Biologe (f/m/x)

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Job description

Working at the University Hospital Cologne and the Medical Faculty means helping to shape the future - the future of medicine, of patients and, of course, your own future. You benefit from 60 clinics and institutes as well as numerous other departments and facilities and more than 12,000 jobs. The Faculty of Medicine of the University of Cologne and the University Hospital Cologne assume important social tasks in research, teaching and patient care. A close network with many university and non-university partners guarantees an internationally successful science and the excellent education of our students. We are looking as soon as possible for a Postdoc (f/m/x) in HCMV antibody research Institute of Virology full-time; limited until 31. october 2026 according to WissZeitVG within the framework of a third-party funded project We are a highly dedicated, translational, and internationally well-connected research group focused on the fundamentals of the human immune response to infectious agents and their translation into clinical practice. The insights we gain serve to develop novel approaches for the prevention and treatment of infections. Our team is passionate about understanding the antibody response to HCMV - a widespread virus that poses a serious health risk, particularly to immunocompromised individuals and newborns (Zehner et al. Immunity 2023). We aim to elucidate the molecular interactions between HCMV and its host and to uncover how the virus evades the immune system. These findings will help us identify new therapeutic targets. Additionally, we place special emphasis on isolating and characterizing antibodies against HCMV and studying their significance in protecting healthy individuals. In our projects, we primarily work with human samples and employ a wide range of molecular biology methods. Promising antibodies can then serve as a basis for subsequent clinical studies. By leveraging cutting-edge technologies (e.g. Gieselmann et al. Nat Protoc. 2021), state-of-the-art BSL-1 to BSL-3 laboratories and several excellent core facilities and in-house services as well as interdisciplinary collaboration, we strive to develop innovative therapeutic approaches. Your contribution to our group's highly relevant research outcomes will significantly advance the development of new strategies for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases. Suggested further literature and previous work: Korenkov and Zehner et al. Immunity 2023, Kreer and Zehner et al. Cell 2020, Ehrhardt and Zehner et al. Nat. Med. 2019. Designing and executing research studies focusing on the isolation of HCMV-specific antibodies and characterization of the humoral immune responses against Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV) Performing experiments within third-party funded projects in a biosafety level S1-S3 Conduction of immunologic and virologic assays and methods, including primary cells, cell culture, virus cultures, PCR, cloning, flow cytometry, ELISA, and microscopy Optimization and development of novel assays to isolate and characterize HCMV-specific antibodies Correspondence with high ranking national and international collaborative partners Ensuring highest standards of quality through keeping detailed experimental protocols and records and writing research reports Participation in the preparation and submission of manuscripts and funding applications You hold a PhD, M.D. or M.D. / Ph.D. degree in molecular biology, virology, immunology, or equivalent with a visible publication record Experience in handling of infectious agents, experience with HCMV or other herpes viruses is beneficial Experience with immunological methods (e. g., FACS, qPCR, ELISA) Ability to organize, prioritize, and solve problems Structured, solution-oriented and determined Execution of experiments in a highly detail-oriented and reliable manner Communicative and cooperative in working with interdisciplinary research teams (doctoral students, post-docs, technical assistants, physicians, collaborators) Excellent English communication skills, both spoken and written Professional project management experience would be beneficial Working at the University Hospital Cologne and the Medical Faculty means helping to shape the future - the future of medicine, of patients and, of course, your own future. You benefit from 60 clinics and institutes as well as numerous other departments and facilities and more than 12,000 jobs. The Faculty of Medicine of the University of Cologne and the University Hospital Cologne assume important social tasks in research, teaching and patient care. A close network with many university and non-university partners guarantees an internationally successful science and the excellent education of our students. Your salary will be based on TV-L

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