Official launch of CORVOS – A European joint doctorate programme in immunology & infectious diseases

CORVOS is a European joint doctorate programme approved in May 2019 as an Innovative Training Network within the MARIE SKłODOWSKA-CURIE ACTIONS, financed by the Horizon2020 project of the European Commission. The acronym CORVOS stands for COmplement Regulation and Variations in Opportunistic infectionS.

This pan-European initiative of 10 European universities, 3 biomedical companies, 2 research institutes and 3 hospitals, comprises an interdisciplinary doctoral programme including cross-sectoral research secondments and training in transferable skills. CORVOS will educate 15 highly motivated PhD students to fill the current scientific gap in the understanding of the role of Complement in opportunistic infections. These young scientists will become creative alumni equipped with entrepreneurial and clinical skills, making them attractive human resources to academia and industry alike.

Humanitas University is one of the 10 universities participating to the CORVOS initiative. As part of a joint initiative with Helsinki University, it will provide training for two PhD students: one of them will be assigned to Humanitas University under the supervision of Prof. Cecilia Garlanda and will spend 6 months at Helsinki University under the supervision of Professor Seppo Meri, a visiting Professor at Humanitas University since 2017. The other will be assigned to Prof. Meri at Helsinki University and will spend 6 months at Humanitas University. Both will be awarded a double degree by the two universities.

The project was officially launched on December 1st 2019. The first scientific projects will start on March 2020. The European Union provides € 4.1 million for this ambitious programme, which will be coordinated by the Medical University of Innsbruck

More info on CORVOS here