Career Opportunities
Explore job postings, mentorships, internships and post-doc offerings with ISGP-associated working groups and beyond.
Available Positions
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Doctoral Student at Otto von Guericke University of Magdeburg
Location: Microgravitional and Translational Regenerative Medicine Department, Otto von Guericke University of Magdeburg
Description: Doctoral student vacancy for interdisciplinary project on the subject: “Carcinomal cells in microgravity”.
Required Qualifications:: Degree in Natural Science (Biology and related areas)
Desirable Qualifications: Practical experience in laboratory work (Cell Culture, PCR, Western-Blot)
Start date: April 1, 2025
Contact: daniela.grimm@med.ovgu.de
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Master Student at DLR, Cologne
Location: DLR, Cologne, germany
Description: The department of Applied Aerospace Biology embedded within the Institute of Aerospace Medicine offers a position for a highly motivated Master’s student in the CaMPARI project. The applicant should be enthusiastic about genetic engineering, cellular neuroscience, and live-cell imaging techniques. The project aims to investigate the mechanism of neuronal function at the cellular level in altered gravity, which might have an impact on neurodegeneration phenotypes that also arise in astronauts. Beyond that, this research serves as a basis for researching and combating neurodegenerative diseases. A variety of techniques have been investigated in the past to pinpoint active neurons during a stimulus or behavior. However, there are obvious drawbacks, such as limiting the organism’s movement, requiring a priori knowledge of the active region, or having poor temporal resolution. Therefore, a calcium-modulated photoactivatable ratiometric integrator (CaMPARI) was engineered to overcome these spatial-temporal challenges (Hammer et al. Biomedicines 10, Nr. 1 (2022)). CaMPARI is a photoconvertible protein that converts from green to red fluorescence in the presence of high calcium concentration and 405 nm light. This allows us to measure the baseline calcium levels in neurons within defined temporal windows and under altered gravity conditions precisely. The photoconversion can then be quantified by measuring the red-to-green fluorescence ratio.
Project: The Master’s thesis is embedded in a collaboration between the German Aerospace Center (DLR) with the University of Frankfurt and the Luzern University of Applied Sciences and Arts. The thesis will be conducted at DLR Cologne with focus on the following milestones: Transfection (Lipofectamine & nucleofection) protocols for human iPSC-derived neurons, testing and optimizing CaMPARI photoconversion protocols, high-resolution live imaging, AI-based machine learning & algorithm for image analysis, and performing CaMPARI experiments during the national centrifuge study in Cologne (NZP3)
Required Qualifications:: Successful candidates should hold a B.Sc. or equivalent degree in biology, biotechnology, biochemistry, or a related field.
Desirable Qualifications:
o Experience with mammalian cell cultivation, optimally hiPSC-derived neuronal cells
o Theoretical and hands-on experience in microscopy & image-analysis
o Proficient in English
The candidates should be curious, creative, and excited about learning new topics and skills. A candidate with experience, knowledge, and interest in stem cell biology, neuroscience and technology development will make a great match. This is the driving force of our environment at the German Aerospace Center, where there is extensive exposure to diverse topics in biology.
Start date: February 2025
Contact: Interested candidates should send their application (letter of motivation, academic CV, contact details for references) directly by email to Christian.Liemersdorf@dlr.de
and Patrick.Lau@dlr.de.