The Department of Biomedicine is a joint effort between the University of Basel and the University Hospitals Basel. It unites basic and clinical scientists to advance our understanding of health and disease and to develop pioneering therapies benefiting the lives of patients in areas of unmet need.

With more than 70 research groups and 900 employees, the Department of Biomedicine is the largest department at the University. We are located in the heart of Basel at 6 different locations. Be part of your future.

A PhD position is available in the laboratory of Professor Momo Bentires-Alj (Lab Website: https://bentireslab.org/) at the Department of Biomedicine (DBM) in Basel, Switzerland. The successful candidate will be investigating the therapeutic potential of inhibiting key signaling proteins using triple negative breast cancer Patient-Derived-Organoid models (PDO). The successful candidate will be part of the “Personalized Medicine” subgroup of the lab and will contribute to model’s establishment and characterization, drug screening and analysis using our established pipeline, and to multi-OMICs profiling and computational analysis. Finally, the candidate will investigate the underlying molecular mechanisms and validate potential biomarker(s).

Selected Relevant Publications Of Our Lab

• PIK3CAH1047R induces multipotency and multi-lineage mammary tumors. Koren S, et al., Nature 2015
• Glucocorticoids promote breast cancer metastasis. Obradovi? MMS, et al. Nature 2019
• Hepatic stellate cells suppress NK cell sustained breast cancer dormancy. Correia AL, et al., Nature 2021
• A high-throughput drug screen reveals means to differentiate triple-negative breast cancer. Vulin et al., Oncogene
• Nicotinamide N-methyltransferase sustains a core epigenetic program that promotes metastatic colonization in breast cancer. Couto et al., EMBO J 2023
• N-acetylcysteine overcomes NF1 loss-driven resistance to PI3Ka inhibition in breast cancer. Auf der Maur et al., Cell Report Medicine

Your position

The tasks include: a) Derivation, characterization and handling of breast cancer patient-derived organoid samples, b) Assessing their response to single or combination therapy using image-based drug screening (Pharmacoscopy), c) Model profiling using a multi-OMICs approach and computational analysis, d) Validation of the findings at the molecular and cellular levels, involving mouse work.

Your profile

A strong experience in primary cell culture, 3D cultures and co-cultures, and imaging. Expertise in drug screening, breast cancer, bioinformatics and/or mouse work is a plus. The candidate should be well-organized, highly motivated, team player and must be fluent in English.

We offer you

A stimulating, challenging and interdisciplinary translational research environment, state-of-the-art technologies and core facilities, and attractive employment conditions. The DBM is an international institute pursuing basic, translational and clinical research, with access to cutting-edge core facilities.

Application / Contact

Please upload your CV, a summary of your research experience and interests, techniques that you are competent in, and the contact details of three referees at: https://biped.dbm.unibas.ch/apply/phd-position-bentires_lab-start-from-october-2024-on

Applications will be reviewed as they arrive.

Contact: [email protected]

Universität Basel

4001 Basel