Biochemistry

After successfully completing his/her studies the graduate is able to:

• autonomously plan and conduct research projects with appropriate methodology and research techniques
• prepare and publish an original scientific article
• present and defend the results of his/her research at an international scientific forum
• use broader theoretical and practical knowledge of biochemistry
• critically evaluate and appropriately employ the newest thematic and methodological development in the field
• understand and communicate in professional English
• gain experience in international cooperation
• transfer the knowledge and skills to other persons by their teaching
• demonstrate transferable skills such as team building, leadership and communication, project management

The thesis must contain new research findings which the student has uncovered independently or in cooperation with others and which have been published or accepted for publication in internationally recognised scientific journal(s) with peer review. The minimum requirement is one research paper published in a journal from the first or second quartile (Q1 or Q2) of impact factor according to ISI Web of Knowledge. A possible but not preferred alternative are two thematically related papers published in less ranked journals (Q3 or Q4). However, this option requires prior consultation and approval by the doctoral board.

The PhD student must be the first author of at least one original research article in a peer-reviewed journal. The publication with joint first authorship counts for one divided by the number of first authors (i.e., in case of two first authors it counts for 1/2 publication and so on). This means that one publication with co-first author is not enough to meet the first authorship requirement.

The thesis can either be written as a monograph or as a compilation thesis including scientific articles. A monograph is typically 80-100 pages long (without counting the list of references) with standard formatting (Times New Roman size 12 point or equivalent, 1.5 line spacing) and consists of the parts Title page, Acknowledgement (optional), Abstract, Introduction, Literature review, Aims, Material and Methods , Results, Discussion, Conclusion and References, followed by a list of the student's papers and conference presentations. It does not contain the copies of the papers which are delivered separately by the student. A compilation thesis should, apart from separate papers attached as appendices, include a text of about 30-50 pages divided into before mentioned sections. The Material and Methods section can be restricted to a short list of techniques used. In the Results section all the details of publications need not be repeated, but instead it is to emphasize the main findings of the student. The discussion should bring out the general importance of new findings and put them in context of current knowledge in the field. If the attached publications are the work of several authors, the student’s independent role in these must be proven by including a statement in which a student's contribution to each publication is defined and confirmed by the supervisor.