Advanced Clinician Scientist Programme of the Medical Faculty (CASCADE 2.0)

The University Medicine needs Clinician Scientists

The call for proposals for the 2026/29 funding period has ended.

The next call for proposals, for the 2027/30 funding period, is expected to take place in fall 2026. More detailed information will be available here on the homepage in due course.

Information for applicants who submitted an application on time as part of the last call for proposals (funding period 2026/29):
The application process is a two-stage process. After reviewing the written applications (stage 1), the Clinician/Medical Scientist Board will decide which applicants will be invited to present their projects (stage 2). This presentation round will take place on March 16, 2026, starting at 8 a.m. Please make a note of this date in advance.

The Advanced Clinician Scientist Programme (Advanced CSP) of the Medical Faculty is a researcher program in which physicians upon acquiring their specialist training are (partially) released from clinical work for scientific research. The goal of this program is to help them start their own research projects that enable them to achieve the previous work and publications that are usually required to successfully attract third-party funding.

The programme is aimed at medical specialists with a doctorate who are conducting research and is ideally used following a Basic Clinician Scientist Programme. Medical specialists without significant Clinician Scientist experience should preferably apply to the Basic Clinician Scientist Programme (CASCADE 1.0).

The Advanced Clinician Scientist Programme is designed to last three years with an interim evaluation at the end of the second year. Initial applications for one or two years can only be approved if it is a lateral entry into the second or third CSP-year.

The leave of absence amounts to 50% over three years (flexible distribution over the three years is possible). The Medical Faculty finances the research part of the Clinician Scientist position (50%), the clinical part (50%) must be financed by the respective institution or externally.

Documents/Forms for downloading (in German only)

The interim evaluation takes place in the 2nd CSP year. For this purpose, the Clinician Scientist submits his/her interim report to the Coordination Office at least 3 months before the end of the 2nd CSP year. The evaluation is carried out by the Clinician/Medical Scientist Board. The interim report should be based on the milestone plan/career development plan originally submitted and prepared together with the mentors. Any deviation from the original milestone plan/career development plan should be conclusively justified. Ideally, the clinician scientist should contact the coordination office in good time (approx. 4 - 5 months before the end of the 2nd CSP year) in order to discuss/plan the course of the interim evaluation. If time permits, the interim evaluation can be extended so that the clinician scientist presents his/her project at the CSP/MSP retreat, ideally in the presence of the mentors.

Interim reports from the 2026/2029 funding period onwards will be submitted via the Faculty of Medicine's application portal.

CSP participants are required to submit a final report (using the form provided) to the Center for Research Strategy and Support via e-mail to Dr. Lysann Palkowitsch within six months after the end of the funding.

Final reports from the 2026/2029 funding period onwards will be submitted via the application portal of the Medical Faculty.

Guidelines Advanced CSP, funding period 2026/29

Clinician Scientist Netzwerk Baden-Württemberg

Netzwerk der Baden-Württemberger Clinician Scientist Programme Sonderlinie Hochschulmedizin (gem. Hochschulfinanzierungsvereinbarung, HoFV II)

Das Clinician Scientist Baden-Württemberg Netzwerk verbindet die medizinischen Fakultäten Freiburg, Heidelberg, Mannheim, Tübingen und Ulm sowie das DKFZ. Das Netzwerk unterstützt Clinician Scientists aller Partnerinstitutionen und hat das gemeinsame Ziel, die translationale Medizin durch eine enge Zusammenarbeit zwischen Klinik und Forschung zu fördern. Die Clinician Scientists aller Einrichtungen treffen sich jährlich zum Clinician Scientist Baden-Württemberg Networking Event, dieses Jahr am 4. Juli 2025 in Ulm.

Weiterführende Informationen

3. Baden Württemberg Clinician Scientist Netzwerktreffen am 21.06.2024 am DKFZ in Heidelberg

click here for the flyer (german only)

Contact

Dr. Lysann Palkowitsch

Center for Research Strategy and Support
Ulm University
Helmholtzstr. 22 / room 1.49
89081 Ulm, Germany

Phone: +49 (0)731/50-33634

CSP platform

A shared, protected folder is available in the kiz CloudStore for mutual exchange and networking among the Clinician Scientists. This folder is only accessible to Clinician Scientists within the CSP. The kiz-Account is required for registration. The seminar schedule of the CSP seminar series can also be found here.