1 Doctoral Student (m/f/d) / Department Adipocyte Development and Nutrition

The German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke (DIfE) is a member of the Leibniz Association. The institute’s mission is to conduct experimental and clinical research in the field of nutrition and health, with the aim of understanding the molecular basis of nutrition-dependent diseases, and of developing new strategies for treatment and prevention.

We invite applications to join the Department of Adipocyte Development and Nutrition (PI: Tim J. Schulz, PhD) for

1 Doctoral Student (m/f/d)

starting as soon as possible.

Project description

As part of a consortium funded by the Leibniz Association, "TickTock: Linking pathology and lifestyle to epigenetic determinants of biological vs. chronological stem cell aging", the successful candidate will analyze the physiological regulation of stem cells of the blood-forming system, i.e. the hematopoietic stem cells, in response to aging and nutritional influences.

In an interdisciplinary department and in close cooperation with the project partners in Jena at the Leibniz Institute for Aging Research (Fritz Lipmann Institute) and the University Medical Center Greifswald, two main topics will be examined in this subproject:

• Investigation of aging and diet-related influences on epigenetic changes in hematopoietic stem cells
• Analysis of the regulatory influences of the stem cell niche / microenvironment on the function of hematopoietic stem cells

The focus is on state-of-the-art methods of single cell analysis, whereby both transcriptional and epigenetic changes at the level of individual cells will be assessed.

The position is available for 3 years. Salaries are paid according to the German federal tariff agreements (remuneration group E 13 TV-L [65%]).