PhD Student 100%

PhD Student 100%

Department of Human Genetics
Start of employment: 01.10.2024 or by agreemen
4 years
The Department of Human Genetics at the Inselspital is conducting extensive and interdisciplinary services in the area of genetic counselling and diagnostics and is scientifically associated with the Department for Biomedical research (DBMR) at the University of Bern.

The research group of the department (Prof. Dr. Dr. Christiane Zweier) focuses on the clinical, genetic and functional characterization of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), including intellectual disability and epilepsy. Neurodevelopmental disorders are an important health concern affecting 2-3% of the population and are clinically and genetically extremely heterogeneous. Understanding the underlying causes and pathomechanisms is crucial to path the way for development of targeted therapies.

PhD Student

The successful applicants (2 PhD positions) will be involved in an SNF-funded research project entitled “Multiple genetic diagnoses as a window into pathomechanisms of Rare Diseases”.

The project aims at 1) characterizing the landscape of multiple diagnosis in patients with rare disorders and 2) investigating functional interactions between concurrently mutated genes to better understand underlying pathomechanisms for individual diseases as well as for oligogenicity and genetic modifiers. The experimental spectrum of the PhD projects will include classic molecular and genetic methods as well as in vivo and in vitro model systems such as Drosophila melanogaster and iPSC-derived and other cell-based systems

Applicants should hold a master's degree in biomedical or molecular sciences, Biology or related fields, preferably with background knowledge in neurobiology and/or genetics. Expertise in working with Drosophila melanogaster or stem cells would be advantageous. We are looking for highly motivated, interactive and team-oriented candidates with a high degree of self-initiative and inventiveness

We offer an interesting and challenging project in a young and dynamic team, and a creative research environment with a broad spectrum of methodology and further advanced training opportunities. The applicant will have the opportunity to join the Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences (GCB) to complement her/his training

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