4 positions in the PhD Program in
FOUNDATIONS OF THE LIFE SCIENCES AND THEIR ETHICAL CONSEQUENCES
(FOLSATEC)
WEB PAGE: www.semm.it/application_folsatec.php
DEADLINE: September 3, 2012
EXAMINATION: October 12, 2012
DURATION: 4 years
SALARY: 18.500 Euro per year
LOCATION: Ifom-Ieo Campus (Milan) (www.ifom-ieo-campus.it). The Ifom-Ieo Campus is a center for biomedical research (about 450 researchers and 35 research groups), created by the joint efforts of the FIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology (IFOM) and the Department of Experimental Oncology of the European Institute of Oncology (IEO, www.ieo.it), a comprehensive cancer hospital.
LANGUAGE: Lectures, seminars, and all other activities in the Campus are in English. The doctoral dissertation will also be in English.
AWARDING BODY: University of Milano
SCIENTIFIC COORDINATOR: Giovanni Boniolo
TEACHING STAFF: Mark Bedau, Giovanni Boniolo, Marco Ferraguti, John Harris, Nils Hoppe, Sheila Jasanoff, Matteo Mameli, Michel Morange, Jan Sprenger, Giuseppe Testa
COURSES: Epistemology, Evolutionary biology, Foundations of ethics and bioethics, General philosophy of science, Scientific methodology, Logic and rhetoric, Computation for philosophers, Molecular genetics, Genomics and proteomics, Developmental biology and animal models, Fundamental principles in molecular oncology, Foundations of probability and statistics, Bioethics, Bioinformatics, History of biomedicine, Philosophy of the life sciences, Biolaw, STS and the life sciences.
RESEARCH TOPICS: (1) Philosophical foundations of biomedicine and biotechnology; (2) Ethical implications of biomedicine and biotechnology; (3) Biomedicine and society
DESCRIPTION: The aim of the FOLSATEC International PhD Program is the creation of highly skilled scholars working in one of the three areas listed above. The students will attend advanced seminars and will write a doctoral dissertation on a topic of their choice (the choice is made in consultation with the teaching staff). They will also be involved in lab activities and will have a chance to become members of one of the research groups of the Ifom-Ieo Campus (one of the largest research centres for biomedicine in Europe) and/or to work in close contact with the clinical departments at the IEO (the European Institute of Oncology). Lectures, seminars, and all other activities in the Campus are in English. The doctoral dissertation will also be in English. No more than four students are admitted to the PhD program every year and they all receive a full scholarship.
The PhD programme provides for:
? the possibility to address and analyze in depth a variety of bioethical and science policy issues;
? the possibility to explore the philosophical foundations of molecular biomedicine and evolutionary theory;
? the possibility to refine one’s own logical/analytical/philosophical skills;
? the possibility to conduct genuinely interdisciplinary research, which combines in a fruitful way scientific and humanistic subjects;
? the possibility to interact with (and to observe the work of) top scientists and experienced doctors.
In order to obtain their degree, students are also required to publish at least one article in an international journal. They are given the support and the help they need in order to achieve this. Collaborations between doctoral students and/or between doctoral students and members of the teaching staff are also encouraged.
ELIGIBILITY: Both individuals with a scientific background and individuals with a humanistic or legal background are encouraged to apply.
If you need more information, please contact the Scientific Coordinator, Prof. Giovanni Boniolo at [email protected], or the head of the Graduate Office, Dr. Francesca Fiore, at [email protected].