The Faculty supports physicians with an interest in science through the Clinician Scientist Track. The offered programs are:
Clinician Scientist
Join the Tübingen Clinician Scientist Community!
Advanced Clinician Scientist - Funding program
Call for Applications
“Medical Innovation Through Synergy” Advanced Clinician Scientist Program (InnoSyn.2 ACS)
The Faculty of Medicine at the University of Tübingen invites applications for its ACS Program “Medical Innovation through Synergy” (InnoSyn.2 ACS) funded by the BMFTR.
The InnoSyn.2 ACS Program addresses major unmet clinical needs through translational research spanning Oncology, Clinical Neurosciences, Diabetes, Metabolism, and Vascular Medicine. It provides an excellent environment for developing innovative research by promoting transdisciplinary collaboration across clinical and scientific disciplines.
The InnoSyn.2 ACS Program supports outstanding clinician scientists in establishing independent research profiles with a strong translational focus. Participants benefit from synergies between the scientific areas of excellence and unique technological platforms in Tübingen including Next Generation Sequencing, Multiparametric Imaging and advanced Data Science/Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning. Research concepts may address genetic and molecular disease mechanisms as well as the roles of metabolism, immunity, and the microbiome in disease development, progression, and treatment response. The resulting insights are expected to foster the development of novel personalized approaches to prevention, diagnosis, and therapy.
This six-year program provides 50% protected research time. Each scholarship provides €135.000 per year to cover the research position, with any remaining funds available for project-related costs. Up to four positions will be awarded through this call.
The InnoSyn.2 ACS Program offers structured support to clinician scientists who have completed their specialty training and demonstrated a strong track record in research and teaching. Applicants are asked to submit an innovative research proposal that aligns with the focus of the InnoSyn.2 ACS Program and the core research areas of the Faculty of Medicine.
Key Requirements
Applicants must:
Identify a clinical department prior to application and establish a mutual agreement on:
o Protected research time (minimum of 50% over the program period)
o Access to research infrastructure (lab/office space, equipment, core facilities)
o Opportunities for clinical activities and trial implementation
o Scientific complementarity and independence (the concept should align with the department’s research focus without overlap with existing projects, complement ongoing work, to ensure scientific independence)
Demonstrate:
o Completed clinical training as a specialist in one discipline
o Proven research leadership (e.g., group leader position, Habilitation or Habil-equivalent, successful third-party funding, last-author publication)
o Excellent teaching skills
o Scientific achievements with international visibility
o International research experience is of advantage
Include a joint letter of support signed by:
o The head(s) of the clinical department(s)
o Potential collaborating institute(s), if applicable
o The Faculty Management Board, which will ensure access to infrastructure beyond departmental resources, if applicable
All application documents must be submitted via the new established MERIT Portal, a CoARA-compliant platform that enables structured, transparent, and narrative-based application processes in line with international best practices for responsible research assessment.
The MERIT portal is powered by a partnership with the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH) and Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin.
The link to the MERIT Portal will be available here shortly.
Selection Process
Eligible applications will be reviewed by external experts in the relevant research fields. Each application will be independently evaluated by three reviewers in a process designed to minimise bias and ensure a fair assessment, based on the following criteria:
· Clarity and originality of the research concept
· Medical need and translational potential
· Hypothesis design, methodology, and statistical planning
· Open science practices, data management, and stakeholder engagement
· Innovation potential
· Alignment with the InnoSyn.2 ACS Program and faculty research priorities
In a second step, the Scientific Advisory Board, composed of internal and external members with diverse backgrounds and career stages, will discuss the assessments. The board aims to identify candidates with the highest potential for long-term academic and clinical leadership.
Selections will consider both reviewer evaluations and the applicant’s academic and clinical track record, in line with principles of the Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA).
All applicants will receive narrative reviewer feedback.
We warmly welcome applications from outstanding candidates both within and outside our faculty.
Application process:
The deadline for submitting written applications is September 30th, 2026.
Applications must be submitted exclusively through the designated MERIT application portal, which will be linked here [Link] shortly. Submissions via email cannot be considered.
If you have any questions regarding the entry criteria, application process or the Clinician Scientist program in general, do not hesitate to contact the Clinician Scientist office: Talent.Academy@med.uni-tuebingen.de.
In case of technical problems occurring during the submission of your application, please contact the MERIT Team at quest-merit@bih-charite.de.
We would greatly appreciate your support in sharing this call within your professional networks and encourage you to circulate it widely to help us attract outstanding clinician scientists from within and beyond our institution.
Clinician Scientist (MINT-CS) Program
Clinician Scientist (MINT-CS) program
The Medical Innovation through Interdisciplinarity Clinician Scientist (MINT-CS) program fosters medical innovation through interdisciplinarity by promoting the development of scientifically and clinically competent physicians in key areas of translational research at our Faculty of Medicine, as well as in areas currently underrepresented for CS.
MINT-CS shall address questions in particular in our clinical priority areas oncology, clinical neurosciences and diabetes/vascular medicine making use of our excellent cross-sectional research platforms. Additional disciplines (e.g., surgical disciplines, primary care medicine), will be specifically involved to promote new areas of innovation and broaden the impact of our program. Grant holders undergo a qualification curriculum and develop translational research projects in close collaboration between clinical departments and basic science laboratories.
The MINT-CS Program is funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) and the Faculty of Medicine Tübingen
Target Group
- excellent young clinicians
- in training and with at least two years of completed clinical training
- outstanding track record, at least 3 papers (in general 2 first authorships)
- high motivation level
Principles and goals
- protected time for research, which can be flexibly distributed over the total funding period of three years (in general 50%).
- flexible starting grant of 3.000 Euro (p.a.)
- participants profit from supervision and mentoring
Requirements for application
- CV
- motivation letter (1 page, including short description of past and current and link to planned scientific projects)
- 3-page research sketch outlining the proposed project idea of excellent scientific quality (title of planned research project, clinical and natural science supervisors, project description with milestones plan, embedding into the research group, references are excluded)
- letter from the heads of the desired clinical and research host institutions and potentially other involved departments acknowledging support for the candidate at the conditions of the MINT-CS program (covering the 50% clinical share)
Programleader
Prof. Dr. med. Claudia Lengerke
Ärztliche Direktorin Innere Medizin II - Hämatologie, Onkologie, klinische Immunologie und Rheumatologie
Phone number: +49 7071 29-82915
Fax number: 07071 29-3671
E-mail address: im2@med.uni-tuebingen.de; claudia.lengerke@med.uni-tuebingen.de
Publications: Publications
Co-Leader
Ärztlicher Direktor
Phone number: +49 7071 29-82048
Fax number: 07071 29-4839
E-mail address: thomas.gasser@med.uni-tuebingen.de
MINT-CS Participants
MINT-CS Curriculum
Internal program events
- regular seminar
- Annual retreat (incl. Workshops)
- ‚Stammtisch‘ (organized by CS)
- External Network Meetings (e.g. BW CS Network)
Compulsory courses
- good scientific practice and doctoral supervision
- leadership and management Skills
- congress participations
MINT-CS individual Curriculum according to Advisory Board decisions
To address individual needs, participants attend courses to enhance their scientific, clinical and management skills in consultation with their advisory boards.
- Scientific Qualifications: Statistics, academic writing/publishing, S1/S2 qualifications etc
- Clinical Qualifications: Biometry and epidemiology, ethics, translational methods etc
- Management Qualifications: Data and project management, patent matters, conflict management, gender equality issues etc
See the Talent Academy event database for a list of available courses
Junior Clinician Scientist Program
The Junior Clinician Scientist Programme supports highly motivated Clinician Scientists in their first two years of specialisation. During the two-year funding period, participants will benefit from all the services offered by the Talent Academy. Proposed research projects can be related to clinical, translational and/or basic science.
Target Group
- excellent young clinicians
- generally in the first 2 years of residency
- with experience in research
- high motivation level
Offers
- total funding period of two years (in general 20 % protected time allocated for research, half of the research time is funded by the medical faculty)
- Access to the services offered by the Talent Academy
- Career support by the Clinician Scientist office
Goals
- Strengthen the individual research profile of the participants by protected time for research
- Preparation of grant applications for a research stay abroad
Requirement for application
- Being in the first two years of your residency/postgraduate training at the start of the program (to candidates from the third year of residency, we offer a DFG-funded program (MINT-CS))
- Doctoral degree with summa or magna cum laude
- Generally, 1 peer-reviewed publication as first author
Application Deadline and Contact
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Head of Academic Career |
Address: Dekanat der Medizinischen Fakultät, Bereich Akademische Laufbahn Phone number: +49 7071 29-77929 E-mail address: inka.montero@med.uni-tuebingen.de |
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Academic Career, Clinician Scientist |
E-mail address: annika.erbacher@med.uni-tuebingen.de Phone number: +49 7071 29-87835 (a.m. only) |
Clinician Scientist Baden-Württemberg Network
The Medical Faculties of Freiburg, Heidelberg, Mannheim, Ulm and Tübingen and the DKFZ share a common goal: to train outstanding scientists who combine clinical expertise with scientific excellence. This cooperation network supports clinician scientists in all partner institutions with the overarching goal of advancing translational medicine.
All institutions run structured Clinician Scientist programs and, under the Sonderlinie Hochschulmedizin (HoFV II), are building a coordinated state-wide network. The focus is on aligning content, fostering regular exchange and strengthening interdisciplinary cooperation beyond the university programs.
Clinician scientists from all institutes meet annually at the Clinician Scientist Baden-Württemberg Networking Event, the next meeting will take place in Freiburg in summer 2026 (date and details soon to follow).
More information is available on the website