Programme

Acute Medicine Summer School (June 30 – July 2)

From Oxygen to Host Response Biology: Rethinking Acute Medicine

Organised by the University of Malta in collaboration with University Medical Centre Groningen, the Netherlands

Concept and educational philosophy

This accredited summer school is designed for BSc, MSc, MD, PhD and postdoctoral participants. Rather than organizing learning around traditional organ-based silos, the program takes a host response and systems medicine perspective. Clinical decision-making, pathophysiology, and translational science are interwoven to help participants understand acute illness as a dynamic, whole-body process.

Daily structure (applies to all three days)

• 08:30 – Coffee and networking
• 08:45 – Lecture 1
• 09:45 – Lecture 2
• 10:45 – Short coffee break with biscuits
• 11:00 – Lecture 3
• 12:00 – Distinguished career talk (30 minutes)
• 12:35 – Lunch
• 14:00–15:30 – Practical demonstration (Group A) / Workshop assignment session (Group B)
• 15:30–16:00 – Group rotation debrief and closing
• 19:00 – Evening social event (only Day 3)

Day 1 — Foundations of Acute Critical Illness

08:40 Brief Introduction to the Acute Medicine Summer School Malta edition

08:45 Lecture 1: The Physiology of Acute Critical Illness (Hjalmar Bouma)

09:45 Lecture 2: Emergency Medicine & Early Stabilization (Michael Buttigieg)

11:00 Lecture 3: From Symptoms to Syndromes: Clinical Patterns in Acute Illness (Hjalmar Bouma)

12:00 Career Talk: Building a translational career in acute medicine (Hjalmar Bouma)

Afternoon practical/workshop

• Group A practical: CPR and acute resuscitation simulation
• Group B workshop: How to read and critically interpret a scientific paper

Day 2 — Organ Failure and Systems Physiology

08:45 Lecture 1: ARDS — From Alveolus to Ventilator (Brandon Caruana Montaldo)

09:45 Lecture 2: Shock and Hemodynamic Failure: A Clinical Framework (Stephen Sciberras)

11:00 Lecture 3: Fluids, Vasopressors and Perfusion Targets in Critical Care (Michael Buttigieg)

12:00 Career Talk: Building a career in acute medicine (Michael Buttigieg)

Afternoon practical/workshop

• Group A practical: Mechanical ventilation demonstration and ventilator interpretation
• Group B workshop: Grant writing and translational project design

Day 3 — Precision Acute Medicine and the Future

08:45 Lecture 1: Heterogeneity in Acute Illness: Why One Size Does Not Fit All (Brendon Scicluna)

09:45 Lecture 2: Pharmacological Drug Discovery and Host-Directed Therapies in Acute Medicine (tba)

11:00 Lecture 3: Towards Precision Acute Medicine: Integrating Physiology and the Host Response (Brendon Scicluna)

12:00 Closing remarks and key take-home messages (Brendon Scicluna)

Afternoon practical/workshop

• Option A practical: High-fidelity integrated simulation (sepsis + ARDS + shock)
• Option B workshop: Scientific communication and pitching ideas

19:00 Social event

Cross-cutting educational design features

• Host-response framing across all sessions to move beyond organ-based teaching.
• Each 11:00 lecture ends with three integration questions: one clinical, one mechanistic, one research-focused.
• Balanced audience engagement for BSc, MSc, MD, PhD, and postdoctoral levels.
• Accreditation-friendly structure combining taught content, practical skills, and career development.