programs in English, starting in 1993 with the four-year MD program based entirely on the American curriculum and the requirements of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) system. A six-year MD program in English based on the European model followed a year later. Both programs have instituted National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) subject examinations and compulsory completion on USMLE licensing examinations as a requirement for students. Subsequently, PUMS reached the last of its planned English-language based projects with the introduction of a five-year Dentistry program in 2000, and five-year MSc Pharmacy program in 2004, which was replaced by the six-year Pharm. D. program in 2009, and three-year BSc Physiotherapy program in 2009. These programs meet the European requirements. The students of the English programs are represented by the English Programs' Student Union (EPSU). On 27 February 2007 the Polish name of school was changed from Akademia Medyczna im. Karola Marcinkowskiego w Poznaniu to Uniwersytet Medyczny im. Karola Marcinkowskiego w Poznaniu. Science and research While advanced research at the university is carried out in virtually every field of modern medicine, its contribution is most widely recognized in such disciplines as immunology, endocrinology, oncology, nuclear medicine, anaesthesiology, surgery, nephrology, gynaecology and obstetrics (especially perinatology), ecology, parasitic and tropical diseases, AIDS, viral hepatitis, hematology, child oncology, cytophysiology and cytopathology, development of the central nervous system, immunology of skin diseases, clinical pharmacology, genetics, audiology, phoniatrics and optometry. The major research topics in the Faculty of Pharmacy are the stability of drugs, pharmacokinetics and biochemistry, the synthesis and analysis of new therapeutic agents, phytochemistry, toxicology and pharmacology. The fields of research activity of the Faculty of Health Sciences are health promotion, nursing processes and standards in nursing activity. The investigations conducted at the university are presented in several hundred research papers published yearly in professional journals. The university hosts between 5 and 10 major international congresses a year and visits of foreign researchers are a daily routine. The university co-operates regularly with universities in Rennes and Rouen (France), Turku (Finland), Berlin, Göttingen, Halle, Kiel, Magdeburg, Mainz, Munchen Regensburg (Germany), Linköping (Sweden), Oslo University College (Norway), Perugia (Italy), University of Illinois at Chicago (USA). Many university staff members serve on the boards of international professional and scientific associations or are invited to act as advisers by the WHO and IAEA. Lekarsz and Doktor (stopień naukowy) degrees awarded at the university enjoy wide national recognition.