PhD Position: Molecular Immunology: Defining trained immunity in dendritic cells and their progenitors (m/f/d)

International PhD Programme (IPP) Mainz; Deutschland; Vor Ort; EUR 19.000 - 23.000; Vollzeit

Benefits dieser Stelle

Fully funded PhD stipend

Interdisciplinary training

International environment

Core facilities access

Community of 200+ PhD students

Zusammenfassung

The International PhD Programme (IPP) Mainz invites talented scientists to join its vibrant community for a PhD in life sciences. You will work on cutting-edge projects spanning immunology, dendritic cells, and trained immunity, supervised by a team of experienced researchers.

We offer fully funded positions, interdisciplinary training, access to state-of-the-art core facilities, and international collaboration. Starting date February 2027 with interviews Jan 18-19 2027.

Qualifikationen

• Master or equivalent degree in a life sciences field.
• Strong background in immunology and single-cell phenotyping of immune cells.
• Experience with primary human or murine samples and cell isolation/characterization.
• Excellent command of English and ability to interact across disciplines.

Aufgaben

• Conduct and contribute to PhD research on trained immunity in dendritic cells and their progenitors.
• Isolate, characterize and differentiate DC progenitors in vitro and in vivo using human and mouse samples.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams and contribute to high-quality publications.

Kenntnisse

English proficiency

Team collaboration

Ausbildung

Master's degree in Life Sciences

Jobbeschreibung

Organisation/Company International PhD Programme (IPP) Mainz Department Institute of Molecular Biology Research Field Biological sciences Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions PhD Positions Application Deadline 15 Oct 2026 - 12:00 (Europe/Berlin) Country Germany Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

Thinking of doing your PhD in the Life Sciences? The International PhD Programme (IPP) Mainz is offering talented scientists the chance to work on cutting edge research projects . As an IPP PhD student, you will join a community of exceptional scientists working on diverse topics ranging from how organisms age or how our DNA is repaired, to how epigenetics regulates cellular identity or neural memory.

Activities and responsibilities

The research group of Johannes Mayer offers the following PhD project:
Trained immunity has recently been discovered as a novel mechanism of immune cell memory in innate immune cells. Different to the adaptive immune system, innate cells do not develop into antigen-specific long lived memory cells that can be reactivated. Instead, it was found that epigenetic and metabolic changes in stem cells and progenitors are transmitting previous information (e.g. from prior infections) and change the general activation status of future generations of innate immune cells. Especially monocytes have been studied in the context of trained immunity, but other cell types like neutrophils and even epithelial cells contribute to trained immunity.
These changes provide a more effective response to similar threats in the future, linked to pattern recognition pathways and cytokine production. As this re-activation is not antigen specific, it can also be triggered in response to other stimuli, potentially leading to broader beneficial but also detrimental effects. While trained immunity is not as specific or long-lasting as adaptive immune memory it still provides a faster, more robust reaction upon re-exposure in a non-antigen specific context.
PhD Project: Defining trained immunity in dendritic cells and their progenitors
In this PhD project we aim to study if dendritic cells also contribute to trained immunity. Dendritic cells play a fundamental role in antigen presentation and the priming of naive T cells. They are short lived and constantly replenished by stem cells within the bone marrow from where they are dispersed into tissues to sample and recognize pathogens. Several lineages of dendritic cells have been described, which originate from distinct progenitors.
In this project you will establish protocols on how to isolate and differentiate different DC progenitors in vitro and in vivo, using both human and murine samples. Furthermore, you will investigate principles of central and peripheral trained immunity and perform molecular single-cell and omics approaches and define the cellular, molecular and functional changes of dendritic cells. These changes will be carefully compared to monocytes, which have been well studied in trained immunity and assess differences between different dendritic cell lineages.
This PhD requires a strong background in immunology, previous experience with complex phenotyping of immune cells on a single-cell level and previous experience with either primary human or murine samples and cell isolation/characterization.

Qualification profile

Are you an ambitious scientist looking to push the boundaries of research while interacting with colleagues from multiple disciplines and cultures? Then joining the IPP is your opportunity to give your scientific career a flying start!
All you need is:

• Master or equivalent
• Interactive personality & good command of English
• 2 letters of reference

We offer

• Exciting, interdisciplinary projects in a lively international environment, with English as our working language
• Advanced training in scientific techniques and professional skills
• Access to our state-of-the-art Core Facilities and their technical expertise
• Fully funded positions with financing until the completion of your thesis
• A lively community ofmore than 200 PhD students from 44 different countries

The deadline for applications is 15 October 2026. Interviews will take place at IMB in Mainz on 18+19 January 2027.
Starting date: 1 February - 31 July 2027

This PhD position requires a strong background in immunology, previous experience with complex phenotyping of immune cells on a single-cell level and previous experience with either primary human or murine samples and cell isolation/characterization.