Position for doctoral candidate (Dr. rer. nat. / PhD) in infectious disease immunology (m/f/x) for 3 years
Institut für Klinische Mikrobiologie, Immunologie und Hygiene
Prof. Dr. Christian Bogdan
Wasserturmstraße 3-5
D-91054 Erlangen, Germany
Prof. Dr. Christian Bogdan
Research group leader, head of the institute and spokesman of RTG2740
Tel. +49 9131 8532561
Dr. Ilka Knippertz
Scientific Managing
Tel.: +49 9131 8532571
Job-Nr.: 14094
Research group leader, head of the institute and spokesman of RTG2740
Tel. +49 9131 8532561
Dr. Ilka Knippertz
Scientific Managing
Tel.: +49 9131 8532571
Institut für Klinische Mikrobiologie, Immunologie und Hygiene
Prof. Dr. Christian Bogdan
Wasserturmstraße 3-5
D-91054 Erlangen, Germany
Veröffentlicht seit: 12.11.2026
Job-Nr.: 14094
Institut für Klinische Mikrobiologie, Immunologie und Hygiene
Prof. Dr. Christian Bogdan
Wasserturmstraße 3-5
D-91054 Erlangen, Germany
Prof. Dr. Christian Bogdan
Research group leader, head of the institute and spokesman of RTG2740
Tel. +49 9131 8532561
Dr. Ilka Knippertz
Scientific Managing
Tel.: +49 9131 8532571
Klingt spannend?
Das sind wir:
The Friedrich-Alexander-University (FAU) Erlangen-Nürnberg has been rated as one of the most innovative universities in Europe by Reuters or Times Higher Education. FAU and the University Hospital Erlangen (UKER), which are located in the City of Erlangen in the North of Bavaria, Germany, carry out top-level research in immunology and have consistently ranked among the most successful German universities in attracting funding from the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG) in the medical field of "Microbiology, Virology and Immunology". The FAU Profile Center Immunomedicine (FAU I-Med) unites more than 130 independent research groups from FAU, the UKER and the Max Planck Center for Physics and Medicine, which participate in numerous DFG-funded research consortia and provide a strong scientific environment.
One of these DFG-funded research consortia is the Research Training Group (RTG; Graduiertenkolleg, GRK) 2740 "ImmunoMicroTope", which has been headed by Prof. Christian Bogdan since 2022. It is run by 13 outstanding research group leaders of the University Hospital Erlangen and the FAU and maintains close cooperations with two laboratories at the Universities of Regensburg and Cologne. The RTG 2740 focuses on the in situ analysis of the tissue microenvironment, the micromilieu factors and the metabolites that determine the immune response against bacterial, parasitic and fungal pathogens. The overarching goal of the consortium is the characterization of the complex "immunomicrotope" during infections (Bogdan et al., Trends in Parasitology 2024 10.1016/j.pt.2024.07.013).
Your tasks:
Type 2 nitric oxide synthase (NOS2) converts the amino acid L-arginine in the presence of molecular oxygen into nitric oxide (NO), which exerts antimicrobial and immunoregulatory functions. In previous studies, Prof. Bogdan's group showed that NOS2 is essential for the type 1 T helper cell-dependent control of intracellular pathogens, including the protozoan parasite Leishmania. In contrast, the expression of arginase 1 correlated with the progression of disease, pathogen persistence and immunopathology. Moreover, the group observed that the non-healing, chronic course of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Leishmania mexicana-infected female mice was prevented and reversed by external application of L-arginine. Currently, it is unclear, whether this effect is sex-dependent and whether it is influenced by the cutaneous and/or intestinal microbiota. The project aims to address these questions and to provide new mechanistic insights into the therapeutic effect of L-arginine with the ultimate goal to establish a new host-targeted treatment for chronic cutaneous leishmaniasis.
For more information, please visit www.immunomicrotope.de and www.mikrobiologie.uk-erlangen.de/en/research/research-groups/research-group-of-prof-c-bogdan/.
Comments:
- The program starts on July 1st 2027
- The PhD position is available for initially 36 months
- Pay grade is determined according to the qualifications and personal requirements as defined by TV-L E13
- Please provide a single PDF file (last name_first name.pdf) consisting of the following documents in English language:
- Completed application form (RTG 2740 Application form_PhD; www.immunomicrotope.de)
- Curriculum vitae
- Letter of motivation
- One-page summary each of the bachelor and master thesis
- Copies of the university entrance exam, Bachelor exam and Master exam
- Two letters of reference
- Other credentials and information relevant to the RTG2740 program
The recruitment symposium will take place at the end of February 2027.
Essential experience/qualifications:
- Master’s Degree in immunology or a related subject of life sciences (e.g., microbiology/microbiome research, parasitology, cell biology)
- Excellent academic performance and high level of scientific interest
- Practical and theoretical experience in the field of infectious disease immunology and microbiome analyses
- Very good knowledge of bioinformatic programs and experience in bioinformatic analyses
- Experience in mammalian cell culture, cell and molecular biology methods (e.g., flow cytometry, RNA/DNA isolation, quantitative PCR, ChIP, bulk and scRNAseq) and fluorescence (confocal) microscopy
- Enthusiasm for experimental and bioinformatic work and for establishing new experimental methods and techniques
- High responsibility, initiative, ambition, and motivation
- Team spirit
- Very good English language skills (C1 level or higher)
- Proficiency in MS Office, Excel, Prism, Illustrator etc.
Additionally beneficial are:
- Experience with experimental in vivo mouse models
- FELASA B certificate
- Experience with imaging methods
- Experience in the field of parasitology
- Knowledge of the German language