The Völkers’ Lab at the Cardiology Department of the University Hospital Heidelberg is looking for a new PhD student to study how the mTOR pathway controls cardiac disease manifestation of Tuberous Sclerosis (TSC) 

Our group studies RNA biology and translational regulation of gene expression in the context of cardiac disease, with a specific emphasis on the mTOR signaling pathway, a cellular hub and master regulator of growth and proliferation. 

Clinically, genetic disease that affect the mTOR pathway are associated with tumor and overgrowth syndromes that primarily manifest in young children. The most common “mTORopathie” is Tuberous Sclerosis (TSC), a rare autosomal dominant inherited multisystem disease, which is associated with the growth of benign tumors. Specifically, TSC results in the formation of rhabdomyomas, a specific class of tumors of the heart that occur in newborns and small children and can cause severe symptoms, such as heart failure or arrhythmias. Those tumors have unique properties that are not understood, such as their development, their sever metabolic dysfunctions, and the potential of spontaneous disappearance. In addition, many aspects of how TSC1 and TSC2, the two core proteins that form the mTORC1-regulating Tuberous Sclerosis complex, affect cellular function of the heart remain unaddressed.