Cardiovascular Tissue Regeneration and Repair (PhD Programme)
Vienna, Austria
PhD
DURATION
6 semesters
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
TUITION FEES
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
Key Summary
About: MedUni Vienna’s PhD in Cardiovascular Tissue Regeneration and Repair trains researchers in regenerative medicine for heart pathologies. It covers induced pluripotent stem cells, cardiac organoids, tissue engineering, 3D printing, and cell-free approaches like secretomes, extracellular vesicles (EVs), growth factors, non-coding RNAs, gene therapies and biomaterials. It studies endogenous repair stimulation (therapeutics, genetic and epigenetic modification, ischemic conditioning) and exogenous strategies (cells, tissues, ATMPs), and stresses translating preclinical advances to human therapies.
Career Outcomes: Academic researcher, postdoctoral fellow, translational scientist, biotech R&D scientist, tissue engineer, clinical research associate, regulatory affairs specialist, medical science liaison, entrepreneur in regenerative medicine, industry consultant
Regenerative medicine is considered a key technology of the present and future medicine, with potential new therapies for cardiovascular, skin, neurological, and many other diseases. The majority of the cardiovascular regeneration research focused on ischemic heart disease. Still, it should also encompass other cardiovascular disorders, such as oncologic treatment-induced cardiotoxicity, or congenital and metabolic heart diseases or brain-heart axis repair.
This study program focuses on cardiovascular tissue pathologies and aims to elaborate methods for tissue regeneration and repair in this context. In the last twenty years, some evolutionary breakthroughs in tissue regeneration have been achieved, including the development of induced pluripotent stem cells (ips), identification of essential characteristics of regenerative cell types, development of cardiac organoids, tissue engineering and 3d printing. Beyond cell-based cardiac repair technology, regenerative medicine also involves the application of cell-free materials such as secretomes of regenerative cells, extracellular vesicles (EVS), growth factors, non-coding RNAS and gene therapies, biomaterials and several types of engineered tissues.
Regenerative medicine can be divided into two complementary strategies:
- stimulation of the endogenous repair mechanisms by applied therapeutics (eg. synthetic or biologically derived factors, genetic and epigenetic modifications) or interventions (eg. ischemic conditioning, cardioprotection), and
- exogenous regeneration modes through use of cells, tissues, or other biotechnological products, such as advanced therapy medicinal products, ATMPs. In contrast to pre-clinical data, human cardiac regenerative therapies led to a moderate success in improvement of cardiac performance, reduction of infarct size, prevention of left ventricular remodelling and decreased mortality and cardiovascular morbidity. Therefore, it is fundamental to understand the underlying biological mechanisms and translate the therapeutic efficacy gained in pre-clinical experiments to human conditions.
At MedUni Vienna, all PhD students are employed as scientific staff for the duration of their doctoral studies.
That means:
- You receive a salary
- You are fully funded during your employment
- You benefit from social security, health insurance, and pension coverage
- You will receive a refund for your job ticket (free public transportation within Vienna)
Salary & Contract Details
PhD students are usually employed 30 hours/week under the collective agreement for university staff (Level B1).
Your exact salary may vary depending on the source of third-party funding (e.g. FWF, EU-funded projects, foundations). The standard PhD salary is currently at EUR 2786 incl. tax / EUR 2043 excl. tax
Employment contracts are usually tied to the duration of your project funding. Your supervisor will inform you about your specific contract terms once a supervision agreement is in place.
Infobox section:
Application deadline: Phd Calls application periods March-April, October-November
Earliest starting date: flexible as arranged with PI
Tuition fees: Free 3 years + 2 Semester, Later: 389- 727EUR
Fully funded PhD projects advancing medical research at the intersection of science and technology now available for application (October 5th - November 22nd 2026)
Basic Lecture 1
Cardiovascular Tissue Regeneration and Repair (2 semester hours, recommended in the third study semester)
Basic Lecture 2
Cardiovascular Tissue Regeneration and Repair (2 semester hours, recommended in the fourth study semester). The basic lecture "Basic Lecture - Cardiovascular Regeneration and Repair 2" is intended to convey basic knowledge for the PhD program UN094 "Cardiovascular Regeneration and Repair". By attending this course, students will understand key pathophysiological processes, the underlying biological mechanisms of cardiovascular regeneration and repair, and be able to translate the therapeutic efficacy gained in preclinical experiments to human conditions. Journal Club - Cardiovascular Tissue Regeneration and Repair.
The Journal Clubs (paper critical review) will be held weekly by the principal investigators of the program. They will discuss the actual relevant literature, comparing it to the past published data.Thesis Seminar - Cardiovascular Tissue Regeneration and Repair. In thesis seminars, the relevant ongoing work of the PhD students will be discussed and critically evaluated (2 hours per week per semester). The aim of the thesis seminar is the interactive work among PhD students and supervisors and exchange the knowledge and methods.