in neuroscience are needed at each and every university clinics in Croatia, especially in laboratories for clinical neurophysiology, neuropsychology and neurochemistry;
- furthermore, qualified researchers are needed at other university schools, e.g. Faculty of Philosophy (Department of Psychology), School of education and rehabilitation, etc.;
- the establishment of neuroscience PhD curriculum is in fact inevitable, because European network of PhD programs in neuroscience is extensive and well established, and Croatian universities simply need to incorporate such programs within the framework of Bologna process.
Finally, it should be noted that brain research is one of Croatian research priorities since 1997; see also Declaration on neuroscience (enclosed) prepared by the Croatian Society for Neuroscience.
NEUROSCIENCE IS NEW, INTEGRATIVE AND INTERDISCIPLINARY FIELD OF RESEARCH, PERMEATING ALL REALMS OF KNOWLEDGE-BASED SOCIETY
It should be recognized and acknowledged that in the modern world the entire system of learning and education as well as knowledge and communication skills are based on functions of the human brain which are the subject of neuroscience research.
ESTABLISHMENT OF COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH
This proposal is based on long-term collaboration between the University of Zagreb (especially School of Medicine), the Institute «Ruđer Bošković», and a number of university clinics and hospitals. The long-term research program (1997-present) represents the best foundation for PhD program, because it testifies the presence of a successful collaboration at multiple levels: education (PhD program «Biomedicine & Health» - Neuroscience), research (collaborative program project), clinical practice (clinical hospitals and Clinical Unit «Neuron»), and technology (Center for Clinical Application of Neuroscience). All parameters are quantifiable as expressed by number of publications in strictly refereed international journals, quotations in SCI, and several patents.
The international collaboration has been established through research cooperation with leading international Universities and Institutes (Yale University, Karolinska Institute, Goethe University, University of Amsterdam, INSERM, McGill University) and through the activities of International Scientific Advisory Board of the Croatian Institute for Brain Research (including several prominent scientists of Croatian origin, e.g. Krnjević, Rakic, Randic, etc.).
COMPARISON WITH PROGRAMS OF INTERNATIONAL ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS
This PhD program is highly comparable to well-known international PhD programs in Neuroscience (see, for example, FENS-NENS Programme Directory, Euron, as well as MD and PhD programs at Universities of Wien and Göttingen).
PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE OF PROPOSERS
The authors of this proposal have been leaders and participants in a number of previous academic courses: Neurobiology program of the University PhD program in Biology (Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Zagreb; early 1980s to present); Neuroscience program of the PhD program «Biomedicine & Health» (School of Medicine, University of Zagreb; 2003-present). In addition, School of Medicine Zagreb was among the first to establish PhD program which is fully compatible with Bologna Process, and its neuroscience program was already evaluated at the level of University and its interdisciplinarity is already well established (teachers from School of Medicine, Institute «Ruđer Bošković», Faculty of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Philosophy, and Faculty of Education & Rehabilitation).
THE PROGRAM ENABLES STUDENT MOBILITY
The proposed interdisciplinary PhD program in neuroscience enables student mobility, because it can be entered by students from PhD programs in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, psychology, education & rehabilitation, biology and biophysics.
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