Phd Student

School VI of Medicine and Health Sciences comprises the fields of human medicine, medical physics and acoustics, neurosciences, psychology and health services research. Together with the four regional hospitals, School VI forms the University Medicine Oldenburg. Furthermore, there is close cooperation with the University Medicine of the University of Groningen.

At the institute for Medical Microbiology and Virology (Department for Human Medicine) at the University of Oldenburg there is a vacancy for the **next possible date** for a

**PhD student (f/m/d)**
**(salary according to E 13 TV-L, 65% of regular working hours)**

for a limited period of three years.

**The project**:
Retrotransposable elements (RTE) are genetic components that are capable to change their genomic location by a copy and paste mechanism. Retrotransposition events can be harmful for the host, as they induce genomic instability and diverse genetic alterations, causing neurological and age-related diseases. Therefore, RTE activity has to be tightly regulated. Several endogenous RTE inhibitors are members of the group of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs). In this project we will examine how the ISG ‘_shiftless_’_ _contributes to the restriction of RTE and aim to determine the underlying molecular mechanism of action. The results of the project may contribute to basic understanding of pathogenesis of and prevention strategies for neurological and age-related diseases.

**Responsibilities**:

- Conduct experiments under BSL-2 conditions, including cell culture, fluorescence and confocal microscopy, immunoprecipitations, molecular cloning
- Data processing (image analysis and statistical analysis)
- Data presentation

**Required qualifications**:

- An academic university degree (Master or equivalent) in virology, biomedicine, molecular biology or related sciences
- Laboratory experience in the fields of virology, immunology, molecular or cell biology
- Excellent communication skills in English

**Desired qualifications**:

- Social competence and excellent team skills
- Motivation and flexibility, a high degree of dedication and productivity

**We offer**:

- Working in a highly motivated research group
- Working in a 3-year funded project with multiple collaborators
- Possibilities to attend national and international conferences
- Well equipped BSL-2 facility
- Payment in accordance with collective bargaining law (special annual payment, company pension scheme, asset-related benefits) incl. 30 days annual leave
- Support and guidance during your induction phase
- A family-friendly environment with flexible working hours (flexitime) and the possibility of pro-rata mobile work
- Benefits from the company's health promotion programme