The aim of the Short Term Travel Fellowship for Young Researchers at the Medical University of Graz (referred to as the Travel Fellowship) is to provide young and aspiring researchers from the Medical University of Graz with the opportunity for short-term research stays abroad. This is intended to lay the foundation for scientific networking with excellent research partners from other countries, thereby also facilitating longer career-enhancing mobility. In particular, future research collaborations with renowned researchers and their organizations abroad are to be initiated or expanded upon, with the goal of developing joint research and innovation projects. The Travel Fellowships for young researchers are supported by MEFO Graz.
The next call for applications for the Travel Fellowship will be published at the beginning of 2026.
"As part of the Travel Fellowship, I had the great opportunity to complete a stay abroad at the Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging in Nijmegen. In addition to subject-related content, especially deepening my knowledge of (f)MRI data analysis with FSL and Python, getting to know a different university and researcher culture was also a very valuable experience. The exchange with the colleagues on site has stimulated numerous aspects that will be continued in a project cooperation and publication in the future. The travel fellowship was a valuable experience for me and central to my personal and academic development."
Research stay from September to October 2024 at the Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Netherlands.
"The Travel Fellowship allowed me to collaborate with outstanding scientists on heart rate variability and its role in clinical hypnosis and mindfulness effects on pain. I gained valuable insights into high-standard scientific practices, shaping how I aim to conduct research in Graz."
Research stay from July to September 2024 at the Centre for Health Outcomes, Innovation and Clinical Education (CHOICE) at the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
"The Short Term Travel Fellowship enabled my research stay at the University of Chicago, where I obtained valuable data for my PhD project on lung cancer metabolism using in vivo stable isotope tracing. I gained knowledge and connections that will benefit me in my future career."
Research stay from September 2024 to April 2025 at the University of Chicago, Illinois, USA.
"Through the support of the Short Term Travel fellowship I was able to spend six months at the University of Pittsburgh. It was a rewarding experience as I could gain new methodological skills in the field of breast cancer research and build connections for further collaborations."
Research stay from September 2024 to February 2025 at the University of Pittsburgh, Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, Laboratory of Dr. Steffi Oesterreich and Dr. Adrian Lee.
Rokhsareh Mohammadzadeh, Diagnostic and Research Institute of Hygiene, Microbiology and Environmental Medicine: "I am grateful for the Travel Fellowship, which made my research stay in Luxembourg possible. During this time, I deepened my skills in bioinformatics and improved my knowledge of Python for data analysis in microbiome research. In addition, I was able to expand my professional network through contacts with colleagues and experts in this field. These experiences have contributed significantly to my academic and professional growth."
Research stay from September to October 2023 at the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB), University of Luxembourg.
Christian Tinauer, Department of Neurology: "The Travel Fellowship gave me the opportunity to visit the Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute in Berlin to learn new methods of explainable artificial intelligence (xAI) and to exchange ideas with local experts on existing and new research questions regarding the classification of MR data using artificial intelligence. We agreed to continue our joint work on the results of the research stay."
Research stay from June to July 2023 at the Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute, AI Department, Berlin.
Martin Hirtl, Division of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry: "Thanks to the Travel Fellowship, I was able to learn new high-resolution microscopy methods on living cells and apply them to a joint research project. It was also a perfect opportunity to exchange ideas with other researchers and make new connections."
Research stay from June to August 2023 at the Department of Circulation and Medical Imaging, Group for Molecular and Cellular Cardiology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
Alexander Mahnert, Diagnostic and Research Institute for Hygiene, Microbiology and Environmental Medicine: "The Travel Fellowship enabled me to visit the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle and learn new bioinformatic techniques for interpreting microbiome data. The application process was straightforward and particularly interesting for postdocs looking to raise their profile."
Research stay from June to August 2022 at the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, USA.
