The Maier laboratory at CeMM, the Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, is recruiting a highly motivated Master Student to join our team of international scientists working in the field of tumor immunology & cancer immunotherapy. We are looking for a candidate with a background in immunology, molecular biology or computational biology. A commitment of 12 months is required for this position. The project will include both wet lab and computational methods, therefore, we are looking for a candidate with a strong drive to acquire wet lab as well as dry lab skills.
Our team is looking for a passionate Master student to support an ongoing project on dissecting premetastatic alterations in tumor-draining lymph nodes. Tumors release systemic and lymph-borne signals that trigger the formation of a so-called premetastatic niche in distant tissues. We are focusing on the premetastatic niche in the tumor-draining lymph node as the tissue where antitumor immunity is orchestrated. In this project, we aim to understand what molecular changes as well as spatial rearrangements occur in tumor-draining lymph nodes upon tumor progression; how those alterations compromise anti-tumor immunity; and how we can manipulate the lymph node to restore anti-tumor T cell responses.
After receiving the appropriate training, the new Master student will independently carry out experiments using high-dimensional imaging and cell culture-based techniques. In addition, the new group member will be a part of individual as well as group meetings to deepen their understanding of the background and current scientific directions in the field of tumor immunology and cancer immunotherapy.
Our group is studying interactions within the microenvironment of solid tumors that cause immunesuppression and tumor immune evasion. Our overall aim is to understand and break through limitations of current immunotherapies. We want to develop novel immunotherapy concepts by modulating and reprogramming specific immune cell compartments to achieve optimal immunity against tumors. Questions that fuel our research are: How can we empower antigen-presenting cells to prime effective tumor-directed T cell responses? What antigen-presenting cell phenotypes play a role in T cell polarization and restimulation at the tumor site and how do they drive/limit T cell exhaustion? What factors drive T cell exhaustion in the tumor microenvironment and the draining lymph node? What specific pathways need to be targeted in tumor-associated myeloid cells to break their immune-suppressive properties? To achieve our goals, we combine cell-culture based highthroughput technologies with mechanistic in vivo studies, single-cell transcriptomics and immuneprofiling of patient-derived tumor material.
Barbara Maier studied molecular biology at the University of Vienna and obtained her PhD from MedUni Vienna, working on deciphering the role of type I interferon in pulmonary inflammation under the mentorship of Professor Sylvia Knapp. She focused on bacterial infections in the lung and peritoneum and the protective or detrimental roles of inflammatory mediators therein. She then continued her training as a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Professor Miriam Merad at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York (USA). There, she gained extensive knowledge of human tumor immunology and myeloid components of tumor immune suppression. In her main work, she uncovered a regulatory module expressed in dendritic cells in human non-small-cell lung cancer patients, functionally validated multiple of these regulatory molecules, and showed that modulating the regulatory program in dendritic cells leads to improved tumor control. Barbara Maier joined CeMM as a principal investigator in January 2021. Her lab focuses on tumor immunology and specifically on the dynamics of antigen-presenting cell/T-cell interactions in the tumor microenvironment and tumor-draining lymph nodes and how tumor-associated antigen-presenting cell phenotypes shape tumor-directed T-cell responses. Barbara Maier is a recipient of the the prestigious ERC Starting Grant for the year 2023.
CeMM is an international research institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and a founding member of EU-LIFE. The mission of CeMM, the Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences is to achieve maximum scientific innovation in molecular medicine to improve healthcare. At CeMM, an international and creative team of scientists and medical doctors pursues free-minded basic life science research in a large and vibrant hospital environment of outstanding medical tradition and practice. At CeMM, an international and creative team of scientists and medical doctors pursues free-minded basic life science research in a large and vibrant hospital environment of outstanding medical tradition and practice. CeMM’s research is based on post-genomic technologies and focuses on societally important diseases, such as immune disorders and infections, cancer, aging and metabolic disorders. CeMM operates in a unique mode of supercooperation, connecting biology with medicine, experiments with computation, discovery with translation, and science with society and the arts. CeMM discovers and develops technologies to explore human biology with the purpose of defeating disease at its roots. Because Science is our Medicine! CeMM trains a modern blend of biomedical scientists and is located at the campus of the General Hospital and the Medical University of Vienna. CeMM is a proud recipient of the HR Excellence in Research Award (HRS4R). This award indicates that CeMM takes care of the well-being of its employees, that the recruitment process is open, fair, and transparent, and that CeMM offers professional appraisals and career development procedures. More than 150 people from 49 nationalities are working at CeMM. The institute promotes equal opportunity and harbours a mix of different talents, backgrounds, competences, and interests www.cemm.at.
Please apply by clicking on the Apply Now button with cover letter, CV, certificates (high school & university Diploma/grades) and contact details of 2 referees. Any application received by 15th of October 2023 will be considered.
Position type: Part-time employee
Start of work: 01.02.2024
Responsible: Memo Mokhles