A new blended learning program for biomedical professionals
Baroness Dora Janssen—widow of Dr. Paul Janssen—officially announces the launch of Paul Janssen Futurelab Leiden, an international training program providing blended learning (online and on-campus) to biomedical professionals with an entrepreneurial spirit. Watch this short video in which she announces the launch of Futurelab.
This new training program is an initiative of the Leiden University Medical Center in collaboration with the Center for Human Drug Research - CEO Adam Cohen is one of the founding fathers - and Leiden University. It is sponsored by grants from ZonMw and Health~Holland. Paul Janssen Futurelab Leiden. ("Futurelab") has a clear mission: to teach a new generation of Chief Scientific Officers (CSOs) to develop new medical interventions more efficiently and more effectively.
The program’s director, Dr. Marcel Kenter, explains: "Developing effective medical interventions at companies and university medical centers—and making these interventions available to patients—has become an extremely complicated and expensive process. Indeed, many new interventions fail prematurely during the development process. However, oftentimes development is stopped because of poor decision-making, which can have dire consequences for both researchers and patients. Thanks to Futurelab, gifted biomedical researchers now have access to a safe learning environment based on real-life scenarios. Futurelab provides training in a wide range of topics, including biomedical science, clinical research, finance, and intellectual property, each of which plays an important role in the successful development of a new medical intervention. At Futurelab, we believe that 'learning by doing' is the best approach."
Blended learning
Each teaching module Futurelab develops includes a 5-week online course that can combined easily with the participant’s daily schedule. This online course can then be followed by on-campus training in Leiden, where international participants meet and work together on complex assignments based on real-life case studies. Importantly, the participants are guided by experts who actually played key roles in the cases that are discussed. The first module, Clinical Development, will begin on April 3rd of this year with the 5-week online course entitled Question-Based Clinical Development. Starting today, post-graduate biomedical professionals are invited to register for this course.
€500,000 grant for the best clinical trial application
A highly competitive €500,000 grant from the Dutch funding agency ZonMw is available for the best clinical trial application developed during this course, for testing a registered medicinal product in a Dutch research institute or hospital. Paul Janssen Futurelab Leiden will review all developed clinical trial applications during this course and award the best proposal with a nomination letter that can be used for obtaining the ZonMw grant.
Dr. Paul Janssen’s legacy
Dr. Paul Janssen, founder of Janssen Pharmaceutical, was a pioneer in the field of biomedical research, as well as a highly successful entrepreneur. Using his unique combination of talents, Dr. Janssen discovered, developed, and brought to market many new drugs in a relatively short period of time, making a clear difference in the lives of patients everywhere. At Paul Janssen Futurelab Leiden, Dr. Janssen’s legacy will serve to inspire future generations of researchers.
Watch the video.
