PhD Position available

A PhD student position is available in the Freund group at FU Berlin (https://www.bcp.fu-berlin.de/en/chemie/biochemie/research-groups/freund-group/index.html) for 4 years in the project “Switching antigens by the exchange catalyst HLA-DM”. Antigen presentation by so-called MHC proteins is critical for T cell mediated immunity and determining the compositional landscape of immunodominant epitopes as well as the molecular and cellular requirements of antigen presentation is an active field of research with medical implications. Our group has contributed to the field by investigating the compositional and conformational dynamics of antigen presentation (1; 2; 3)

Currently we are investigating catalyzed peptide exchange with regard to the phenomenon of the CLIP-Flip. Motivated by an older finding that the placeholder peptide CLIP can bind in two orientations to MHC class II molecules (4) we will delineate the functional implications by immunopeptidomics and RNAseq of activated T cells. A highly collaborative working environment, comprising the BioSupraMol facility of FU Berlin, allows to adapt the requirement for individual methods to the needs of the project.

Candidates are expected to hold a graduate degree (Master) in biochemistry, biology or related areas and to have a good understanding and an experimental background in protein biochemistry and molecular biology. Previous experience in the field of T cell analysis or RNAseq is advantageous. Since the project is part of a large and active transregional consortium (https://trr186.uni-heidelberg.de/), the successful candidate will be part of a research endeavor that has the overarching goal to unravel the molecular switches that govern cellular behavior. Annual PhD retreats between Heidelberg and Berlin students of the consortium guarantee the candidate to be part of a scientific community that addresses seminal aspects of modern biology.

The position is remunerated according to a 70% TVL-FU E13.

Applications should comprise study records, the name of two reviewers for letters of recommendation, a motivation letter, and a CV, stating the reference Freund_TRR186_MHC and are to be sent to:

chfreund@zedat.fu-berlin.de and steffen.daehn2@fu-berlin.de)