PhD student or PostDoc

PhD student or PostDoc Position in Systems Biology of Gene expression

PhD student and PostDoc position are available within the Systems Biology group of Prof. Dr. Stefan Legewie at the University of Stuttgart.

The University of Stuttgart is one of the leading technical universities in Germany, and provides an inspiring interdisciplinary environment at the interface of biology and engineering. The Systems Biology group combines mathematical modelling with state-of-the-art experimentation and is part of the newly founded Institute for Biomedical Genetics as well as the Stuttgart Research Center Systems Biology (SRCSB), one of the largest German inter-faculty infrastructures for systems biological research (https://www.srcsb.uni-stuttgart.de/). 

A major focus in our group is heterogeneity at the single-cell level with special emphasis on the TGFb/SMAD signaling pathway. We study cell fate decision making in health and disease using a combination of high-content imaging, single-cell RNA sequencing and quantitative modeling. Based our models, we gain mechanistic insights into cellular subpopulations and cell-specific gene expression programs in heterogeneous cell populations (e.g., Strasen et al., Molecular Systems Biology 2018; Fritzsch et al., Molecular Systems Biology 2018; Bohn et al., PNAS in press). See also: https://www.ibmg.uni-stuttgart.de/de/systems_biology/

The successful applicant will closely collaborate with colleagues within or outside the group to develop data-based models of cellular decision making at the single-cell level, thereby contributing to a better understanding of cancer development and therapy resistance. The work could focus on (i) quantitative experimental analysis of signaling and gene expression (e.g., bulk and single-cell RNAseq, live-cell imaging and genome editing), (ii) theoretical analysis of such data (RNA sequencing analysis, machine learning and quantitative kinetic modeling), (iii) or could involve a combination of both. The candidate will participate in teaching in systems biology and will benefit from interdisciplinary education within the SRCSB, the SimTech excellence cluster (https://www.simtech.uni-stuttgart.de/) and the Graduate Academy of the University of Stuttgart (https://www.gradus.uni-stuttgart.de/en/).

Requirements: Excellent communication skills and good team spirit are required. The candidate should be fluent in English (spoken and written). Enthusiasm for basic research questions and the ability to solve problems independently are necessary. Applications from various fields will be considered, including researchers holding a PhD in molecular biology, engineering, physics, math or informatics. Experience in quantitative systems biology research is expected at the Postdoc level and beneficial for PhD students. 

The University of Stuttgart has been certified as a family-friendly university since 2012 (http://www.uni-stuttgart.de/uniundfamilie/index.en.html) and wishes to increase the share of female academic staff and, for this reason, especially welcomes applications from women. Severely challenged applicants will be given preference in the case of equal qualifications.

Application procedure: Candidates must send a single PDF file containing a motivation letter including a description of previous research experiences, a full CV, a list of publications, scans of academic degrees and contact details of two referees to legewie@ibmg.uni-stuttgart.de.

Starting date: As soon as possible

Closing date: Applications will be handled immediately but must be submitted by 31^st of March 2023. Informal inquiries should be addressed to Stefan Legewie (legewie@ibmg.uni-stuttgart.de).