Festive setting for the presentation of certificates to students of biomedical data science: The master’s program in biomedical data science, which was developed as part of the RESIST project, has now graduated for the second time: 18 students from the first two years successfully completed their studies in 2024. On February 6, 14 of them celebrated this together with graduates of the two other MHH life science master’s programs in biochemistry and biomedicine: They all received their certificates in a festive musical setting in the very well-attended lecture hall F.
Prof. Marschollek, spokesperson for the master’s program in Biomedical Data Science, opened the ceremony and MHH Dean of Studies Prof. Just followed with a welcoming address. Prof. Bosse, a researcher at the Centre for Structural Systems Biology (CSSB), Hamburg & MHH, and a member of RESIST, gave the scientific keynote lecture entitled “Systems structural biology of infectious agents using AI”.
The certificates were presented by the spokespersons of the master’s programs – with Prof. Marschollek being supported by Prof. Depledge, who has been appointed as Prof. Schulz’ successor as of summer 2024 and is also responsible for the program of the master’s program. In addition, PD Dr. Stephan Traidl received the “Best Degree” study prize from the Society of Friends of the Hannover Medical School for the master’s program in Biomedical Data Science. And Jana Tauschke received the “Best Master’s Thesis” award from the Junior-GBM, Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology e. V.
This year, the prize for particularly committed teachers in this course was awarded to three modules: “Statistical Machine Learning – AI and Data Analysis” by the team led by Dr. Dominik Wolff, “Introduction to Data Analysis” by Prof. Dr. Helena Zacharias and PD Dr. Loukia Spineli, and “Digital Image Analysis” by Dr. Klaus Hendrik Wolf and Dr. Ute von Jan. At a subsequent champagne reception in front of the lecture hall, all graduates were able to bring the ceremony to a cheerful close in the company of everyone present.
Awards for PD Dr. Stephan Traidl and Jana Tauschke
Calculating how to make transplants last longer: “During my bachelor’s degree in biochemistry, I became particularly interested in data analysis, which is why I decided to do a master’s degree,” says Jana Tauschke. In her master’s thesis, the 26-year-old analyzed gene expression data from biopsies of transplanted kidneys. This enabled her to show that the rejection reactions are significantly more heterogeneous at the molecular level than at the histological level. “Considering further subgroups of rejection reactions could enable more individualized therapy and thus possibly improve the long-term function of transplants,” explains Jana Tauschke. She is now doing her doctorate at the Peter L. Reichertz Institute for Medical Informatics in the “Clinical Data Sciences” working group. Jana Tauschke received a poster prize at the e:Med conference in Hamburg in November 2020 for the presentation of her master’s thesis.
She really liked the program, especially the interdisciplinary approach. “Students come together who have either a background in the life sciences or in medicine. This is very enriching – not only in terms of content, but also as a “soft skill” for later work,” she says. She also liked the many exciting topics, from statistics to data management to machine learning, and the fact that the curriculum for life scientists is further supplemented by modules in human genetics, immunology and imaging. ‘This mix makes the program very exciting,’ says Jana Tauschke. She would have liked to have had more practical exercises and possibly also further internships. Based on her experiences in the first year of the program, it would also be good to better assess the prior knowledge of the students, to better coordinate online and in-person material, and to avoid redundancy between modules.
Which factors cause susceptibility to infections? PD Dr. Stephan Traidl, a physician at the Department of Dermatology, Allergology and Venerology at the MHH, had already started the master’s program when he was still working in the DFG-funded Clinician Scientist Program PRACTIS. In his master’s thesis, he examined skin samples from patients with atopic dermatitis who had severe herpes infections (eczema herpeticum, EH). He was particularly interested in the transcriptome data. His goal was to find factors that make people particularly susceptible to herpes infections. “We found significant differences in gene expression that indicate increased viral susceptibility in the skin of EH patients. Dupilumab, an IL-4R antibody used to treat atopic dermatitis, was only partially able to normalize the antiviral defense,” explains the 31-year-old.
“In the master’s program, I particularly liked the thematic focus, which ranged from the basics such as data analysis to omics and artificial intelligence (AI),” he says. The lecturers had really put a lot of effort into designing this young course of study in the best possible way. “The exchange with fellow students was always very good and not only enriched the course itself, but also the research projects,” he adds. He recommends further expanding the field of AI and also addressing its application beyond the boundaries of the MHH, for example in the biomedical industry.
The photo shows the graduates in lecture hall F with Jana Tauschke and PD Dr. Stephan Traidl in the front center and Prof. Marschollek and Prof. Depledge (top).