The University Hospital Essen offers first class medical services in the Ruhr metropolis. Every year, 225.000 patients are treated in 30 clinics, 27 institutes and specialized centers. The over 8.000 employees offer medical care with state-of-the art diagnostics and therapies, which meet highest international standards. Patient care is connected with basic and translational research at an international competitive level.
PhD student (f/m/d) in GRK2762
Activities and responsibilities
The advertised position is located at the Department of Nuclear Medicine (principle investigator: Prof. Dr. Katharina Lückerath). Research at the Department of Nuclear Medicine is mainly concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of cancer using nuclear medicine methods. The focus is on the establishment of new targeted radiopharmaceutical therapies and research into resistance mechanisms against these. A rational combination of radiopharmaceutical therapy with other drugs should improve the success of the therapy and increase the chances of recovery.
The project is linked to the focus area P3 of the GRK 2762 “Exploring radioimmunotherapy (RIT) as an immunomodulatory therapy in quasi-mesenchymal (QM) versus classic PDAC”.
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains one of the most lethal malignancies. Late diagnosis and extreme refractoriness to chemo- and targeted-therapies are major reasons for the dismal prognosis. New, effective therapeutic options are urgently needed. In the current project we will explore a new radiotheranostic approach as a new concept in PDAC treatment. The term theranostics combines the words diagnosis and therapy; it represents a precision medicine approach relying on a radioligand for non-invasive, imaging-based diagnosis that helps to select patients for therapy with the therapeutic version of the same radioligand. We will determine the potential of our radiopharmaceutical therapy to exert anti-PDAC efficacy and the mechanisms how this is achieved.
The GRK 2762 “Heterogeneity, plasticity and dynamic in cancer cell, tumor and normal tissue responses to cancer radiotherapy” offers outstanding internationally-oriented interdisciplinary scientific research and training opportunities for graduates of experimental or computational life sciences and (bio)medicine with interest in basic and translational cancer research and computational biology(
http://www.uni-due.de/med/forschung/grk2762/index.shtml).
Qualification profile
- Talented and enthusiastic candidates with high interest in the research topic of GRK 2762
- Strong Diploma/Master degree in Cell or Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Radiation Biology, Experimental Diploma/Master degree Medicine, or related fields
- High motivation and commitment for active cross-disciplinary collaboration
- Abilities for problem-solving and independent work
- Fluent in spoken and written English (knowledge of German is not a requirement)
We offer
- Opportunity to conduct high-level interdisciplinary research projects
- Stimulating interdisciplinary and internationally-oriented academic environment
- Innovative cross-disciplinary scientific training at the interface between radiation biology and oncology, precision medicine, and computational biology
- Training in transferable academic and soft skills
- Funding for active participation in workshops and conferences and international visits to collaboration partners
- Regular supervision and mentoring
- Excellent career opportunities
- A secure job in the public service of the state of NRW
- Fair payment in accordance with the collective wage agreement (TV-L) incl. annual bonus payment and supplementary company pension scheme
- 30 days of vacation per calendar year (for a full-time position)
- Interdisciplinary work with colleagues from other departments
- Working with modern equipment and certified quality standards
- Family-friendly corporate culture, e.g. company daycare center, vacation program for school-age children, advice and support from the Employee Service Office in all life situations
- Wide range of training and continuing education opportunities, e.g. at the Training Academy of UK Essen
- Health Management, e.g. company integration management, vaccinations, promotion of sports activities
- Attractive fringe benefits, e.g. reduced-price canteen meals, community events, accommodation in student residences
- The pay grade classification depends on the personal and collective legal prerequisites.
- The University Hospital Essen is an equal opportunity employer. Female scientists are particularly encouraged to apply
- The participation in secondary employment depends on the „Hochschulnebentätigkeitsverordnung“ of North-Rhine Westphalia.
- Disabled applicants will be preferentially considered in case of equivalent qualification.
- The position is also available as part-time employment.”
Important information on the application:
The open positions only apply to projects L1, L2, L4, P1, P2, P3, T1 and T2 (please check
https://www.uni-due.de/med/forschung/grk2762/research-projects.shtml for further
information). Applications are not possible for the Computational Modelling projects (M1-
M3). If places become available in projects L3 and T3, these will be advertised separately; if
you are interested, please check the University Hospital Essen job portal regularly.
Interested candidates should fill in the application form available at https://www.uni-
due.de/med/forschung/grk2762/jobs.php and upload it together with a curriculum vitae, a
copy of all university degrees and other certificates (e.g., on English language skills, FELASA B
qualification) and the indication of two referees (University professors) in a single pdf-file in
the University Hospital Essen Career Platform.
For questions regarding the graduate school program:
Liza Neukirch (scientific coordinator GRK 2762), email: email, phone: +49
(0)201 723 4740
Prof. Dr. Verena Jendrossek (speaker GRK 2762), email: email, phone
+49 (0)201 723 3380
For questions regarding the project:
Prof. Katharina Lückerath, email: email