Your Doctoral Studies Team

Dear doctoral candidates,

welcome to the Medical University of Vienna!

We are very pleased at the prospect of your completing a doctorate at our university. This is going to be your first step towards an independent professional career. Therefore, the Medical University of Vienna and the team of the Doctoral School will do their best to offer you maximum support in this endeavor. We feel privileged that you chose to become early stage researchers at our institution.

To help you find your way at the start of your doctorate, we placed all the relevant information on this web page. The first steps you need to take are: (i) find a supervisor using the web pages for the different thematic doctoral programs, (ii) define a thesis project together with this supervisor, and (iii) in collaboration with the supervisor, submit a thesis concept in order to get registered. That’s it. Thereafter, you will become part of Medical University of Vienna.

The students’ office, in particular that of Harald Jäger, is your point of contact for every issue regarding your stay at the Medical University of Vienna, and they will be happy to provide you with all the information required. Please feel free to contact the students’ office for advice on all personal matters.

We wish you a successful start and a wonderful and enlightening time at the Medical University of Vienna.

Yours sincerely,

Stefan Boehm
Director of the Doctoral School




“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm” (Winston Churchill)

We are your Doctoral Studies Team

Stefan Boehm
Professor of Neuropharmacology, Medical University of Vienna
Director of Curriculum


Aside of serving as director of the doctoral school, I am chairman of the Department of Neurophysiology and Neuropharmacology at the Centre for Physiology and Pharmacology. This provides me with the opportunity to take care of the undergraduate teaching with respect to medical neurosciences. In regard of doctoral studies, I am responsible for the entire educational framework. In the organization of the doctoral studies, I am supported by Irene Lang, Vesna Dominkovic and Dieter Breitenbaum and I would like to thank them for their excellent continuing commitment.

Sylvia Knapp
Professor of Infection Biology
Deputy Director

I am a Prof. of Infection Biology at the Department of Medicine 1, and am committed to PhD training ever since I did my own PhD in the Netherlands. As a former clinician who transitioned to basic research, I am very dedicate to support the scientific education of PhD students, and to foster the next generation of ‘physician-scientists’ at the MedUni Vienna. In my position as the Deputy Director, I oversee the thesis proposal and registration process, in addition to being involved in the educational framework and our continued endeavors to advance the PhD program.

Dieter Breitenbaum

Vesna Dominkovic

Department for student affairs, Medical University of Vienna
Administration-Team