PhD position: From altered skin signature to Lupus (m/f/d)
Institute of Molecular Biology gGmbH
Location
Kaiserslautern | Germany
Job description
Thinking of doing your PhD in the Life Sciences? The International PhD Programme (IPP) Mainz is offering talented, young scientists the chance to work on cutting edge research projects within the open call on “Molecular Biomedicine & Ageing” . As an IPP PhD student, you will join a community of exceptional scientists working on diverse topics ranging from how organisms age or how our DNA is repaired, to how epigenetics regulates cellular identity or neural memory.
Aufgaben:
The research group of Daniela Kramer offers the following PhD project:
Lupus erythematosus (LE) is a complex autoimmune disease. Once fully established, response to immunosuppressive therapy is unsatisfactory, disease is lifelong and cumulative damage and glucocorticoid toxicity occur.
A key determinant of short and long-term outcomes is initial diagnosis and treatment. In other autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis, early intervention has been shown to induce disease remission, prevent organ damage, and even prevent disease onset.
Understanding early events in the LE disease process would facilitate early diagnosis and reveal targets for early intervention, changing the current paradigm from ‘long-term management of chronic inflammation’ to ‘prevention’. SLE is diagnosed by the presence of antinuclear antibody (ANA) and a combination of other clinical symptoms (e.g. dermatitis and arthritis). ANA can be detected in serum up to 10 years before clinical features develop and is much more common than SLE, affecting 5-10% of healthy adults. Individuals with ANA therefore constitute an
At-Risk population of whom a minority progress to SLE. There is also lack of knowledge regarding the
regulatory mechanisms at play
which prevent development of SLE in most ANApos individuals.
Thus, the most important current gaps in knowledge affecting patients’ outcome are - ability to identify imminent SLE in the preclinical phase,
- identification of appropriate therapeutic targets or immune regulatory interventions for this stage, and
- insight into regulatory mechanism which prevent progression into a systemic disease (and/or limit extent of skin involvement) and their therapeutic exploitation.
PhD Project: From altered skin signature to Lupus: understanding early events in cutaneous Lupus inflammation with regard to disease or health outcome This project will address these knowledge gaps. We have previous experience with a unique preclinical
At-Risk cohort (people referred with positive ANA, musculoskeletal symptoms but not initially diagnosed with SLE) that has already revealed novel insights into mechanism of initiation. Based on these findings, we aim to focus in this project on the early molecular autoimmune and regulatory events in the skin.
Overall Aim: To understand the molecular events within the skin compartment that lead to breakdown OR maintenance of tolerogenic responses in initiation of LE. This project will focus on establishment and regulation of the cutaneous type I interferon (IFN) response. In close collaboration with a specialised clinic for “early” Lupus we will investigate blood and skin immunological parameters which may support development into Lupus disease OR protection from developing Lupus.
Methods will include cell culture including with patient derived skin and blood cells, flow cytometry including with skin and blood derived cells, scRNAseq, spatial transcriptomics, proteomics (mass spectrometry, multiplex ELISA techniques). Working with patient derived samples and thus some flexibility regarding timing of the planned experiments will be necessary.
If you are interested in this project, please select
Kramer as your group preference in the IPP application platform.
Qualifikationsprofil:
Are you an ambitious, young scientist looking to push the boundaries of research while interacting with colleagues from multiple disciplines and cultures? Then joining the IPP is your opportunity to give your scientific career a flying start!
All you need is:
- Master or equivalent
- Interactive personality & good command of English
- 2 letters of reference
Benefits:
- Exciting, interdisciplinary projects in a lively international environment, with English as our working language
- Advanced training in scientific techniques and professional skills
- Access to our state-of-the-art Core Facilities and their technical expertise
- Fully funded positions with financing until the completion of your thesis
- A lively community of more than 200 PhD students from 44 different countries
For more details on the projects offered and how to apply via our online form, please visit .
The deadline for applications is 17 April 2024. Interviews will take place at IMB in Mainz on 1-3 July 2024.
Starting date: 1 August 2024 - 1 January 2025
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