EDBB Open positions

This page will be updated more often as the EDBB program will be informed of new positions becoming available for the June 2023 Hiring Days event. Meanwhile, do not hesitate to contact the laboratories which interest you to find out whether they have upcoming openings for PhD students as this list is non-exhaustive.

Next Deadline for applications : April 15, 2023

Aantanasijevic lab at the Global Health Institute (EPFL) has an open position for 2 PhD students with interests in structural biology, virology, and vaccine design. The research project will focus on evaluation of antibody responses elicited by different viral pathogens and vaccine candidates using state-of-the-art cryo-electron microscopy, immunology, and bioinformatics tools. Selected candidate will then learn how to apply this information for design of novel vaccine candidates and antibody therapeutics. The primary targets of interest for this position are human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), rabies, and flaviviruses (e.g., Dengue and yellow fever virus). The specific project details will be tailored according to the research interests and experience of the candidate.

We are looking for excellent candidates that are motivated, enthusiastic, and organized. Previous research experience in biochemistry, virology and/or structural biology is preferred. Selected candidate will get a chance to drive interdisciplinary research projects in a highly collaborative environment.

For more details please contact: [email protected]

See the following references to learn more about the research tools that will be employed:

Antanasijevic et al., Nature Comm, 2021

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-25087-4

Antanasijevic, Bowman et al., Sci Adv, 2022

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abk2039

Antanasijevic et al., PNAS, 2022

https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/1/5/pgac253/6798388

https://www.epfl.ch/labs/mckinney-lab/

We are looking for a highly motivated PhD Student to lead a project using live-cell imaging and state-of-the-art microtissue models of urinary tract infections (UTIs) to evaluate “metabolic potentiation” as a novel therapeutic strategy, with an emphasis on hard-to-treat bacterial biofilms associated with indwelling medical devices. A background in microbiology, bioengineering, or microengineering is preferred but not required. The student will be based in the Laboratory of Microbiology & Microtechnology at EPFL but will also work closely with our clinical collaborators at the Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV).

The Living patterns lab at EPFL IPHYS has three open PhD positions. We are an experimental Biophysics group that integrates approaches and techniques from bioengineering, fluid mechanics, cell and developmental biology to understand how cells and tissues build flows. Research topics in the lab include: cilia organization and function, cellular swimming/behavior and cellular/cytoskeletal mechanics. Individual projects are shaped by student’s interests, for more information visit our website http://livingpatterns.group or email us directly [email protected]

LVG

The Laboratory of Virology and Genetics is recruiting two graduate students to work on the roles of transposable elements and their epigenetic controllers in human cancer.

The human genome contains more than 4.5 million inserts derived from transposable elements (TEs). This so-called endovirome is a major motor of genome evolution and, together with their KRAB zinc finger protein (KZFP) controllers, TE-embedded regulator sequences exert profound influences on human development and physiology, conferring to the conduct of most biological processes a high degree of species-specificity. TEs are phylogenetically related to so-called RNA tumor viruses, and owing to their mutagenic potential are commonly viewed as genetic threats. However, we recently discovered that TEs can also act as sentinels to alert the cell against epigenetic perturbations, and that cancer cells subvert KZFPs to evade this surveillance mechanism. 

We are seeking highly motivated individuals to join our multi-disciplinary team in exploring the translational potential of these discoveries for precision oncology and cancer therapeutics.

Background in molecular/cellular biology or genomics is suitable, knowledge of bioinformatics a significant plus, willingness to wander into new disciplines a definite must.

Thesis work will be co-supervised by Didier Trono and another professor, e.g. Elisa Oricchio.

The Laboratory of Computational Neuro-Oncology at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) focuses on biomedical data science for children and young adults with brain tumors (waszaklab.org). Our research group studies clinical cancer genomes and develops computational and experimental methods to advance diagnostics that are globally accessible and transformative for brain tumour patients. We have the following four PhD positions to offer:

Project 1: Deciphering the cellular origin of brain tumours at single-cell resolution
Project 2: Digital neuropathology 2.0: integration of subcellular, high-plex in situ data with histopathology
Project 3: Leveraging long-read sequencing in pediatric neuro-oncology
Project 4: Targeting oncogenic enhancers in pediatric diffuse gliomas

Focus of the lab:

The human body develops from a single totipotent cell. During development, this single totipotent cell gives rise to the entire diversity of cell types of the body that ultimately make up all organs. Even though those cells are transcriptionally and functionally different, they share the same genome. Epigenetic mechanisms that regulate which set of genes will be turned on and which genes will be switched off in each cell are at work in order to maintain and generate cellular diversity.

The nervous system develops during early embryonic development and ultimately contains all different types of neurons from different regions of the body. In a series of developmental transitions, progenitors differentiate into neuron and glia lineages.

In my lab, we use neural organoids to model these developmental transitions and investigate how epigenetic processes control differentiation and cell fate. We employ single-cell genomics and imaging technologies to profile the chromatin of individual cells.

We have multiple open positions.

The successful candidates should have:

-High motivation, curiosity and a strong interest in scientific discoveries

-Drive to learn innovative technologies and perform challenging experiments

-A strong background in computational analysis of genomics data

-Good experimental skills in molecular biology (e.g. IF, IP, Western-Blot, Nuclei-Acid-Extraction, Sequencing-library preparation, Cloning)

-Ideally, experience with human iPS cell culture and curiosity to further develop in vitro culture systems

Current contact email: [email protected]

For more details, see web pages of the EDBB program’s potential thesis directors.