Human Biology – Principles of Health and Disease

The Elite Gradua­te Pro­gram “Human Biology - Princip­les of Health and Disease” is an inter­discipli­nary, rese­arch- and compe­tency-ori­ented program. Due to the societal challen­ges in biomedi­cal sci­ences today, there is an ever-increa­sing de­mand for high­ly-skilled, qualified young scien­tists. The program is desig­ned to meet this demand by edu­cating distin­guished students at the intersec­tion of biology and me­dicine at the fo­refront of bio­medical sciences.

The Elite Graduate Program at a glance

DegreeMaster of Science
Duration of studyFour semesters
Place of studyMunich
Admission requirementsBachelor’s degree with at 180 ECTS credits in biology or related subject with a written final research project of at least 10 ECTS-credits.
Language of instructionEnglish
Application deadlineFebruary 28th
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Begin of studiesWinter semester
HeadProf. Dr. Heinrich Leonhardt, Prof. Dr. Thomas Gudermann 
CoordinatorIrini Bassios
Contact the coordinator
Further informationWebsite Human Biology – Principles of Health and Disease

Connection to current biomedical research

The Elite Gradu­ate Pro­gram “Human Biology – Princi­ples of Health and Dis­ease” is charac­terized by excel­lent fa­cilities for con­tempo­rary re­search in Munich and just outside of Mu­nich at the modern HighTechCam­pus in Mar­tinsried, where the main part of the study program takes place. Together the Fac­ulty of Biology and the Faculty of Medi­cine rep­resent a thriving research network whose out­standing research output is interna­tionally recog­nized and which gives signifi­cant im­pulses to the basic research in bio­medical sciences. All research projectsare with­in the scope of the five main topics of the Elite Gradu­ate Pro­gram, such as “Cell Biology, Stem Cells and Epi­genet­ics”, “Mo­lecular Microbi­ology and In­fection Biolo­gy”, “Mo­lecular Oncolo­gy”, “Neuro­sciences” and “Cardio­vascular and Lung Re­search”.


Students can also benefit from taking ad­vantage of fur­ther teaching and re­search opportu­nities by tapping into the addi­tional expertise of our collabo­ration partners. In addi­tion to exper­tise, the curricu­lum in­cludes interdis­ciplinary courses, in which students will have the pos­sibility to choose courses based on their interests. In trans­ferable skills courses, students will ac­quire cross-curricu­lar abili­ties.

Portrait photo: Prof. Dr. Thomas Gudermann

The new master’s program in the field of biomedical sciences organized by both the Faculties of Biology and Medicine allows us to offer our students a state-of-the-art and interdisciplinary study program by combining the best of two worlds.

Prof. Dr. Thomas Gudermann

The re­search-oriented Elite Gradu­ate Pro­gram adresses highly motivat­ed and dedi­cat­ed stu­dents. Our aim is to pre­pare our students the best way pos­sible to meet future chal­lenges in a sci­en­ce-related profes­sional career in the field of bio­medi­cine.

Mentoring System

The Elite Gradu­ate Pro­gram “Human Biology – Princi­ples of Health and Dis­ease” is accom­panied by a compre­hensive mentor­ing pro­gram. From enroll­ment until gradua­tion, students will be support­ed by several people depend­ing on their specific needs. Each student will be assigned a profes­sor as a mentor, who will foster the de­velop­ment of both the personal and in­dividual scientific pro­file.

Professors involved in this program are at the cut­ting-edge of their respec­tive fields and have an inter­national profile. During regular stu­dent-mentor meet­ings, students receive support in their scientific and per­sonal career devel­op­ment.

Snippets of the program

iGEM Munich 2019

Students have been developing a novel diagnostic tool with potential to monitor transplanted cells in vivo.

Read the report

A group of people in purple sweaters in front of the iGEM sign.

Nobel Prize Dialogue

Scientists and politicians discussed aspects that influence the global health status with the society.

Read the report

Zwei Studentinnen stehen vor einem Bildschirm, der das Motto des Nobel Prize Dialogue 2019 “Towa-rds Health – Equality, Responsibility and Research” zeigt.

Snippets of the research

Balancing Act: Axon Health in MS

In a laboratory internship, Jonas Huber explored calcium-mediated mechanisms in the autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis.

Fibrinogen uptake in cancer cells : good or bad?

In this study, Manasvini Sridharr investigates the link between the uptake of fibrinogen by pancreatic cancer cell lines and the resulting effects. It was completed during an 8-week research internship at Walther Straub Institute.

Regulatory mechanisms

Mengxin Wu’s master project aims to under­stand the mechanisms that regulate the de­ve­lop­ment and functionality of migratory cDC1 in tumors. A key step for cancer immunity.