PhD Student in Nephrology/Immunology (m/w/d)

The Hospital of the University of Munich, Germany, is one of the largest and most competitive university hospitals in Germany and Europe. 48 specialized hospitals, departments and institutions harbouring excellent research and education provide patient care at the highest medical level with around 11.000 employees.

Scope of duties

• Are you passionate about immunology, inflammation, and cutting-edge translational research? We are offering a fully funded PhD position to investigate how metabolic signals shape neutrophil phenotype and function during inflammation and infection.
• Our research focuses on how soluble metabolites such as uric acid drive neutrophil dysfunction and contribute to the increased risk of infection in kidney disease.
• The successful candidate will study the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which uric acid regulates key neutrophil functions, including phagocytosis, migration, oxidative stress, bacterial killing and neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation.
• The project combines translational and mechanistic approaches, including: isolation and functional characterization of neutrophils from patients with kidney disease, advanced flow cytometry and functional immune assays, gene-editing approaches, molecular biology techniques, and mouse models of inflammation and infection.

Our requirements

• We are looking for a highly motivated and enthusiastic candidate with a Bachelor’s and/or Master’s degree in Life Sciences, Biochemistry, Biology, Immunology, Microbiology, or a related discipline.
• Ideal applicants are curious, dedicated, team-oriented, and eager to work in an international and collaborative research environment.
• Good communication skills in English and/or German are required.

Our offer

Our group is part of the Collaborative Research Centre Transregio CRC TRR 332 “Neutrophils: Origin, Fate & Function”, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), bringing together leading experts in neutrophil biology across various disease contexts in Germany:

• The successful candidate will benefit from:

• access to a highly collaborative and interdisciplinary research network,
• state-of-the-art infrastructure and mentoring,
• participation in national and international scientific meetings,
• and the structured doctoral training program of the Munich Medical Research School (MMRS), including workshops, transferable skills courses, and career development opportunities.
• The position is based at the Division of Nephrology, LMU Hospital Munich, one of Europe’s leading academic medical centers. Funding is secured for 4 years.
• Remuneration is based on the Collective Agreement for the Public Sector of the Länder (TV-L) including all allowances customary in the public sector.

Join us to uncover how metabolism shapes innate immunity in kidney disease and infection.

Offers and services of the employer

Further education and training

Job ticket

Company pension scheme

Discounts

Childcare services

Staff accommodation (if available)

Mobile work (if suitable)

Mrs. Prof. Dr. Steiger, Stefanie

Application format

Please use the Online-Form for your application

Disabled persons will be preferentially considered in case of equal qualification. Presentation costs cannot be refunded.

Please note that we cannot reimburse travel expenses incurred through interviews.

We ask you for your understanding that postal applications will not be returned, but will be destroyed in accordance with data protection regulations. The data usage information also applies to postal applications