is seeking highly qualified and motivated individuals for

10 PhD Student Fellowships in Infection Biology of Human Pathogens

(starting April 1, 2026)

The German Research Foundation (DFG) provides funding to Hannover Medical School (MHH) to maintain a Research Training Group (RTG) (coordinator: Dirk Schlüter, Hannover). The central aim of the programme is to give young researchers the opportunity to perform their cutting-edge PhD work in the rapidly moving field of the infection biology of human pathogens in a highly stimulating, competitive and international environment.

Infections are among the most common diseases worldwide and despite progress in prevention and therapy, they remain among the leading causes of death worldwide. The increasing antibiotic resistance of bacteria and the lack of effective antiviral drugs represent a major problem. In particular, new therapeutic approaches are urgently needed for intracellular infections caused by facultative intracellular bacteria and viruses. The Research Training Group ACME is based on the central hypothesis that cell-intrinsic defense mechanisms can be activated or modulated to control intracellular pathogens effectively. To exploit this potential, the scientific goal of the RTG is to identify novel, modulable cellular effectors that (i) directly recognize, control, or eliminate the pathogen, (ii) prevent the pathogen from bypassing cell-intrinsic defense mechanisms or (iii) regulate the cell death of the infected cell. Since the protective cellular mechanisms are pathogen- and host-cell-specific, the focus of the Research Training Group ACME is on human infections caused by alpha-herpes and influenza viruses, as well as on bacteria, for which intracellular infections are a major part of their pathogenesis.

The PhD docotoral researchers will be trained by the 13 international scientists whose expertise synergistically complements each other. The 10 PhD projects of Hannover Medical School (MHH), TWINCORE in Hanover and the Helmholtz-Centre for Infection Research (HZI) will jointly apply innovative high-end omics techniques in combination with state-of-the-art methods in bioinformatics, cell and molecular biology, and biochemistry in conjunction with artificial intelligence. The experimentally identified protective host-cell mechanisms will be validated in relevant infection models such as human organoids, induced pluripotent stem cells, and primary human cells. The Research Training Group ACME's comprehensive training program integrates the structured joint training of doctoral students in the natural sciences and medicine and early-career medical and clinician scientists, combined with targeted, individual career support. The internationality of the Research Training Group ACME both in the scientific projects and in the training program, is supported by the international composition of the group of participating scientists and the intensive collaboration with renowned infection researchers at Aarhus University (Denmark).

Planned salary: 65 % TVL E13 for up to four years.

Applicaction process:

Candidates who hold the equivalent of a master’s or diploma degree in Biology, Biochemistry or Life Sciences, or who graduated in medicine are welcome to apply. Those applicants who are selected for interviews in a first round of screening will be asked to attend an online selection workshop and/or interview in Hannover. During the application process, the PhD candidates will have the opportunity to express their interest in specific projects.

The website for online application will be published here soon.