Biomolecular Structures and Interactions (Biomolstruct) Doctoral Program - Graz, Austria

The doc.funds "Biomolecular Structures and Interactions" (BioMolStruct) offers an excellence PhD program that provides an in-depth, multidisciplinary training in biomedical research in a stimulating international environment.

The thesis projects center around biomolecules and biomolecular complexes playing essential roles in cellular signaling and metabolism, with a focus on proteins, protein complexes, and lipid/protein interactions that are linked to ageing, cancer, neurodegenerative, metabolic, and cardiovascular diseases as well as genetic disorders.

Your research will aim to understand structure, conformational dynamics, and detailed function of these systems and their modulation by drug-like compounds.

Depending on the affiliation of the respective research group, BioMolStruct students are employed at the Medical University of Graz (MU), Graz University of Technology (TUG), or the University of Graz (UG).

Projects Starting

October 1, 2021

Application Deadline

May 12, 2021

Positions

Selected PhD students get employed for up to 3 years (initial contract for one year with the option of prolongation upon successful performance) with a contract that includes social benefits. Students will be encouraged to spend up to one year abroad joining other collaborating laboratories with the possibility of a 4^th year extension of their contract.

Who can apply

Applicants must hold (or be close to obtaining) an undergraduate degree equivalent to a Master in any discipline of natural or life sciences or medicine which included a written master thesis.

Students who have not yet finished their Masters' degree can apply but have to be graduated until September 2021.

The language of instruction is English and applicants are expected to be highly proficient in this language. A certificate of English proficiency is not mandatory for application but must be provided by the selected students before admission to the PhD program.

Students of all nationalities are encouraged to apply. Candidates are selected irrespective of sex, race or nationality.

There is no application fee.

Research projects of the current call

• Karl Gruber: Active site cavity and molecular dynamics analyses of mammalian α/β-hydrolase domain (ABHD) containing proteins

• Walter Keller: Structural and functional investigation of the low-affinity IgE receptor CD23

• Tobias Madl: Deciphering the intricate interaction network in the β-catenin destruction complex

• Tobias Madl: Targeting disordered transcription factors

• Gustav Oberdorfer: Mapping of helical folding space using parametric design and high throughput experimental validation

• Monika Oberer: Interactions of physiologically relevant lipases via dynamic regions

• Georg Pabst: Membrane curvature stress-mediated self-aggregation of proteins

• Tea Pavkov-Keller: Interactions of probiotic bacteria with human dendritic cell receptor DC

• Ruth Prassl: Artificial apo-AI peptidomimetic nanodiscs as membrane scaffolds for integral proteins

• Ruth Prassl: High-resolution structure of apolipoprotein B-100 determined by cryo-EM

• Andreas Winkler: Red-light modulated protein oligomerization for optogenetic applications

• Klaus Zangger: Using pure shift NMR to study the role of disordered proteins in the formation of stress granules

Selection procedure

There will be a three-step selection procedure. In the first step, written applications will be ranked. In a second step, selected candidates may be contacted online if one or more project leaders have further questions. In a third step, the top candidates will be invited for an online hearing with the BioMolStruct faculty.

How to apply

• Download the Application Form and fill it as complete as possible.

  Only completely filled applications including all requested documents will be accepted.

• Read the Privacy Policy  link zum Dokument carefully and agree to it in the application form if you are fine with it. If you do not agree, your application cannot be processed.

• In the application form, you need to fill in the contact details of two referees. We will contact them directly with a specific recommendation questionnaire.

  Thus, it is your duty to inform them beforehand and make sure that they are willing to provide recommendations for you and are available between the date of your submission and May 17!

  Recommendation letters send by applicants themselves or by referees not using the questionnaire are not accepted.

• In addition, scans in pdf format of the following documents must be provided:

  For all already completed degrees: For ongoing studies:

  • Degree certificate
  • Transcript of records
  • Up-to-date transcript of records

• Certificate(s) of English proficiency (e.g. IELTS, TOEFL) if applicable

• For application, it is not required to translate or authenticate any documents

• Do not send any other documents, e.g. CVs, recommendations letters, publications, attendance certificates!

• The application form and documents must be send to biomolstruct(at)medunigraz.at in one single e-mail, which does not exceed 10 MB.

• Please refrain from contacting the supervisors!

Schedule

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