Postgraduate Program for Bio-Behavioral Integrative Medicine (UBBMed)
Vision & Mission: To use a complex bio-psycho-social model, based on personalized and evidence-based frameworks, in the context of advanced medical technology (e.g., including big data approaches), to guide research, training (graduate / postgraduate / continuous education), and applications in human health.
General Structure: At this moment, the Program works as a framework for three clinical-research sections in the Program: (1) Mental Health; (2) (more)General and/or (more)Systemic-Transversal (areas in) Medicine (e.g., Oncology/Cancer, Internal Medicine, Psychosomatics etc.); and (3) Public Health. There are also two transversal sections (strong competitive advantages of UBBMed, as part of a comprehensive university): (1) A Biomedical Engineering / Technology section (including Big Data & Bioinformatics) is developed within the program, important in itself and as a support for the three clinical sections, and (2) BioMedical Ethics/Social Medicine & Health. A Miscellaneous section includes aspects that are more specific and/or in an incipient phase of development.
- Strategic coordinator: The Executive Board of the UBB Council of Administration
- Executive responsible: Professor, MD, PhD, Răzvan Cherecheș
- Address: No. 9 Clinicilor St., Cluj-Napoca; Contact: razvan.m.chereches@gmail.com
Section I: Psychology & Psychiatry - Mental Health (UBBMed-Psy)
Coordinators: Professor, PhD, Anca Dobrean (psychology) & Adjunct Researcher, MD, PhD, Andreea Robe (psychiatry)
- Contact: ancadobrean@psychology.ro
Board of the Section
- The Board, composed of psychologists and psychiatrists proposed by the coordinators, will be the main decision body of the Section.
Major Academic Units
- International Institute for Psychotherapy & Mental Health
- 3 and 7 Tesla MRI technologies for humans
- State of the art virtual/mixed realities and EEG technologies
- Cognitive Neuroscience Unit
- INSPIRE Platform
- 7 and 11,6 Tesla MRI technologies for animal and tissue studies
- RoMentalHealth, is national network dedicated to the complex and multilevel study of mental health (i.e., genetic, molecular, nerocircuits, psychology-cognitive/psychiatry, and cross-cultural - including a Biobank), coordinated by the UBBMed and including only major national actors in the field, also relevant internationally (https://news.ubbcluj.ro/ubb-initiaza-reteaua-interdisciplinara-pentru-studiul-complex-si-multinivelar-al-sanatatii-mintale/) (in the registration order):
- Transylvanian Institute of Neuroscience din Cluj (prin Laboratorul de Neuroștiințe Experimentale și Teoretice - https://tins.ro/).
- Universitatea de Medicină și Farmacie „Grigore T. Popa” din Iași (prin Disciplina de Psihiatrie - https://www.umfiasi.ro/en).
- Universitatea Alexandru-Ioan Cuza din Iași (prin Grupul de cercetare BioActive, Facultatea de Biologie - https://www.uaic.ro/en/).
- Universitatea Tehnică din Cluj-Napoca (prin Grupul de Ingineria Cunoștintelor - https://www.utcluj.ro/en/).
- Universitatea de Vest din Timișoara (prin Departamentul de Psihologie și Laboratorul de Evaluare a Personalității și a Cognițiilor Sociale - https://www.uvt.ro/en/).
- Institutul de Filosofie și Psihologie Constantin Rădulescu-Motru al Academiei Române, București ( http://www.institutuldefilosofie.ro/news.php).
- Institutul de Chimie Organică și Supramoleculară „Costin D. Neniţescu” al Academiei Române, București (prin Axa de Metabolomică și Chimia Compușilor de Inspirație Naturală - https://icoscdn.ro/index.php/en/).
- Spitalul Clinic de Psihiatrie “Prof. Dr. Alexandru Obregia”, București (prin Laboratorul de Cercetare Psihiatrie - https://spital-obregia.ro/).
- Institutul de Psihiatrie Socola, Iași (https://socola.eu/).
For contact: Professor, PhD., Andrei Miu (andreimiu@gmail.com)
- One BSc program (i.e., cognitive science) and three MSc programs (i.e., clinical psychology / psychotherapy / clinical public health psychology) are associated to the Section, together with specific doctoral research.
Major Clinical Units
Section II: (more)General and/or (more)Systemic-Transversal (areas in) Medicine (e.g., Oncology/Cancer, Internal Medicine, Psychosomatics etc.) (UBBMed-G)
Coordinators: Professor, PhD, Manuela Banciu (biology) & Researcher, MD, PhD, Cristina Pojoga (medicine – internal medicine / gastroenterology)
- Contact: manuela.banciu@ubbcluj.ro or cristina.pojoga@ubbcluj.ro
Board of the Section
- The Board, composed of specialists proposed by the coordinators, will be the main decision body of the Section.
Major Academic Units
- BioNanomedicine - see also here
- Two academic centers support this section:
- Specific doctoral research is associated to this Section.
Major Clinical Units
- Partners - Public/private hospitals – clinical units
Section III – Public Health & Policy (UBBMed-PublicH
)
Coordinator: Professor, MD, PhD, Marius Ungureanu (public health)
- Contact: marius.ungureanu@ubbcluj.ro
Board of the Section
- The Board, composed of medical and non-medical specialists proposed by the coordinator, will be the main decision body of the Section.
Major Academic Units
Major Clinical Units
- Partners - Public/private hospitals – clinical units
Section IV – Transversal Approaches (UBBMed-T)
IV.1. Biomedical Engineering / Technology (UBBMed-Tech)
- Coordinators: Professor, PhD, Lucian Baia (physics-engineering) & Professor, PhD, Gilbert Gillich (engineering)
- Contact: lucian.baia@ubbcluj.ro / gilbert.gillich@ubbcluj.ro
- Medical physics/engineering (Associate professor, PhD, Balint Zoltan)
- Clinical-medicinal chemistry (Professor PhD, Gabriela Nemeș & Professor, PhD, Radu Silaghi-Dumitrescu/)
- Clinical biology - laboratories (Senior assistant professor, PhD, Alina Sesărman)
- Kinetotherapy (Professor, PhD, Dumitru Rareș Ciocoi-Pop)
- BSc/MSc programs and specific doctoral research are associated to the Section
- Coordinators: Professor, PhD, Anca Andreica (computer science) and Professor, PhD, Horia Banciu (bioinformatics/biostatistics)
- Contacts: anca.andreica@ubbcluj.ro or horia.banciu@ubbcluj.ro
- UBB Supercomputer and its associated master program co-created with the German company Bosch
- BSc/MSc programs (e.g., MSc in Bioinformatics) and specific doctoral research are associated to the Section.
IV.2. Biomedical Ethics/Social Medicine & Health
- Coordinator: Associate professor, PhD, Dégi László Csaba (social work/sociology) - President of European Cancer Organisation-2022/2023)
- Contact: laszlo.degi@ubbcluj.ro
- Health economics (Associate professor, PhD, Levente Szasz - economist)
Section V – Miscellaneous (UBBMed-M)
- Coordinator: Professor, PhD, Markó Bálint
- Contact: marko.balint@ubbcluj.ro
- Medical art
Note: Each of these components can become a specific section in the future, based on its more complex development.
General notes
- InfoBioNano4Health will be a general academic infrastructure of the Program
- Current results of UBB in various international ranking in the Medical/Health field:
- UBB is typically the first university from Romania in most international rankings in the field of psychology / psychiatry / mental health / cognitive sciences (often in Top-500 in the world) and one of the best in public health and in noncomunicabale diseases (mainly psychooncology).
- UBB is typically included in the top medical programs in Romania in various rankings (e.g., QS 2023).
- The relevant staff associated formally with UBB in various “units” related to the Program is also part of the Program (the Board of each section will specify it).
- The working language of the Program is English.
- The official launch of the UBBMed Program:
- Expressions of interest: Various professionals can be involved as permanent, temporary, or (clinical) adjunct staff. All will have access to UBB infrastructure/facilities and students and to develop new projects through UBB. Those interested can contact the executive responsible Professor, MD, PhD, Răzvan Cherecheș at razvan.m.chereches@gmail.com