Career & Funding

Do your Master Thesis or Doctorate at the CTNR
Who we are
The Centre for Transdisciplinary Neurosciences Rostock (CTNR) represents one of the three main scientific areas at the University Medical Centre Rostock. The overall aim of the CTNR is to identify and target mechanisms in neurodegeneration to implement innovative therapeutic concepts for primary and secondary neurodegenerative processes.
Our topics
- Mechanisms of resilience and their interplay with neurodegenerative processes
- Precision medicine to establish predictors for cerebral resilience in primary and secondary neurodegeneration in humans
- Adoption of continuous bi-directional translation pathways for development of new treatments and preventions in neurodegenerative disease
Our research labs & working groups
Joint applications
Be part of it
- MD and PhD candidates
- Research in a medical or natural / life / engineering / social scientific field with a focus on neurosciences
International students
We would like to offer young scientists from abroad the opportunity to conduct their PhD training within the CTNR framework. To this end, we offer support for interested students to apply for a DAAD or ERASMUS+ grant in Rostock.
DAAD Research Grant

Who can apply?
Excellently-qualified young academics and scientists who have completed a Master's degree or Diploma by the time they begin their grant-supported research.
How long lasts the funding?
A maximum of four years; the length of the grant is decided by a selection committee of the DAAD and depends on the project in question and the applicant's work schedule. The grants are initially awarded for a maximum of one year. Extensions depend on whether the selection committee considers the previous award period to have been successfully completed.
What is funded?
Monthly payments of € 1,200.- for doctoral candidates. Payments towards health, accident and personal liability insurance cover. One-off research allowance. Travel allowance.
How to apply?
- Send us your letter of intent (max. 1 page), your research interest and your diplomas
- We look internally for an appropriate supervisor
For international students
- The supervisor will contact you and you will prepare a project proposal under his/her supervision
- You will submit the proposal to the DAAD
- Once the proposal is positively evaluated you can plan your research period together with your supervisor
ERASMUS+

Traineeship
Erasmus+ supports traineeships (work placements, internships, etc) abroad for students currently enrolled in higher education institutions in Programme countries at Bachelor and Master level as well as for doctoral candidates. These opportunities are also open to recent graduates.
Higher Education (teaching staff)
If you work in higher education, you can spend time teaching at an institution.
United Neuroscience Campus Lund - Rostock
The CTNR signed an agreement with the Faculty of Medicine in Lund (Sweden) to enhance the exchange of students and scientists between Lund and Rostock in the field of Neurosciences.
ERASMUS Office Rostock
If you are intrested in an exchange programme please contact the ERASMUS office of the University Medical Centre Rostock.
Finding Scholarships
General Search
Avicenna-Studienwerk
Bayer Foundation
Begabtenförderung
Deutschlandstipendium
FAZIT-Stiftung
Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
Friedrich Naumann Stiftung
German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)
Hans Böckler Stiftung
Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung
Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung
Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung
Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes
CTNR Thesis Advisory Committee (TAC) Programme
The CTNR provides the framework for an educational programme for doctoral candidates of CTNR members. The doctoral researcher get the possibility to be supervised by a Thesis Advisory Committee (TAC). The TAC aims to provide guidance for both the doctoral candidate and their supervisors, in order for them to reach a successful end of the project.
- The TAC consists of 3 CTNR members (supervisors).
- The TAC Meetings will be organised by the doctoral candidates.
- Typically, the TAC meets twice in the 1st year and once per year thereafter (initial and annual report meetings).
- For each TAC meeting, a written report and an oral presentation has to be prepared by the doctoral candidate.
- The meetings focus on the evaluation of the report, presentation, research performance and theoretical knowledge, the evaluation of the thesis project and work done so far, and recommendations for the following year.
Templates
For each TAC meeting, a written report and an oral presentation (max. 30 minutes) has to be prepared by the doctoral candidate.
The results of the meetings are filled out and summarized by the supervisors during the meetings in the evaluation report.
Initial Report MeetingFirst Annual Meeting | Second Annual MeetingThird Annual Meeting |
Pool of CTNR TAC members
The doctoral candidates are free to choose the supervisors faculty wide. As a selection, the CTNR provides a pool of potential TAC members who have declared their willingness to join. Doctoral candidates can choose and contact them as potential supervisors (also unrelated to the subject).
University Medicine Rostock:
- Prof. Dr. med. Astrid Bertsche, Department of Neuropaediatrics/Neuropaediatric Research Group
- Dr. rer. nat. Carsten Holzmann, Institute of Medical Genetics
- Prof. Dr.med. Dr.rer.nat. Markus Kipp, Institute of Anatomy
- Prof. Dr. med. Timo Kirschstein, Oscar-Langendorff-Intitute of Physiology
- Prof. Dr. med. Rüdiger Köhling, Oscar-Langendorff-Institute of Physiology
- Prof. Dr. med. Michael Kölch, Department of Psychiatry, Neurology, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy in Childhood and Adolescence
- Prof. Dr. rer. soc. Peter Kropp, Institute of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology
- PD Dr. rer. nat. Angela Kuhla, Rudolf-Zenker-Institute for Experimental Surgery
- Prof. Dr. med. Carsten Spitzer, Department of Psychosomatics and Psychotherapeutic Medicine
- Prof. Dr. med. Alexander Storch, Department of Neurology
- Prof. Dr. med. Birgit Völlm, Forensic Psychiatry
- Prof. Dr. med. Dr. h.c. Martin Witt, Institute of Anatomy
- Prof. Dr. med. Uwe Zettl, Department of Neurology
University of Rostock:
- Dr. phil. Corinna Lüthje, Institute for Media Research
CTNR Medical Scientist Programme in Neurosciences
The CTNR Neuro Medical Scientist Programme includes the financial support of positions for medical scientists/doctoral candidates with a focus on neurosciences. Medical Scientists are (non-physician) medical researchers in theoretical, preclinical and clinical subjects, as well as non-medical researchers in other fields (natural/life/engineering/social science).
Deadline 3rd Call: 31 May 2022
Available position: 65% E13 for 6 months or 50% E13 for 8 months
The proposed project should contribute to one of the strategic aims of the CTNR:
- preparation/initiation of cooperative research projects
- creation/consolidation of national and international cooperation
Accordingly to the availability of funds, the position is advertised for CTNR members only.
CTNR Neuro Medical Scientists
Fatima Efendic
Apr 2022 - Mar 2023

Fatima Efendic is from Bosnia and Herzegovina and has been working in the Translational Neurodegeneration Section "Albrecht Kossel" (Prof. Dr. Dr. Hermann/PD Dr. Moritz Frech) since January 2021. Since then, she has been working on her PhD thesis, which focuses on disease modeling of the rare hereditary neurodegenerative disease Fatty Acid Hydroxylase-Associated Neurodegeneration (FAHN). The main goal of her research is to establish patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to study the pathophysiological mechanisms of this fatal disease. As a medical scientist at CTNR, Fatima Efendic will focus on iPCS-derived oligodendrocytes and neurons to study demyelination, which is a major pathophysiological feature of FAHN. For this she will team up with the group of Prof. Dr. Dr. Kipp. It is expected that the results of this project will shed light on the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms of FAHN, which are poorly understood to date.
Luisa Müller
Oct 2021 - Sep 2022

After successfully completing her studies, Luisa Müller started a position as research associate and PhD student in the Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy. She is currently working in the EXCITE project on preclinical research in Alzheimer´s disease rodent models and already conducted several experiments on BL6J and APPswe/PS1dE9 mice to unravel the complex relationship between sleep-wake-rhythms and brain clearance. She established the method of intrahippocampal stereotactic injections in the working group. To investigate the influence of sleep-wake-rhythms on brain clearance a fluorescent dye was injected into the hippocampi of mice (wildtype and transgenic) at different times of the day (begin or end of the sleep period of the mice). At defined time points after injection brains were explanted and tissue dispersion of the dye was assessed histologically. An abstract of this work was handed in to AAIC®2021 for presentation. As a CTNR Medical Scientist, Luisa Müller will establish an approach investigating neuronal hyperexcitability in Alzheimer’s disease combining in vivo multimodal imaging and EEG recordings.

Clinician Scientist Programmes at the University Medicine Rostock
To improve the recruiting of young clinical scientific researchers and to support their specific challenges concerning compatibility of research and clinical work, the University Medicine Rostock (UMR) established a Rostock Academy of Science (RAS). In order to create efficient incentives for an academic/research career besides medical training, 15 positions for an advanced training in a clinical specialty/subspecialty (ärztliche Weiterbildungsstellen) are advertised. The key element of the program is the research protected time of two years within the specialist/subspecialist training time to conduct a theoretical research project.
CTNR Clinician Scientist Programme in Neurosciences
In addition to RAS, the CTNR offers two Clinician Scientist positions in the Neurosciences for the research protected time of two years within the specialist/subspecialist training time to conduct a theoretical research project in the field of Neurosciences. The programme consists of an individual clinical, scientific and soft skill educational curriculum and runs under the regulation of the Rostock Academy of Science (RAS, see above).
2nd Call: April 2022
CTNR Neuro Clinician Scientists
2019 - 2023
Dr. med. Maxi Kersten
Since 2015, Dr. Kersten is a resident at the Department of Neurology and member of a clinical research group for movement disorders and deep brain stimulation. As a Neuro Clinician Scientist, Dr. Kersten will work on "Functional characterization of the basal ganglia-cortex network to improve individual clinical efficacy of deep brain stimulation in movement disorders".
The clinical mentor of Dr. Kersten is Prof. Dr. med. Alexander Storch (Department of Neurology) and the scientific mentor is Prof. Dr. med. Rüdiger Köhling (Oscar-Langendorff- Institute of Physiology).
2020 - 2022
Dr. med. Felix Streckenbach

Since 2018, Dr. Streckenbach is a resident at the Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Pediatric Radiology and Neuroradiology at the University Medical Center Rostock and member of the clinical research group in Neuroradiology. As a Neuro Clinician Scientist, Dr. Streckenbach will work on the “development of a biodegradable stent for intracranial aneurysms”.
The clinical mentor of Dr. Streckenbach is Prof. Dr. med. Marc-André Weber (Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Pediatric Radiology and Neuroradiology) and the scientific mentors are Prof. Dr.-Ing. Nils Grabow and Prof. Dr.-Ing Klaus-Peter Schmitz (Institute for Biomedical Engineering).
Funding opportunities in neurosciences
The monthly newsletter provides information about news and announcements of the CTNR, current national and international funding opportunities and training events in the field of neurosciences.
National and international funding bodies
Alberta Innovates
Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung
Alzheimer Forschung Initiative e.V. (AFI)
Alzheimer’s Research UK
Association of German Foundations
Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds
DAAD
Damp Stiftung
ELFI
Else Kröner Fresenius Stiftung
EMBO
EUREKA
European Academy of Neurology
European Commission
European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST)
European Research Council
Federal Funding Advisory Service
Federation of European Neuroscience Societies
Fritz Thyssen Stiftung
German National Contact Point
German Research Foundation (DFG)
- Walter Benjamin Programme
- Emmy Noether Programme
- Clinical Trials
- Individual Research Grants
- Research Fellowships
GlaxoSmithKline
Hertie Stiftung
HORIZON EUROPE
International Brain Research Organization
Joachim Herz Stiftung
- Perlenfonds: Bundesweite Förderung von Dritt-Projekten
- Add-on Fellowships for Interdisciplinary Life Science
- Begegnungszonen: Förderung interdisziplinärer Veranstaltungen in den Naturwissenschaften
Leopoldina
NCL-Stiftung
Rostock International House
- Funding Opportunities for students and scientists (scholarships and international programmes)
Stiftung Hirnforschung
University Medicine Rostock
University of Rostock
Volkswagen Stiftung

Contact
Forschungsschwerpunkt Neurowissenschaften
Centre for Transdisciplinary Neurosciences Rostock (CTNR)
Universitätsmedizin Rostock
Zentrum für Nervenheilkunde
Gehlsheimer Str. 20
18147 Rostock