Research

The Department of Surgery has a long tradition in translational research. Problems encountered in the daily clinical care of patients are translated into research questions that are experimentally addressed in our laboratories using patient-derived materials and/or via small interventions during surgery. Insights gained from these studies aim to improve patient care and treatment options of patients. Basic and translational research at our department focuses on disorders of all surgical perspectives.

The scientific staff of the Department of Surgery actively participates in diverse courses of the bachelor's and master's programs of the Medicine and Biomedical Sciences curricula of FHML. Staff members have coordinating roles, provide lectures, act as a tutor during Problem-Based Learning, and guide students during internships. A variety of internships for medical and biomedical students is offered by each of our research programs.

There are several divisions within the department of Surgery: 

The general aim of the PhD program is to encounter in the daily clinical care of patients are translated into research questions that are experimentally addressed in our laboratories using patient-derived materials and/or via small interventions during surgery. The PhD candidate will be trained to take ownership of its own research project and, as a result, becomes an independent scientific researcher. The PhD candidates receive supervision from highly experienced and internationally acknowledged scientific researchers associated with the Department of Surgery, supervised by their specific professor.

The main objective of the PhD candidate is to perform scientific research (typically a series of experimental studies), resulting in a PhD thesis. A PhD thesis consists of a summary of the work performed within the PhD project. This experimental research can be published in peer reviewed international journals. Guidelines for publishing your research are different for each journal and can be found on the journal’s website. PhD deliverables differ per project and will be discussed within the team of supervisors at the start of the PhD project. In addition, the PhD thesis includes an introductory chapter and a conclusion chapter. The UM also requires that the PhD thesis contains a valorization chapter. The PhD program of the Department of Surgery is led by their specific professor and daily supervisors (co-promotors). An overview of the monitoring system of a PhD candidate in The Department of Surgery is shown below. All related forms can be found in the PhD guide folder on the server.

A regular (full-time) PhD candidate in The Netherlands needs on average four years to finish the PhD thesis (extension is possible in case of delay for reasons outside of the research such as pregnancy, maternity/paternity leave). It is important that at the start of each PhD project the starting and end date are carefully estimated and determined.

During all steps of the PhD project, supervision will be provided (e.g., feedback during the writing process, methodological advice on data analysis, etc.) by means of face to face meetings, or for external PhD candidates via email, Skype, and telephone. Two (min.) or three (max.) supervisors are involved. Normally, one promotor (professors) and one co-promotor (daily supervisor) are assigned to each PhD project. Together they are responsible for monitoring and stimulating the progress and quality of the project. In the case of external collaborations, the PhD candidates are assigned a local supervisor (holding a PhD degree). When a supervisory committee for specific reasons wishes to include more than 3 members, approval from the dean needs to be obtained.

PhD candidates schedule (proactively) a one-hour meeting with their promoters (professors) approximately once every month. The PhD candidate submits an agenda for the meetings and documents to be discussed and makes a short memo about the appointments that have been made. Normally, the co-promoter and/or the daily supervisor organize regular supervision meetings with the PhD candidate. PhD candidates schedule about one meeting a week with their daily supervisor of approximately one hour. In addition, contact with the daily supervisor is desirable in case of questions. The hours specified for supervision hold for PhD candidates with a contract of at least 0.8 full-time equivalents (fte). PhD candidates who work less hours on their PhD receive a proportional number of hours for supervision per week. Furthermore, it is important to keep in mind that the numbers of hours of supervision per week might differ throughout the PhD project. At a later stage of the PhD project, the PhD candidate might need fewer amounts of contact hours. In the case of an external collaboration, meetings will be organized with the external experts in the field to discuss progress and outlook of the PhD trajectory.

Besides face to face progress meetings with their supervisors, the PhD candidate is also required to present its research in weekly and/or monthly group meetings.

Progress of the PhD project is monitored by the PhD candidate and his/her team through the online program TRACK. To access this program, select your school below:

All PhD students receive a TRACK account at the start of their project and are asked to complete missing information. They also upload their Training and Supervision Plan and Personal Research Plan within 12 weeks after the starting date. Once a year, a questionnaire is sent out to the PhD to evaluate progress. The content of the questionnaire is afterwards discussed in a PhD evaluation meeting with the supervisors.

A PhD coordinator is available for all PhD candidates involved in the Department of Surgery. These coordinators can be found under specific school in which you work in (see section Research Schools).

The PhD coordinator has the following responsibilities: to inform the PhD candidates about the PhD policy, about PhD courses, supervision of PhD candidates and about teaching obligations of the PhD candidates. These topics will also be discussed in this PhD guide. The PhD coordinator can also be contacted by PhD candidates and PhD supervisors when problems are encountered within the PhD project.

The PhD coordinator is also responsible for use of the monitoring system TRACK. Furthermore, a confidential PhD counselor is available for PhD candidates within your research school. PhD candidates can discuss matters with the confidential counselor that they prefer not to discuss with their supervisors or with the PhD coordinator. The confidential counselor will treat all information confidentially. PhD candidates are recommended, if possible, to first discuss their concerns with their supervisors and to search with their team of supervisors for solutions if problems are experienced. However, if there are particular issues that they would not like to discuss with their supervisors or if they need advice on how to discuss a difficult topic with their supervisors, there is always the possibility to discuss it with the PhD confidential counselor of your research school. In case of serious conflicts, it is also possible to consult the confidential office of Maastricht University.

Each PhD candidate is entitled to follow courses as part of the PhD program. Below, we have listed suggestions for these courses which are offered by UM and/or Department of Surgery. The PhD candidate can always suggest courses and summer schools offered externally and discuss this with its supervision team.

Besides developing scientific skills through courses, the PhD candidate is also obliged to present its research at national and international conferences. Ask your daily supervisor or the research team which conferences are important and valuable for your own research topic. The selection of the conference that can be attended should be discussed with the supervision team of the PhD candidate. Own suggestions are always open for discussion with the supervisors. The PhD candidate is strongly requested to apply for an oral presentation.

Throughout the PhD program, the PhD candidate will face opportunities to apply for grants. This can appear when attending a conference or summer school or offered by an internal/external organization. These opportunities should always be taken by the PhD candidate to try receiving funding (whether this is for travel or research). How to apply for such a grant differs per opportunity. Examples of grants to apply for are: ZonMw, NOW, Eurostars, EIT. When the PhD candidate wants to apply for a grant, there will be guidance from the supervision team. At the UM’s Grant Office, Eva Rijkers is the contact person (email: e.rijkers@maastrichtuniversity.nl).

UM is dedicated to providing staff with a healthy and safe work environment. More information on work safety and health & vitality can be found via the link below.

At the UMployee page (https://umployee.maastrichtuniversity.nl/en/start-page) you can find your personal profile and sick leave and reintegration or your salary statement,  including your annual tax statement. Via this website, you can also file reimbursements or request an advance payment. The department of Surgery members are all registered in the who-is-who and you can find contacts easily. 

At the final stage of the PhD program, the PhD candidate has to write and defend its PhD thesis. The research chapters in the thesis will be conducted by the research performed throughout the 4 years. 

Printing of the PhD thesis can be done at an official publisher (such as https://www.datawyse.nl/ or https://www.gildeprint.nl/). You can decide yourself where you would like to have it printed. Once the team of supervisors agrees that the PhD thesis is of sufficient quality, it will be presented to an Assessment Committee consisting of several independent and external assessors. However, first it will be checked for plagiarism. The results will only be communicated by the Dean and first supervisor. The Assessment Committee will assess the quality of the thesis and will decide within four weeks whether the thesis is of sufficient quality to be defended at Maastricht University.

As a final step, the thesis has to be presented and publicly defended in a one-hour session in which members of the Assessment Committee, who approved the thesis before it could be admitted for defense, and one or two other examiners question the author of the thesis on various aspects of the research. The defense is an open ceremony and may be attended by relatives, friends, and colleagues of the candidate. The PhD degree from Maastricht University is awarded after the ceremony. The PhD candidate is only allowed to make a reservation for the day of the defense at Maastricht University after the external Assessment Committee has approved the PhD proposal.

The whole approval procedure, starting with submission of the thesis to the Assessment Committee and ending with the PhD defense ceremony, takes at least 20 weeks. The PhD candidate is allowed a compensation for the costs associated with the defense ceremony (printing the dissertation and reception costs), to a maximum of €2000. Maastricht University will reimburse a portion of the printing costs of the PhD dissertation to the extent that UM will purchase ten copies of the dissertation at a rate of €0.36 per page.

PhD candidates are encouraged to discuss their career development with their promoters and supervisors and are encouraged to subscribe for the PhD career management courses offered by Maastricht University. If the PhD project is not finished within the contract period, the PhD candidate will not receive an extension of the appointment.