PhD Position Cancer Biology Vienna Austria & The Vienna Biocenter (VBC) PhD Programme in Life Sciences

The Obenauf Group at IMP is looking for PhD Students in this call:
“We are interested in cancer metastasis and drug resistance. The spread of cancer cells to distant organs is the final stage of tumorigenesis and is responsible for more than 90 percent of cancer related deaths. Metastasis is a very inefficient process and most cancer cells die on their journey, but once metastases are established treatments frequently fail to provide durable responses. An improved understanding of the mechanistic determinants of metastatic colonization is needed to better prevent and treat metastatic cancer. What developmental programs do cancer cells co-opt to survive in this foreign environment? How can cancer cells shield themselves from the immune system and take advantage of survival signals from the tissue they invaded? Why are some tumors responding to therapy and what makes cancer cells resist to therapies? How can we translate our findings to more effective cancer therapies for patients?
We are addressing these questions using a comprehensive array of methods including metastasis mouse models (xenograft and allograft transplant models, genetically engineered models), protein biochemistry, molecular and cell biology, functional shRNA/CRISPR screens, as well as computational biology to incorporate large-scale human datasets in our studies.
We are looking for two PhD candidates that have curious and creative minds, are passionate about science, are easy going and communicative, are highly motivated and have endurance. Most techniques can be picked up easily, but you should be willing to work with animals. A good training in molecular and cell biology are important and bioinformatics skills or willingness to acquire them are a plus.”
More on the Obenauf Group here:http://www.imp.ac.at/research/research-groups/obenauf-group/
and on the VBC PhD Programme here: http://www.vbcphdprogramme.at/
Vienna PhD Program:
The Vienna Biocenter (VBC) PhD Programme in Life Sciences has been running since 1993, providing students from all over the world with excellent training. As a student at the Vienna Biocenter you will be supervised by a top scientist and have full access to state-of-the-art facilities, thus giving you the opportunity to start a strong scientific career.
The VBC campus is highly multidisciplinary with research areas ranging from molecules to populations: RNA biology, gene regulation and epigenetics; Biochemistry, structural and cell biology; Stem cells and developmental biology; Molecular medicine; Neurosciences; Plant biology; Bioengineering and computational biology; and Evolutionary and population biology.
Importantly the scientific environment is extremely dynamic and collaborative, you will have numerous opportunities to meet, talk, listen and collaborate with fellow scientists. The VBC PhD Programme offers a flexible curriculum structure with an initial training course, lectures on scientific topics as well as technical and complementary skills training. Moreover, students contribute to the management of the institutes, through representatives, and organize events that promote networking and career development, such as an annual retreat and a symposium.
Not only will you be in one of Europe’s best institutes, you will also have the opportunity to live in Vienna, which is rated as one of the top cities in the world for quality of life. Vienna is a fun, young city embedded in beautiful old buildings, an international metropolis in the heart of Central Europe.
To find out more about the programme please visit our website: www.vbcphdprogramme.at
Applications are accepted each year for the Winter call from 15 September to 15 November and for the Summer call from 1 March to 30 April.
To apply you must hold a Master’s degree or equivalent from a university in a related topic (or you will complete a master’s degree within six months of the application deadline). Successful applicants will be hired on a full employment contract with a competitive salary.
The VBC PhD Programme (www.vbcphd.at) is organized jointly by the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP – http://www.imp.ac.at), the Max F. Perutz Laboratories (MFPL – http://www.mfpl.ac.at), the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA – http://www.imba.oeaw.ac.at) and the Gregor Mendel Institute (GMI – www.gmi.oeaw.ac.at). Degrees are awarded by the Vienna University or the Medical University of Vienna.