The Biomedical Sciences programme trains highly skilled scientists who are able to conduct research in a wide biomedical field and supervise such research in academic, clinical or industrial settings.

In this specialisation, you study relevant infectious and tropical diseases, gaining practical insights into the interaction between the ecology and the disease.

The focus of this programme is on research.

You will spend half of your study time on practical research while doing internships and on writing a dissertation. Collaboration between the Institute for Tropical Medicine and the university laboratories provides you with the unique opportunity to participate in high-level research on HIV, malaria and other infectious and imported diseases.

In addition, you are offered the opportunity to study abroad for part of the programme.

Your programme:

The field of biomedical sciences studies both the healthy and sick human and the relevant animal models. Biomedical sciences can be distinguished from biology, bio-engineering and veterinary sciences by means of the clear emphasis on humans.

The programme does not focus on acquiring clinical skills, as this is covered in medicine and pharmacy, but prepares you to conduct technological or scientific research in a clinical context.

In Antwerp, the biomedical sciences programme is a multidisciplinary programme taught by lecturers from the faculties of Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences, Medicine and Sciences.

In the Neurosciences specialisation, you study the underlying neuronal structures and mechanisms of behaviour and memory as well as the diagnosis, appearance and pathogenesis of various neurological and psychiatric disorders. You learn to develop experimental research, based on animal models, for example, with a view to investigating the neural substrate of behaviour and cognition.

More specifically, the research focuses on excitation, plasticity and the connectivity of neurons and how they function in brain circuits both in healthy individuals and sick individuals. Besides this, the research examines the autonomous nerve system and its central regulatory function.

You also learn to set up experimental research into the pathogenesis and pathological processes related to neurological and psychiatric disorders.

Job opportunities:           

Because of the level of specialisation, many graduates in the biomedical sector go on to do a PhD. Some continue working on scientific research, while others find jobs in:

• the biotech or pharmaceutical industries

• the business community

• scientific institutions

• government

• hospitals

• and especially education

Your future:

Graduates often go on to work as researchers at the Institute for Tropical Medicine, or in pharmaceutical or biotech companies and university labs where tropical diseases and imported diseases in general are studied.