Open PhD Positions

MPI-KG, Potsdam-Golm

PhD Students
Payment follows TVöD

Two positions are to be filled by early 2016, and are limited to three years with the possibility of an extension.

The advertised positions are embedded into the joint research project MaxSynBio, sponsored by the Max Planck Society, and by the German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF). The overall objective of MaxSynBio is the synthesis of artificial biosystems from functional modules by means of a bottom-up approach of Synthetic Biology, which will potentially enable biotechnological applications and generate knowledge of fundamental nature. The interdisciplinary joint research project involves 9 Max Planck Institutes in the fields of biology, chemistry, physics and engineering sciences as well as one chair in the field of humanities at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg.

Scope of Duties:

Production of cell mimicking multi-compartment giant lipid vesicles.
Design and testing of microfluidic platforms for handling giant lipid vesicles.
Establishment of multi-component phase-separated vesicles.

Requirements:

Suitable candidates hold a Diploma degree or a Master degree in the natural sciences, preferentially in biotechnology, biochemistry, biophysics, chemistry, physics, biology, or in the engineering sciences. Marks should be clearly above average. We are seeking students with practical lab skills. Experience with artificial lipid membranes, and in particular giant lipid vesicles would be preferable. Practical know-how in microfluidic systems including CAD design will be beneficial. Furthermore, knowledge and experience with phase-separated lipid vesicles will be advantageous. The tasks require a high level of experimental skills and creativity. The willingness to work in an interdisciplinary and international environment is expected.

Please, send your application documents, including curriculum vitae and references, by e-mail (preferred) or by post to the following address:

Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces
Dr. Tom Robinson
Potsdam-Golm Science Park
Am Mühlenberg 1 OT Golm
14476 Potsdam, Germany

E-Mail: Tom.Robinson(at)mpikg.mpg.de

Please send your E-Mail application with the subject “MaxSynBio PhD application”.

Please send your E-Mail application with the subject “MaxSynBio Postdoc application”.

View this job ad on the institutes website:

http://www.mpikg.mpg.de/5631720/Postdoc

Research group of Tom Robinson:

http://www.mpikg.mpg.de/Biomicrofluidic_Systems

MPI-CBG, Dresden

PhD Student
Payment follows TVöD

Two PhD studentships are available to start from May 1 2016, limited to three years with the possibility of extension.

The advertised positions are embedded within MaxSynBio, an interdisciplinary Synthetic Biology programme including nine Max Planck Institutes in the fields of biology, chemistry, physics and engineering sciences and in the field of humanities at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. This programme is jointly funded by the Max Planck Society and by the German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF). The overall objective of MaxSynBio is the synthesis of artificial biosystems from functional modules via a bottom-up approach of Synthetic Biology and aims to translate fundamental research into biotechnological applications.

Scope of Duties:

Synthesis and characterisation of protocellular models

Expression, purification, characterisation and reconstitution of proteins into protocellular models.

More information on the research is available on:
www.dresden-ipp.de/research/research-groups/dora-tang/

Requirements:

Candidates must hold a Diploma degree or a Master degree in biochemistry, biophysics, chemistry, physics, biology, or in the engineering sciences. This is a multidisciplinary project and students will work at the interface of biophysics, biochemistry, materials chemistry and synthetic biology. As a consequence the student will gain experience in a range of techniques including protein expression, purification and reconstitution, membrane biophysics, protocell synthesis and characterization and microfluidics. Successful candidates will be part of the Dresden International PhD programme (DIPP) and work within a highly interdisciplinary, interactive and international scientific community supported by a career development programme designed to prepare the student for their future career steps.

The Max Planck Society seeks to increase the proportion of employed women in those areas where they are underrepresented and explicitly encourages women to apply for this position. The Max Planck Society also seeks to employ more severely disabled persons. Applications from severely disabled persons are explicitly encouraged.

Please apply via the Dresden International PhD programme website:
www.dresden-ipp.de/about/the-dipp/

Registration deadline is the 22nd December 2015.

MPI-B, Martinsried

The Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry is one of the leading research institutes within the fields of biochemistry, structural and cell biology, and biomedicine. With its 33 scientific departments and research groups, and a staff of around 850 people, the institute is one of the largest within the Max Planck Society.

The MaxSynBio Research Group “Biomimetic Self-Replication” (Research Group Leader: Dr. Hannes Mutschler) is inviting applications as

PhD Student (m/f)

The position is to be filled by March/April 2016, limited to three years with the possibility of extension. Payment follows the German pay scale for the public service (TVöD-Bund).

The advertised position is embedded into the joint research project MaxSynBio, sponsored by the Max Planck Society, and by the German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF). The overall objective of MaxSynBio is the synthesis of artificial biosystems from functional modules by means of a bottom-up approach of Synthetic Biology, which will potentially enable biotechnological applications and generate knowledge of fundamental nature. The interdisciplinary joint research project involves nine Max Planck Institutes in the fields of biology, chemistry, physics and engineering sciences as well as one chair in the field of humanities at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg.

Scope of Duties:

Reconstitution and characterization of protein complexes involved in nucleic acid replication
Reconstitution and evolution of minimal self-replicating systems in cell-mimicking compartments
Biochemical and bioinformatic analysis of these systems during/after evolution experiments

Requirements:

Suitable candidates hold a Diploma degree or a Master degree in the natural sciences, preferentially in biochemistry, biophysics or biology. Marks should be clearly above average. Experience in synthetic/molecular biology, in vitro evolution, reconstitution and characterization of enzymes as well as emulsion technology will be considered as a strong asset. Practical know-how in cell-free protein expression, isolation, characterization and handling of proteins and nucleic acids as well as analysis of deep-sequencing data will be beneficial. The tasks require a high level of experimental skills and creativity. The willingness to work in an interdisciplinary and international environment is expected.

The Max Planck Society seeks to increase the number of women in those areas where they are underrepresented and therefore explicitly encourages women to apply. Furthermore, the Max Planck Society is committed to increasing the number of individuals with disabilities in its workforce and therefore encourages applications from such qualified individuals.

Please send your application documents, including curriculum vitae and references, by e-mail until January 31, 2016 at the latest to hannesm@mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk

Please send your E-Mail application with the subject „MaxSynBio PhD application“.

View this job ad on the institutes website:

Open PhD Positions at MPI-B, Martinsried