Scientific assistant / doctoral student in biochemistry / cell biology - DM.198.23b in Berlin-Wedding bei Charité

Working at the Charité

Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin is a joint institution of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Charité was once again voted Germany's best hospital because our employees do an outstanding job every day - in patient care as well as in research, teaching and administration. Patients from all over the world rely on the expertise of our staff as well as on state-of-the-art diagnostics and treatment methods.

Varied and challenging activities with a high degree of personal responsibility await you. Within the framework of a cooperation project with the University of Potsdam funded by the German Research Foundation, we intend to develop gene transport systems based on polymer-based vectors. The position advertised here is focused on investigating the biological interaction profile of the transport system. The developed polyplexes will be functionally characterised in their mode of action using a reporter gene and a suicide gene in cell culture models and iteratively optimised in feedback loops. The project offers the opportunity to work in a multidisciplinary team with numerous international collaborations at one of the best medical universities in Germany. In addition, the lab is located in the heart of Berlin, a historic city with vibrancy and prominence as a leading science location.

We look forward to welcoming you to our team!

Job Overview

• Production of ligands and vectors for the specific addressing of target cells
• Development of artificial glycosylation patterns for site-specific coupling of the ligands to polymer structures
• Analysis of these glycosylation patterns and introduction of functional groups for click chemistry
• Testing of polyplexes in biochemical assays, cell biological experiments and ex vivo blood studies, including how polyplex properties such as composition, zeta potential, size, size distribution, ligand coupling strategy and ligand density affect transfection efficiency, specificity for target cells, cytotoxicity, intracellular transport, endosomal escape, expression of the transferred gene, functional integrity of the cell, stability in blood and blood compatibility
• Independent evaluation and professional documentation of the results
• Publication of results in high quality peer-reviewed journals
• Supervision of Bachelor and Master students working on the same project
• Close exchange with cooperation partners and occasional travel to project meetings
• Attendance at conferences and presentation of results
• Participation in general tasks of the Institute and the scientific organisation
• Own continuing education
• Scientific staff is given sufficient time to carry out their own scientific work in accordance with their employment relationship

We are looking for

• Completed Master's thesis in biochemistry or a comparable subject, for example biology, chemistry or biotechnology with a proven focus on biochemistry and cell biology (preferably in the Master's thesis)
• Experience with functional studies on eukaryotic cell cultures, preferably in the field of cellular drug uptake or on intracellular transport processes
• Basic biochemical and molecular biological techniques (Westernblot, ELISA, qPCR, protein expression, etc.)
• Good chemical knowledge, especially on the conjugation of biomolecules, preferably using click chemistry
• Experience in at least two of the following techniques (i) reporter gene assays, (ii) surface plasmon resonance, (iii) MALDI-TOF or HPLC or LC-MS, (iv) confocal fluorescence microscopy, (v) FACS
• Ability to analyse experimental data statistically
• Ability to work independently including project planning and time management
• Teamwork in a multicultural laboratory and in international collaborations
• Very good command of written and spoken English
• Basic knowledge of German or proof of wanting to learn it
  Since experiments with laboratory animals are also carried out outside your area of activity at the Institute and substances produced by you may also be used, it is necessary for you to acknowledge the necessity of animal experiments for medical purposes. Please s