University of Aarhus 2005
The Faculty of Health Sciences
Research
Research at the Faculty of Health Sciences is highly recognised internationally. It is also very productive, as it results in more than 1,300 original scientific articles written by researchers at the faculty.
The faculty’s Status and Plans 2002–2006 strategy and development plan describes the research areas in which the faculty has a strong international and national reputation. The plan also lists a number of the faculty’s expectations to the areas it would like to strengthen during the coming years. The research areas described in the strategy and development plan also served as a starting point for the description of established and new core areas within health science research.
In the past year, a total of DKK 9 million was allocated as an adjustable grant to the researcher groups in the Molecular Medicine core area of the development contract. In connection with the establishment in 2005 of the new Institute of Public Health, which is an amalgamation of a number of small departments in the area, increased funds were allocated to research and development.
In 2005, researchers from the Faculty of Health Sciences received the largest single external donation in the university’s history: the Lundbeck Foundation decided to support a neuroresearch centre based at the Institute of Medical Biochemistry in the field Membrane Receptors in Neuronal Disease (MIND).
One of the major challenges currently facing the faculty is to ensure the recruitment of doctors for the basic sector, and dentists to teach at the degree programme in Odontology, in connection with the forthcoming change to a new generation of employees. In 2005, the faculty launched a number of initiatives, including combined professorships and a special PhD programme that combines a PhD degree at the institutes with clinical experience according to a rota system.
The faculty’s PhD programme is based at the University of Aarhus Graduate School of Health Sciences. It comprises approximately 350 PhD students and has annual enrolments of about 125 new students. In addition, the faculty participates with the other Danish health science faculties in a number of specialised graduate schools. In 2005, two new such graduate schools were established at the faculty for the subjects Clinical Oncology and Neuroscience.
Degree programmes
The faculty has more than 3,000 students, and approximately 400 of them complete their degrees every year.
Medicine is the faculty’s largest degree programme, with 365 annual enrolments. The existing academic regulations have strengthened the clinical elements of the degree programme by adding early clinical training at regional hospitals, and increasing the emphasis on developing clinical skills. This training takes place at the faculty laboratories that now exist at all somatic units covered by the Aarhus University Hospital.
The degree programme in Odontology has also undergone a number of changes in recent years, aimed at giving the students more independence and improving their clinical skills.
In addition, the faculty offers a number of two-year Master’s degree programmes: a Master of Health Science, which targets individuals with a medium-cycle higher health degree; a Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering, which was established in collaboration with the Engineering College of Aarhus, and targets students with a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Medicine or other relevant subjects; and finally, a Master of Science in Nursing, which was transferred to the faculty in 2001 from the School of Advanced Nursing Education.
The faculty offers two auxiliary Master’s degree programmes: a Master of Public Health and a Master of Clinical Nursing. The faculty also participates in a Master’s degree programme in Cardiovascular Technology aimed at international students.
In 2005, the faculty collaborated with the Faculty of Science to establish a new Bachelor’s degree programme and a new Master’s degree programme in Molecular Medicine. These programmes represent the faculty’s contribution to the Molecular Medicine focus area as set out in the university’s development contract with the Ministry of Science, Technology and Development.
Contribution to the knowledge society
It is particularly important for the Faculty of Health Sciences to establish close collaboration with the entire regional health sector as regards research, education and development of the clinical functions at the hospitals. This collaboration mainly takes place within two forums: the West Danish Research Forum for Health Science and the Aarhus University Hospital. The latter comprises the faculty and the following six hospitals: Aarhus Hospital, Skejby Hospital, Aarhus Psychiatric Hospital, the Psychiatric Hospital for Children and Young People, Aalborg Hospital and Aalborg Psychiatric Hospital.
Most of this regional collaboration takes place at the faculty’s clinical institute, which employs many clinical professors and associate professors. These professors are employed at both the faculty and a hospital, either the Aarhus University Hospital or affiliated hospitals.
The faculty and the counties of Aarhus and Northern Jutland publish the magazine AUH – Research and Clinical Practice, which describes new advances in health science research of importance to the university hospital’s clinical practice.
Internationalisation
In accordance with tradition within experimental and clinical research environments, the faculty has numerous networks in which international researcher groups participate. Many junior staff members at the faculty spend some time at a foreign university as part of their PhD programme. In 2005, a large number of foreign guest lecturers or researchers visited the faculty, and a number of faculty staff members also went abroad for corresponding visits. As far as the students are concerned, the faculty takes part in the formal NORDPLUS and SOCRATES programmes, but the faculty also supports individually arranged studies abroad.
Quality development
The faculty endeavours to constantly improve the quality of all its activities. In terms of education, this development takes place under the auspices of the Unit for Medical Education. This unit undertakes research in Medical Education and assists with the development of new degree programme components. In 2005, the unit worked on developing assessment guidelines for the different degree programmes. In 2005, a clinical professor in postgraduate Medical Education was appointed.
Facts for 2005
Students
New enrolments: 505
Number of students: 3,025
Number of PhD students: 360
Number of Masters: 371
Number of PhDs: 65
Staff (full-time equivalent)
Professors: 66
Associate professors: 145
Other academic staff: 330
Technical and administrative staff: 493
Number of doctorates: 12
Number of research publications: 2,078
Total number of publications: 2,237
Institutes
Institute of Anatomy
Institute of Clinical Medicine
Institute of Forensic Medicine
Institute of Human Genetics
Institute of Medical Biochemistry
Institute of Medical Microbiology and Immunology
Institute of Pharmacology
Institute of Physiology and Biophysics
Institute of Public Health
School of Dentistry
Research centres
Bioinformatics Research Centre
Centre for Arctic Environmental Medicine
Centre for Clinical Pharmacology
Centre for Functionally Integrative Neuroscience
Centre for Molecular Biology and Biotechnology
Danish Allergy Research Centre
Danish Centre for Molecular Gerontology
Danish Epidemiology Science Centre
The Lundbeck Foundation Centre MIND
Nanoscience and Tissue Engineering
Water and Salt Research Centre
Degree subjects
Medicine
Odontology
Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering
Master of Science in Health Science
Master of Science in Nursing
The former maternity home now provides a modern library and IT facilities for medical students.
The Bartholin Building is named after the Danish doctor and anatomist Thomas Bartholin (1616–1680), who discovered the lymphatic system in humans.