Training & Career

Stem Cell Conference 2011

© Peter Himsel

At the MDC we aspire to provide our postdoctoral researchers with a stimulating environment to enable the progression of their further scientific career, and equip them with skills important in pursuing future employment in academia or in the private sector.

Towards this goal, the MDC provides a world-renowned research facility – with regard to the quality of published papers the MDC has been ranked as best German research institute (Excellence Rate Report, SCImago Research group, 2011) and is the 14th among the world’s top 20 institutions carrying research in the field of molecular biology/genetics (Thomson Reuters, 2010).

Towards this goal, the MDC faculty of world-renowned academics and the state-of-the-art research infrastructure offer an appropriate environment for high-class scientific postdoctoral training.

In addition, our post-doctoral scientists are supported with various career development activities, such as:

• In-house workshops and courses on various topics such as grant and fellowship applications, leadership and managerial skills, guidance on how to establish an independent laboratory, ethics (incl. animal rights issues), teaching, etc.;
• Career Day, an annual on-campus full-day information and networking event;
• Regular “Career Pathways” series of talks in which professionals (including MDC research alumni) from both industry and academia share their work experiences;
• Dedicated support for female scientists, an intensive 12-month MDC Mentoring Program and the Mentoring Program of the Helmholtz Association.