Cardiovascular Science

Characteristics of the study programme

The programme focuses on the full breadth of cardiovascular research. From clinical disciplines, it includes cardiology, paediatric cardiology, cardiac surgery, angiology, vascular surgery, vascular neurology – as well as related theoretical and preclinical disciplines, respectively. Their parts dealing with cardiovascular research – anatomy, biology, embryology, histology, physiology and pathophysiology, medical chemistry and biochemistry, pathology, pharmacology, microbiology, medical immunology, preventive medicine and epidemiology).

Admission procedure requirement specific to the study programme

The conditions and course of the admission procedure for the part-time of study are the same as the conditions for the full-time form. 

We recommend to contact your potential supervisor in advance and consult the suitable form of preparation for the interview. Each study programme has its own specifics, so the supervisor can help you to prepare for the specialized entrance examination (the interview).

Topics of dissertation thesis

The candidate chooses the preliminary topic and contacts a potential supervisor. He/she consults with him on the chosen topic and agrees on its more precise specification. In case of any ambiguity, we recommend that you also contact the chairman of the SAB. If necessary, he/she can recommend that he/she consult the topic with another specialist according to the focus of the intended project.

The broader topics listed below will be specified by individual members of the SAB and subsequently by individual supervisors.

• Acute coronary syndromes
• Heart and stroke
• Thrombosis and cardiovascular system
• Acquired and hereditary diseases of the myocardium and pericardium
• Heart failure
• Heart rhythm disorders
• Diseases of the peripheral arteries
• Thromboembolic disease
• Valve defects
• Congenital heart defects
• Epidemiology of cardiovascular diseases
• Preventive cardiology
• Essential and secondary hypertension
• Heart and kidneys
• Genetic basis of cardiovascular diseases
• Paediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery
• Vasa and nervi vasorum
• Diabetes and cardiometabolic diseases
• Cardiovascular aging
• Cardiovascular imaging methods
• Atherosclerosis, lipidology and vascular biology
• Pulmonary hypertension and right heart failure
• Heart failure and circulatory support
• Cardiovascular pharmacotherapy
• Desirable and adverse effects of drugs on the cardiovascular system
• Anatomy and physiology of the circulatory system
• Development of the cardiovascular system and its disorders

If the candidate does not know which topic/supervisor to choose, he/she will contact the chairman of the SAB, with whom he/she will consult on a suitable topic and a potential supervisor.

This choice is preliminary, the admissions board may, after consultation with the candidate, nominate another supervisor.

Dissertation topics offered

Supervisors of the study programme

Each supervisor must be approved by the SAB. The criteria for admitting new supervisors are determined by the SAB. If the proposed supervisor has not yet been approved by the SAB, this must be done no later than the enrollment of the applicant in the study (provided that the applicant is accepted). You can find a list of supervisors approved by the SAB here. After clicking, the supervisor's workplace and contact information will be displayed.

Requirements during the study

Study obligations for full-time and part-time form of study are the same. 

The student of the doctoral programme is obliged to take an active approach to the solved tasks, to adhere to the schedule set by the supervisor. He/she regularly informs the supervisor in writing about the course of the study and consults with him on the achieved results. The student is interested in current knowledge related to the topic of study, he studies professional literature, he/she watches presentations at important international conferences. Concretization of framework duties:

1st year of study: (a) successful passing of the English language examination (D0400003), (b) thorough study of professional literature and writing a clear article on the issues he/she deals with in his studies, sending this article to a peer-reviewed journal for publications (incl. peer-reviewed domestic journals). Failure to meet these two conditions can not advance the student to the next year and the study will be classified “C” and will be completed. Furthermore, during the first year, the student completes a course in presentation skills or another course focused on the presentation of scientific results.

2nd–3rd year (full-time form) resp. 2nd–4th year (combined form): intensive research work on a given problem, presentation of own results in English at least one international congress conference. At the end of this part of the study, passing the SDE (D0400001).

4th year (full-time form) or 5th year (combined form): analysis and publication of the obtained results in an international journal with an impact factor higher than 1,5 (the student is the first author of at least one article with his/her own results, published in extenso), writing and defending a dissertation (D0400002). In specifically justified cases, at the written request of the student, the study (combined form) may be extended up to a total duration of 8 years. In such a case, at the end of each academic year, the supervisor and the SAB assess whether the student has made specific progress in his/her studies. If the student does not prove any specific activity during any academic year, his/her studies will be terminated.

Requirements for internships

The student plans the following obligations A, B, C in agreement with the supervisor so that he / she fulfils at least one of them in each year of study, i.e. that he / she will have all fulfilled by the end of the 4th year at the latest.

A) At least one month internship at a foreign workplace dealing with cardiovascular research.

B) At least one month internship at a top domestic workplace engaged in cardiovascular research.

C) Completion of at least two compulsory elective courses (possibility to choose from these courses: Methodology of experimental and clinical research, Theoretical foundations of cardiovascular disease research, Biomedical statistics including databases and meta-analyzes, The best of clinical cardiovascular research).

Internship D is a voluntary option:

D) At least one month internship at an institute or clinic of the opposite focus than the student's home workplace: i.e. students primarily enrolled in theoretical or preclinical institutes complete at least one month internship at a clinical workplace with a cardiovascular focus (of their choice) and, conversely, students primarily enrolled in clinics complete at least one month internship at a theoretical or preclinical institute (of their choice).

Listed courses

CPGS014 Methodological bases of cardiovascular disease research
B90252 New Horizons in Cardiovascular Research

Requirements for the SDE

These will consist of a pair of questions, one of which will be from preclinical and theoretical disciplines and one from clinical disciplines.

A student can register for the SDE if he/she has fulfilled the above-mentioned obligations of the 1st–3rd year (full-time form) resp. 1s–4th year (combined form).

Examination topics for the SDE

Publication activity requirements

1st year of study: writing a review article in a peer-reviewed journal and sending it for publication (the student is the first author). In this way, the student demonstrates the ability to study professional literature and synthesize the acquired knowledge and process it in a comprehensible way. In case of non-fulfilment, the study will be completed at the end of the 1st year.

2nd year: presentation (lecture or poster, does not necessarily contain its own results, it can be a clear message, case study, etc.) in English at a scientific conference or congress.

3rd (4th) year: presentation of own results at an international congress or conference (first author), co-authorship of at least one article in extenso in a journal with an impact factor higher than 1,5.

4th (5th) year: second presentation of own results at an international congress (first author), in extenso publication of an article with the main results of his research in a journal with an impact factor higher than 1,5 (first author).

Defence requirements

Analysis and publication of the obtained results in an international journal with an impact factor higher than 1,5 (the student is the first author of at least one article with his own results, published in extenso), writing and defending a dissertation.

The SAB does not require the summary of the dissertation. On the other hand, the SAB does require four copies of the dissertation bound in hardback.

Profile of a graduate of the study programme

The graduate is capable of independent research as well as research in a multidisciplinary team in the field of cardiovascular science on a high internationally recognized level. He/she acquired a deep knowledge of the entire spectrum of cardiovascular (c-v) research fields: c-v anatomy, c-v histology, c-v embryology, c-v physiology, c-v pathology, c-v pathophysiology, c-v biochemistry, c-v epidemiology, diagnostics, treatment and prevention of c-v diseases.

The graduate is able to realize his/her original research ideas and present them internationally in the form of original papers in leading international peer-reviewed journals and also presentations at leading world conferences in the given specialty.

Information about graduate employment 

The acquired knowledge and skills will be used by the graduate as an academic employee of a university, a researcher of another research institution, a manager of a company in the private sphere (with a focus on cardiovascular diseases), a senior physician or a primary care physician in clinical practice.