BIH PhD Program
The BIH PhD program contributes to BIH's overall translational mission “turning research into health” by fostering interdisciplinarity and promoting young translational talents within the BIH ecosystem and beyond.
The BIH PhD Program aims to fund PhD, MD/PhD, or Dr. rer. nat. positions for research groups affiliated to BIH (according to the institute organigram, https://intranet.charite.de/bih/organisation_und_verwaltung/, internal link). The BIH PhD Program is targeted at interdisciplinary, translational projects that fit one of BIH's three research objectives: responsible translational methodologies, computational and functional precision medicine and advanced regenerative therapies.
A feature of the BIH PhD program is the possibility of cooperation between BIH groups and research teams from different disciplinary backgrounds around the central objectives of the institute. Thus, tandems of mentors from BIH and other research groups are encouraged.
The selection of projects and PhD candidates is organized in two stages: In the first stage new PhD projects are selected each year between August and November. In the second stage PhD candidates are recruited beginning with a written application round around January to February followed by a series of interviews between March and April. Work on the project is scheduled to begin between August and December, following the selection process, subject to the student's integration into a PhD school / structured program (minimal requirements: doctoral agreement including supervision and mentoring).
Requirements
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Requirements
BIH PhD Program positions are intended for students aiming at a PhD, MD/PhD, or Dr. rer. nat. degree who are motivated to do translational research. The project must be carried out by the student independently under the supervision of a Principal Investigator (PI) affiliated to BIH according to the institute's organizational chart. The maximum duration of a position in the BIH PhD program is four years. The research project must be designed in such a way that the doctoral thesis is in line with BIH's research objectives.
Please note that we receive a lot of applications each year (between 100 and 150) for just 5 positions. Hence, please be aware that the selection is very competitive.
Funding
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Funding
The BIH PhD program will provide funding for a PhD position consisting of a 65% E13 position for two years. The potential host group must confirm secured funding for the PhD position (prior to the recruitment) for at least one more year, to be used preferably at the start of the project. If completion of the PhD requires a fourth year, the PI may request a one-year extension of funding, provided that the host group provides half of the funding during this period. The employment contract will be drawn up in accordance with formal regulation section 2.1 of the WissZeitVG (https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/wisszeitvg/__2.html) for the entire duration of the doctorate.
Curriculum
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Curriculum
Fellows of the BIH PhD Program are required to attend the structured curriculum of the PhD school or structured program they become affiliated with. In addition, BIA will organize a translational curriculum corresponding to about 5 ECTS over three years, which the fellows also must attend.
Reporting requirements
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Reporting requirements
Fellows of the BIH PhD Program are required to inform BIA via the provided template at least every 12 months about the progress of their research work.
How to apply
The call 2026 for PhD projects will open on August 24, 2026 until September 28 (2 p.m., CET) and will be found under https://www.bihealth.org/en/career/open-calls. The call for PhD applications will begin around Mid-January 2027.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the program coordinator.
