Infection Biology University of Basel

Overview

The MSc in Infection Biology at the University of Basel focuses on host-pathogen interactions and aims to understand the mechanisms through which viruses, bacteria, fungi or parasites colonise their hosts and cause disease. Infection biologists study molecular, cellular, metabolic or immunological aspects of pathogen biology and infection, try to elucidate mechanisms and evolution of drug resistance and immune evasion, or investigate dynamics of transmission and infection in the field. 

Knowledge gained from studying these and other aspects of infection biology provides the basis for the development of novel diagnostic tools, drugs and vaccines for improved prevention and treatment of infectious diseases.

Focal area of teaching and research

The main goals of the MSc course in Infection Biology at the University of Basel are the following:

• To understand the phenomenon of infection and host-pathogen interaction from a molecular, immunological and cell-biological viewpoint.
• To understand different concepts and approaches in drug and vaccine discovery and development.
• To understand basic concepts in bioinformatics and acquire skills for computational data analyses.
• To have a good understanding of molecular, cellular and epidemiological methods for the analysis of host-pathogen interactions.
• To be able to plan and carry out laboratory experiments in order to address a scientific hypothesis, to analyze the results and to report them orally and in writing.
• To obtain an overview on the current research literature in areas of infectious diseases.

Career opportunities

Holders of a Master of Science in Infection Biology usually work in academia or industry in laboratory-oriented projects in the fields of basic or applied research, in the teaching/training or communication/documentation sectors or as scientific writers.