Postdoctoral Position in Neuroimmunology

Athena's Journey; Indiana; On-site; USD 97,000 - 133,000; Full time

Job summary

Athena's Journey is seeking a postdoctoral researcher for a Basel-based project focused on autoimmune neuroimmunology, aiming to understand how autoreactive B cells and CNS immune interactions contribute to multiple sclerosis. You will design experiments to engineer B cells and study their differentiation to antibody-secreting cells in relevant models.

The successful candidate will have a doctoral degree and experience in cellular genetic engineering, virology vectors, and immunology, with

Qualifications

• PhD or MD with relevant research experience.

Responsibilities

• Engineer human B cells to express a B cell receptor to enable native-like class switching, somatic hypermutation and plasma cell differentiation.
• Test hypotheses about peripheral B cells developing into CNS-resident antibody-secreting cells and their role in multiple sclerosis.
• Work with molecular biology, flow cytometry, histology, microscopy, protein methods and bioinformatics; potentially collaborate with immune-humanized mice.

Job description

As a joint venture of the University of Basel and the University Hospitals Basel, the Department of Biomedicine (DBM) brings together basic and clinical scientists to advance the understanding of health and disease.
We are home to more than 67 research groups and over 800 employees across six locations in the heart of Basel. Our collaborative and international environment fosters innovation, excellence, and impactful research.
The Clinical Neuroimmunology, led by Prof. Tobias Derfuss, is looking for a fully funded postdoctoral position.
Join our community and help shape the future of biomedicine.
Research in the lab is aimed at understanding the causes and pathomechanisms of autoimmune diseases affecting the nervous system, particularly multiple sclerosis and myasthenia gravis. The Research Center for Clinical Neuroimmunology and Neuroscience Basel (RC2NB) headed by Professor Ludwig Kappos is non-profit foundation founded by the University Hospital and the University to advance research in the domain of multiple sclerosis and related neuroimmune disorders.

Your position

The overall goal of the lab is to understand the cause of multiple sclerosis, focusing on the interactions between autoreactive B cells, the lymphotropic virus EBV, and the cellular anatomy of the central nervous system. The current line of enquiry is to engineer human B cells to express a B cell receptor of interest in a way that enables native-like class switch, somatic hypermutation and plasma cell differentiation. The goal of this project is to test hypotheses about how peripherally circulating B cells can develop into CNS-resident, antibody-secreting cells, to study how this process contributes to the development of multiple sclerosis, and potentially to exploit the findings for therapeutic applications.
Experimental methods include molecular and cell biology, flow cytometry, histology and microscopy, protein methods, and bioinformatics, and very likely work with immune-humanized mice. A description of our recent work on this topic can be found in our publication PMID: 41534531.

Your profile

Candidates must have a doctoral degree in a related subject, or a medical degree with relevant research experience. We are looking for people who enjoy working in the lab, and with whom other people also enjoy working together. You need to be able to work independently, and also to work in a highly integrated way as part of a team, sometimes in a way that may seem like it benefits the team more than it benefits you. Experience in cellular genetic engineering using viral vectors, CRISPR/Cas9 systems etc. would be highly desirable, and at least a sound understanding of the principles indispensable. Knowledge of relevant subjects – immunology, neurology, molecular biology, protein engineering, bioinformatics, etc. would all be welcome.

We offer you

We are a small lab, and we offer a stable, friendly environment in which motivated researchers can get projects completed. We don't make unreasonable demands, and we are open to discuss more or less all aspects of the work and the environment. The Department of Biomedicine at the University of Basel is very well equipped, and smartly run by people who understand what it takes to get cutting edge research done. Basel is a very agreeable city with a great research community and something to offer most people in their free time, however freakish their interests.