PhD in cancer immunology / cellular therapy / microbiology within the Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) 1371 bei Technische Universität München

The gut microbiome plays a fundamental role in health and disease. CRC 1371 (Speaker Prof. Dr. Dirk Haller) focuses on the digestive tract and proposes an interdisciplinary approach to elucidate the functional relevance of microbiome signatures in the context of inflammation and cancer. Within CRC 1371, the Integrated Research Training School (IRTG) provides a qualification program for PhD students containing excellent multidisciplinary training with tailor-made subject-based and soft skills courses, annual retreats, summer school, and a supervision concept. More information on the IRTG, the research projects and principal investigators are available on the CRC 1371 website.

In Project 05, we are offering exciting scientific positions in the field of cancer immunology / cellular therapy in a clinically highly relevant research area. The focus of the groups “Innate Immune Regulation in Cancer and Stem Cell Transplantation“ (Head: Prof. Dr. med. Hendrik Poeck) and “Immune Signals in Cancer” (Head: Prof. Dr. med. Jürgen Ruland) is to (i) explore the molecular mechanisms and pathways that drive immune dysfunction and immunotherapy resistance, (ii) modulate cancer immunotherapies by macrophage and T-cell engineering approaches, (iii) induce tissue regeneration and graft-versus-leukemia via activation or inhibition of innate immune pathways during allogeneic hematopoetic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT). The laboratories of the PIs are based within the Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy (LIT, Poeck) and in the Center for Translational Cancer Research (TranslaTUM, Ruland).

The successful candidates will have the opportunity to learn a wide spectrum of genetic, molecular and cell biology, biochemical as well as immunological techniques. They will be exposed to cutting edge methods to study translational aspects of cancer (single-cell sequencing of immune cells, organoid co-cultures, cellular engineering via CRISPR/Cas9 technology, in vivo imaging, advanced animal models of allo-SCT and cancer, microbiome-based immune modulation approaches). They will also be able to gain insights into clinically relevant aspects of cancer immunotherapy through proximity to our clinical facilities and through the interdisciplinary composition of our teams and closely collaborating groups.

Required qualification
Candidates hold a Master degree (or equivalent) in immunology, cell/molecular biology, biomedicine, molecular / translational medicine or similar with an excellent academic background. They are open minded, active and have a good command of the English language (oral and written).

Salary and duration
Payment is according to the wage agreement of the civil service TV-L, 65% of E13 for PhD student positions and 100% of E13 for Postdoc positions. Please note that there are no additional postgraduate degree fees required for international candidates.

Application deadline
Applications will be considered until all positions are filled.

Contact person
Prof. Dr. Hendrik Poeck: hendrik.poeck@ukr.de
Prof. Dr. Jürgen Ruland: j.ruland@tum.de

Application
Applicants are asked to send one pdf file to the contact person. The file includes
1. cover letter,
2. curriculum vitae,
3. copies of academic degrees and transcripts of records,
4. summary of the master thesis
5. contact information for two letters of recommendation,
6. list of publications with link for downloading (Do not include your publications in the pdf file).

TUM specific:
As an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer, TUM explicitly encourages applications from women as well as from all others who would bring additional diversity dimensions to the university’s research and teaching strategies. Preference will be given to disabled candidates with essentially the same qualifications.

Data Protection Information:
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