PhD student, Postdoc, Research Associate (m/f/d)

Job Code: 10-2023

Job Offer from June 02, 2023

The Center for Epigenetic Mechanisms of Brain Longevity, a collaboration between the research groups of Anne Schaefer and Zak Frentz at the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing, and Alexander Tarakhovsky, Professor at the Rockefeller University in New York and Max Planck Society Fellow, is seeking scientists (m/f/d) at different career stages PhD student, Postdoc, Research Associate (m/f/d) (Job code 10-2023)to join its multidisciplinary research team. The Center aims to promote the systems approach toward understanding cell and tissue longevity, focusing on general principles of energy allocation and associated structural and functional gene changes.

• Investigating the role of transient dormancy in complex tissues' longevity and fitness
• Genetic and epigenetic mechanisms of neuron and glia adaptation to energy supply as well as to long-lasting environmental perturbations, including peripheral inflammation or altered metabolism
• Developing new approaches for quantification of the single-cell energy consumption in the brain and other tissues
• Understanding of the mechanisms that determine cell topological patterning and movement in the brain with a focus on microglia
• The role of endogenous and neuron or glia-resident chronic viruses in brain aging
• Creating an "immortal" brain in vitro using high-density neuronal arrays and optimizing energy homeostasis
• Investigating mechanisms of extreme longevity in naturally long-lived multicellular organisms.

The applicant should have strong experimental skills in cell and molecular biology, genetics, biochemistry, or biophysics. Preference will be given to candidates familiar with the general principles of systems biology, computational biology, or statistics. The applicants are encouraged to think "disruptively" concerning existing paradigms but work collaboratively. The working language is English; knowledge of the German language is not required.

The Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing, Cologne, was founded in 2008 with the aim to understand fundamental mechanisms of healthy ageing in various model systems. The institute is part of a network of research institutions in the Cologne-Bonn area dedicated to research on ageing and age-related disease, constituting a vibrant and collaborative environment with state-of-the-art facilities for research. Currently we host >300 employees from >30 different nations.

• We offer ample space, state-of-the-art equipment, and various service centers.
• The successful candidates will be given all the necessary resources to conduct their research program
• We will promote career development by encouraging participation in international meetings and conferences and fostering inter-institutional collaboration.

The employment contract for Postdoc and Research Associate will be based on contracts for the civil service (TVöD-Bund, Tarifvertrag für den öffentlichen Dienst) and will initially be time limited. For PhD students, we offer a three-year contract in accordance with the guidelines for the funding of young researchers of the Max Planck Society.

The Max Planck Society is committed to support individuals with disability and especially encourages them to apply. We also seek to increase the number of women in those areas where they are underrepresented and particularly encourage them to apply.

Then please upload your complete application documents, containing a one-page letter with a personal statement describing your scientific accomplishments and your interests in our laboratory, your CV and bibliography, as well as contact information for 3 references (quoting job code: 10-2023), in electronic form as one single pdf-file until the 17.07.2023 via our online application platform .

Further information about the institute and our group .