Postdoctoral Position in Neuroimmunology

Postdoctoral Position in Neuroimmunology

University of Basel

Basel, Switzerland

Your position

The overall goal of the lab is to understand the cause of multiple sclerosis, focusing on the interactions between autoreactive B cells, the lymphotropic virus EBV, and the cellular anatomy of the central nervous system. The current line of enquiry is to engineer human B cells to express a B cell receptor of interest in a way that enables native-like class switch, somatic hypermutation and plasma cell differentiation. The goal of this project is to test hypotheses about how peripherally circulating B cells can develop into CNS-resident, antibody-secreting cells, to study how this process contributes to the development of multiple sclerosis, and potentially to exploit the findings for therapeutic applications.

Experimental methods include molecular and cell biology, flow cytometry, histology and microscopy, protein methods, and bioinformatics, and very likely work with immune-humanized mice.

Your profile

Candidates must have a doctoral degree in a related subject, or a medical degree with relevant research experience. We are looking for people who enjoy working in the lab, and with whom other people also enjoy working together. You need to be able to work independently, and also to work in a highly integrated way as part of a team, sometimes in a way that may seem like it benefits the team more than it benefits you. Experience in cellular genetic engineering using viral vectors, CRISPR/Cas9 systems etc. would be highly desirable, and at least a sound understanding of the principles indispensable. Knowledge of relevant subjects – immunology, neurology, molecular biology, protein engineering, bioinformatics, etc. would all be welcome.