PhD Student Biology, Biochemistry (m/f/d)

JULIUS-MAXIMILIANS-UNIVERSITÄT WÜRZBURG, GERMANY

Institute for Molecular Infection Biology (IMIB)

PhD Student position (f/m/d)

“Regulation of early spliceosome assembly and splice site recognition”

Applications are invited for a PhD student position in the Beusch group at the Institute of Molecular Infection Biology at the University of Würzburg. We are a young lab, aiming to build an international team of dynamic and collaborative scientists. We are committed to create an equal and inclusive work atmosphere and to solve fundamental questions surrounding the initial steps in RNA splicing regulation and spliceosome assembly.

Splicing is an essential step in post‑transcriptional processing. Mutations that disrupt splicing have often deleterious consequences, causing a wide range of diseases from neuromuscular disorders to cancer. Our research group’s goal is to gain a detailed mechanistic understanding of splicing and its regulation within the cell to not only understand fundamental eukaryotic biology but also human disease. To do so we take advantage of forward genetics in combination with biochemistry. In particular, we focus on understanding how splice site choice occurs and how this interplays with the assembly of the spliceosome. The spliceosome is a highly complex molecular machine, which will assemble de novo from over 150 proteins and 5 small nuclear RNAs for each reaction that it catalyses. What fascinates us is not only how this assembly is regulated but how the spliceosome can handle its very diverse substrate pool.

Activities and responsibilities

The student will work in an interdisciplinary project studying regulation within the first steps of spliceosome assembly by making use of a wide range of technologies including RNA‑seq approaches as well as molecular biology methods (e.g. proximity labelling, IP‑MS) and biochemistry.

Qualification profile

• A Master’s degree in life science and a strong background in either RNA biology or biochemistry.
• Experience in molecular biology, tissue culture and cell line engineering, RNA‑seq data analysis, and bioinformatics is helpful but not mandatory.
• Strong written and spoken English-language communication skills, and interest in working as part of an international team of researchers.
• An interest in RNA biology, or desire to learn.