Our goals

We aim to be an attractive workplace and training centre for talented employees and to promote qualified junior staff in medicine, science and nursing.

Our offer

Neuroscience module

As part of HeiCuMed, the department (responsible: Prof. Dr Jan Purrucker) coordinates the neuroscience module, which is held in the 3rd year of study. The neuroscience module is a joint development of the departments of neurology, neurosurgery, neuroradiology, neuropsychology, ophthalmology and ENT as well as affiliated teaching hospitals and external lecturers. Students are taught in small groups, benefit from individualised supervision and gain a great deal of practical experience. In addition to organising the neuroscience module, Prof. Dr Jan Purrucker is also the teaching coordinator for the entire subject block III of HeiCuMed. In addition to the neuroscience subjects, this also includes the following subjects: psychiatry, psychosomatics, paediatric and adolescent psychiatry, ENT, ophthalmology, dermatology, infectiology and immunology.

Practical year

The practical year (PJ) in our department offers the opportunity to practise practical medical skills and abilities and to be involved in diagnostic and therapeutic decision-making processes. The training takes place within the framework of 4-week rotations on the general neurology ward, the stroke ward and the neuro-oncology ward as well as in the neurological emergency outpatient clinic. Participation in internal training courses - including the neurology seminar and departmental colloquium - enables key aspects of clinical and translational research and interdisciplinary patient care to be communicated and discussed with internal and external colleagues.

Doctoral theses

In our department, scientific and medical doctoral theses are also continuously supervised by the habilitated heads of the working groups.

Neurological specialist training

We offer 5 + 1 years of neurological specialist training , consisting of the modules general wards, emergency department, Doppler training, electrophysiology, intensive care unit and stroke unit. An extension and adaptation of the rotations, orientated towards independent scientific work, is desirable. All new junior doctors are assigned to one of the senior physicians as mentees. This mentoring function is intended to ensure that familiarisation with the sometimes very demanding and time-consuming daily work routine is easier, questions can be clarified at short notice and concepts for personal careers can be discussed.

Further training and events

Our department regularly organises regional and (inter)national training courses and events. This gives employees of the University Hospital, NCT and DKFZ as well as external colleagues and invited speakers the opportunity to present and discuss current aspects of patient care and research in neurology.

The internal training courses include the scientific neurology seminar, which serves to present and discuss the latest developments in neurology together with external speakers and co-operation partners. The departmental colloquium with research reports, study presentations, reports on new SOPs and regular morbidity & mortality conferences are held on an ongoing basis. We organise an annual therapy seminar on current developments in neurology together with the Department of Neurology in Zurich.

Additional programmes

Elective track "Global Health" the teaching project "Fundamentals of Qualitative Research for Medical Students"
Responsible: Dr Loraine Busetto, Prof Dr Christoph Gumbinger. Further information can be found here.

Mentor-tutor programme: "Practical course introduction to cerebrospinal fluid diagnostics" (LSF#122495)
Responsible:. Dr Brigitte Wildemann, Prof. Dr Jürgen Haas.
The visit to the CSF laboratory of the neurology clinic offers participants an introduction to CSF analysis and its importance in the diagnosis of neurological diseases. Further information is available here.

Mentor-tutor programme: "Work shadowing in the neurological outpatient clinic" (LSF#122493)
Responsible: Dr Brigitte Wildemann, Prof. Dr Jürgen Haas
There is the opportunity to get to know the diagnosis and treatment of neurological autoimmune diseases (MS, myasthenia gravis, etc.) in the neuroimmunological outpatient clinic. Further information can be found here.

Mentor-tutor programme: "Laboratory course" (LSF#122491)
Responsible: Dr Brigitte Wildemann, Prof. Dr Jürgen Haas.
Participants will gain an insight into clinical research in the section through practical exercises. The course includes cell separation from clinical blood samples, the preparation of T and B cell cultures, flow cytometric analyses and a seminar designed to provide students with background information on the section's research activities. Further information can be found here.

Basic Practical Practical Seminar: "Molecular Neuroimmunology" (LSF#121869)
Responsible: Dr Brigitte Wildemann, Prof. Dr Jürgen Haas.
In this three-day practical course, participants learn about basic methods of neuroimmunological research in seminar lectures and practical exercises. These include, for example, immunomagnetic cell isolation, quantitative PCR, western blot and immunofluorescence microscopy. Further information is available here.

Seminar series: "Cancer Neuroscience Seminar Series "
Responsible: Dr Dr Varun Venkataramani, Prof Dr Frank Winkler
Lectures on current topics in the field of Cancer Neuroscience can be found here.

Elective subject on "Research in Cognitive Neuroscience"
Responsible: Prof. Dr Alexander Gutschalk, PD Dr Andre Rupp
In recent years, cognitive neuroscience has made a significant contribution to further deciphering complex processes such as perception, thought, language, emotion and pathophysiological processes such as pain with the help of functional imaging by analysing neuronal networks and their interaction. This elective subject therefore aims to teach students the methods of scientific work in the cognitive neurosciences in close connection with ongoing research projects. Further information can be found here.

In planning: "Clinical Immunology" elective track
Responsible: Dr Brigitte Wildemann, Prof Dr Jürgen Haas.

Contact option for students

The contact person for all questions relating to the teaching of medical students is Prof Dr Jan Purrucker.

Please contact the secretary's office by email.

Central email address: HeiCuMed.NEU(at)med.uni-heidelberg.de