EURIdoc: Trinational PhD Programme in Immunology (28 Positions) 1542 views

EURIdoc, the Eucor Upper Rhine Immunology doctoral programme, is an international, interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral PhD programme supported by the European Commission. The 4-year PhD positions are at the Universities of Basel, Freiburg and Strasbourg as well as at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). Recruitment of all 28 doctoral candidates is operated via the Freiburg Graduate School SGBM (Spemann Graduate School of Biology and Medicine) in conformity with the EU Marie Sklodowska Curie.

EURIdoc PhD Projects

Research area: Hematopoiesis and development  

1. A) Stiffness sensing of bone marrow endothelial cell or; B) Matrix stiffness sensing and proplatelet formation
2. A) Role of Ikaros in Th17 cell development or; B) Role of Ikaros in the regulation of T-cell pathogenicity
3. A) Stroma-plasma cell interaction as driver of autoimmune disease or; B) Mesenchymal cell specialization and B lymphocyte differentiation
4. A) B cell differentiation by stroma and macrophages in autoimmunity or; B) B cell survival and transformation by stroma in lymphoma
5. A) STAT3 at the crossroads between cancer and autoimmunity or; B) Immunopathology in acute versus chronic HLH
6. A) Immune defense of the human olfactory mucosa against viral infections or; B) Autophagy for nonpeptidic antigen presentation by skin DCs
7. A) Macrophage adaptation to barrier tissue niches in chronic infection or; B) Differentiation of nerve-and vessel-associated tissue macrophages
8. A) Identification of genes implied in haematopoietic specification;

Research area: Innate and adaptive effector functions

9. A) Cellular mechanisms of platelet allo-immunization or; B) Regulation of the immune response by the spleen
10. A) Regulation of inflammasomes by post-translational modifications. Or; B) RIP kinase regulated metabolism and its impact on inflammation>.
11. A) Single molecule microscopy analyses of signaling mechanisms in T cells or; B) Modulating T cell signaling for improved anti-tumor responses
12. A) Extrafollicular responses in autoantibody-mediated autoimmune diseases or; B) Break of tolerance in the B cell compartment: generation and maintenance of self-antigen specific memory B cells
13. A) Profiling the cellular metabolic landscape of human T cell differentiation in ; chronic infection and cancer or; B) Role of cellular stress pathways in exhausted T cells
14. A) Affinity maturation in chronic viral infection or; B) Clonal competition of B cells in chronic viral infection
15. A) Molecular signals triggering inflammasome activation or; B) Macrophage-specific pro-inflammatory cell death mechanisms
16. A) Macrophage heterogeneity and B cell activation or; B) Stroma – macrophage cross-talk in lymphoid organ development and homeostasis
17. A) TCR γδ cells in Inflammatory Bowel Disease or; B) MR-1 restricted T cells in chronic intestinal inflammation
18. A) The physiology of MR1T cells and their role in autoimmune diseases or; B) MR1T cells in cell therapy of tumors

Research area: Immune-related diseases

19. A) Genetic engineering of bacteria to combat inflammatory bowel disease or; B) Underlying mechanisms in in immunodeficiency and immune dysregulation of syndroms due to actin cytoskeleton abnormalities or; C) Development of the genetic immunology advisor platform: Gemma-P
20. A) Modified TCRs on human T cells targeting tumor cells or; B) Chimeric antigen receptors to fight against SARS-CoV-2
21. A) Dissecting immune synapse polariziation in exhausted T cells or; B) Deciphering metabolic pathways in exhausted T cells
22. A) Contribution of CD44 expressed on tumour associated macrophages, to progression of pancreatic cancer or; B) The CD44/CXCR4 interplay in immune suppression of pancreatic cancer
23. A) Understanding microRNA biology to improve T cell therapy or; B) Exploiting microRNAs for CAR T design
24. A) The stroma niche of disturbed germinal center or; B) Extrafollicular plasma cell responses in patients with primary immunodeficiency
25. A) Pulmonary macrophage heterogeneity and mycobacteria infection or; B) Functional impact of antibodies during mycobacteria infection
26. A) Determining binding epitopes for autoantibodies in lupus or B) Determining binding epitopes for autoantibodies in Sjögren’s syndrome
27. A) Disease-specific heterogeneity of exhausted T cells or; B) Impact of co-infection on T cell exhaustion
28. A) Modulation of B cell activation by cytomegalovirus or; B) Modulation of B cell activation in COVID-19

Eligibility criteria:

• Candidates must hold an academic degree, which allows them to embark on a doctoral programme at the recruiting universities before the recruitment date of 1 November 2021.
• Candidates should have studied any field of the life-sciences, such as biology, biochemistry, biotechnology or molecular medicine.
• Candidates must be, at the date of the call deadline, in the first four years (full-time equivalent research experience) after achieving a Master’s degree or equivalent and not yet have been awarded a doctoral degree.
• Candidates have to comply with the mobility requirements of the PhD programme (MSCArules): not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies) in the country that will recruit the applicant for more than 12 months in the 3 years before the recruitment date of 1 November 2021. For refugees under the Geneva Convention, the refugee procedure (i.e. before refugee status is conferred) is not counted as a period of residence/activity in the country of the host organisation. Applicants will be asked to sign a self-declaration that she/he complies with the MSCA mobility criterion.

Applications:

Apply online and upload the following:

• Recommended content for the Motivation letter (Tab 10.1) (max 500 words):
• Motivation to pursue a PhD in immunology (if you are trained in a different discipline, justify the reorientation)
• Expectations from the EURIdoc program
• How do you see your contribution to the programme and the chosen PhD projects?