德国斯图加特大学系统生物学研究中心2020年博士后职位招聘

PhD Student/Postdoc positions in experimental and theoretical systems biology

PhD student (65% E13, initially 3 years) and Postdoctoral Researcher positions (E13 or E14; initially 2 years) are available within the newly established Systems Biology group of Prof. Dr. Stefan Legewie at the University of Stuttgart.

The University of Stuttgart is one of the leading technical universities in Germany, and provides an inspiring interdisciplinary environment at the interface of biology and engineering. The Systems Biology group combines mathematical modelling with state-of-the-art experimentation and is part of the Stuttgart Research Center Systems Biology (SRCSB), one of the largest German inter-faculty infrastructures for systems biological research (https://www.srcsb.uni-stuttgart.de/).

In our research, we closely collaborate with SRCSB groups working on cellular signaling and gene regulation to gain a better understanding of cell fate decisions in health and disease. One major focus is heterogeneity at the single-cell level with special emphasis on the TGFb/SMAD signaling pathway. We study heterogeneous decision making using a combination of high-content imaging, single-cell RNA sequencing and quantitative modeling. Based our models, we gain mechanistic insights into cellular subpopulations and cell-specific gene expression programs in heterogeneous cell populations (e.g., Strasen et al., 2018; Fritzsch et al. 2018). As a second focus, we reconstruct gene regulatory networks from experimental data based on perturbation screens and multi-layered genomics data. In particular, we focus on mechanisms of post-transcriptional gene regulation, and recently used kinetic modeling as well as machine learning approaches to uncover mechanisms of alternative splicing regulation in human cancers (e.g., Braun et al., 2018; Sutandy et al., 2018; Becker et al., 2018). Currently, we apply this expertise to better understand how cancer cells develop resistance against targeted therapies by expressing alternative splice variants, in which the modified protein lacks the target epitope. See also: https://www.imb.de/research/legewie/research

We seek candidates working experimentally, theoretically or both, and expect that the successful applicants will collaborate to develop a systems-level understanding and data-based models of the above-mentioned biological processes. Experimental work will include CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing, genomics approaches and live-cell imaging. The research will benefit from the existing SRCSB expertise and service infrastructure, and will contribute to the establishment of a systems transcriptomics platform. Theoretical work will be based on experimental data generated within or outside the group and involves statistical data analysis, machine learning approaches and the derivation of quantitative kinetic models. Key model predictions will be tested experimentally to gain insights into cellular decision making, thereby contributing to a better understanding of cancer development and therapy resistance. Collaborations within the SRCSB, the SimTech cluster of excellence (https://www.simtech.uni-stuttgart.de/) and with the Institute of Cell Biology and Immunology (https://www.izi.uni-stuttgart.de/) are strongly encouraged.

Requirements: In our group, we put special emphasis on a collaborative environment that fosters interdisciplinary education at the interface of theory and experiment. Therefore, excellent communication skills and good team spirit are required. The candidates should be fluent in English (spoken and written). Enthusiasm for basic research questions and the ability to solve problems independently are necessary. Experimental work requires a strong background in molecular biology. For theoretical positions, applications from various fields will be considered, including molecular biology, engineering, physics, math and informatics.

The University of Stuttgart has been certified as a family-friendly university since 2012 (http://www.uni-stuttgart.de/uniundfamilie/index.en.html) and wishes to increase the share of female academic staff and, for this reason, especially welcomes applications from women. Severely challenged applicants will be given preference in the case of equal qualifications.

Application procedure: Candidates must send a single PDF file containing a motivation letter including a description of previous research experiences, a full CV, a list of publications, scans of acde degrees (Germans: including certificates of Abitur- & Diplom/Master) and contact details of two referees to s.legewie@imb-mainz.de.

Starting date: As soon as possible

Closing date: Applications will be handled immediately but must be submitted by 30th of September 2020. Informal inquiries should be addressed to Stefan Legewie (s.legewie@imb-mainz.de).