PhD student position (f/m/d) in Structural and Molecular Biology

The University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG) unites the Medical Faculty of the Georg-August University and the University Hospital in an integration model. With around 9,700 employees, the UMG and its subsidiaries are one of the largest employers in the region. Our clinics and institutes stand for high-quality patient care, excellent research, modern teaching and transfer of innovative technology.

Göttingen as a city of science is located in the center of Germany and the University Medical Center Göttingen is integrated into an attractive network of university and non-university scientific institutions.

The Institut für Auditorische Neurowissenschaften of the University Medical Center Göttingen is looking for a new position for the earliest start date

PhD student position (f/m/d) in Structural and Molecular Biology

part time, initially limited until 31.12.2028, with the possibility for extension
Remuneration according to TV-L

The position is embedded in the newly founded Collaborative Research Center (CRC) 1690 “Disease Mechanisms and Functional Restoration of Sensory and Motor Systems-, and the successful candidate will contribute to the project “Dissecting the mechanisms of otoferlin-driven synaptic vesicle fusion at inner hair cell ribbon synapses-.

We-re looking for a motivated researcher to join a cutting-edge project exploring how otoferlin, a key protein in hearing, drives rapid and precise neurotransmitter release in inner hair cells. You-ll use advanced structural biology techniques-like cryo-EM and AI-driven modeling-to study otoferlin-s dynamic interactions with membranes, SNARE proteins, and other fusion machinery. Your work will involve reconstituting protein complexes, analyzing their structure and function, and testing new ideas about how otoferlin might directly trigger vesicle fusion. This is a unique opportunity to tackle a fundamental question in neuroscience with real implications for understanding deafness and developing future therapies.

Göttingen is world renowned for its research in neuroscience. It is a stimulating and highly collaborative scientific environment hosting numerous prestigious and internationally renowned neuroscience research institutions. This includes the University and its Medical Center, lifescience Max Planck Institutes, the European Neuroscience Institute and the German Primate Center. The InnerEarLab (https://www.innerearlab.uni-goettingen.de), which includes several research groups of the Institute for Auditory Neuroscience (https://www.auditory-neuroscience.uni-goettingen.de) and Dept. of Otolaryngology and outside University, is tightly integrated in the Campus, where it runs numerous stimulating collaborations such as within CRC 1690 (https://sfb1690.uni-goettingen.de) and the Multiscale Bioimaging Cluster of Excellence (https://mbexc.de). Most PhD students are enrolled in the competitive „Sensory and Motor Neuroscience“ program of the Göttingen Graduate School for Neurosciences, Biophysics, and Molecular Biosciences (GGNB, http://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/sh/56640.html), which offers attractive interdisciplinary training platform and networking for PhD students.