06 Postdoctoral Fellowship at European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Germany, Germany

We invite applications for a CRUK-funded Postdoctoral Fellow position in the fields of early detection, cancer genomics and long-read sequencing data analysis. We are looking for an intrinsically motivated, talented, and hypothesis-driven individual with experience in analysing high-throughput sequencing data sets. This position is an excellent opportunity for individuals looking to gain in-depth knowledge and expertise in genomic medicine and long-read sequencing data analysis. You will be expected to lead the development of scalable and creative computational solutions for sequencing data analysis. Specifically, your project will involve developing computational methods for analysing a unique collection of hundreds of long-read whole-genome sequencing data sets from human tumours and cell-free DNA samples spanning multiple cancer types, including adult and paediatric tumours. It is essential that you are dedicated to lead your own project while also being a team player and willing to engage with our national and international collaborators.

Assisted reproductive technologies (ART) are becoming increasingly important for reproductive choices in our societies due to advancing age and increasing lifestyle diversity of new parents. Our understanding of the processes that limit fertility has advanced tremendously, driven by new optical imaging technologies such as light sheet fluorescence microscopy that can visualize such processes in oocytes and early embryos in mammalian laboratory models at the molecular and cellular scale. However, translating this progress to the fertility clinic to better understand, diagnose and treat the causes of human infertility has been precluded by the lack of technologies that would allow to cross from the molecular and cellular scale that is offered by advanced fluorescence technologies available in research infrastructures, to the physiological scale in the clinic, which must employ label-free imaging methods that do not perturb the fragile biological development at the beginning of life.

Our project aims to bridge the length scales of biology and medicine by developing a novel hybrid microscopy platform that uses the molecular specificity of fluorescence microscopy to computationally revolutionize the information content of label-free approaches. In an interdisciplinary collaboration with the EMBL Imaging Centre and research group of Robert Prevedel, as well as the University Hospital of Heidelberg, we will combine high-resolution fluorescence lightsheet with label-free optical coherence and Brillouin microscopies, which provide advanced morphological and mechanical features of the embryos, respectively. This multimodal data can then be used to train artificial intelligence (AI)-based models to recognize molecular and cellular changes from label-free images only. In this way, we will create a high-resolution cross scale imaging platform that has the potential to close the gap between basic and clinical research by bringing the molecular insights from the research laboratory to the fertility clinic and visualize the currently hidden processes associated with infertility.

EMBL is Europe’s life sciences laboratory – an intergovernmental organisation with more than 110 independent research groups and service teams covering the spectrum of molecular biology. It operates across six sites in Heidelberg (headquarters), Barcelona, Cambridge, Grenoble, Hamburg and Rome. Our mission is to perform basic research in molecular biology; train scientists, students and visitors at all levels; offer vital services to scientists in the public and private sectors within the member states; develop new instruments and methods; and engage actively in technology transfer.

We invite all eligible researchers to submit a proposal describing a collaboration between at least one lab at EMBL and one faculty member from Stanford University (specifically in the School of Medicine or School of Humanities & Sciences). This collaboration should build on the strengths of the partner laboratories, as well as your own expertise. Fellowships will be awarded to researchers, who take up a position as a postdoctoral fellow at EMBL or at Stanford University for 3 years. During this time, fellows will spend up to one year visiting their collaborators at the partner institution to work on the joint research project (multiple visits totalling 1 year are permitted). In addition to benefitting from the mentorship from two expert supervisors, fellows will also be able to take advantage of  postdoctoral training opportunities from both institutions.

Researchers who want to bridge two leading research institutions, work with cutting-edge technology, and develop their international profile are encouraged to apply.  Applicants should be prepared to be internationally mobile and be excited by the prospect of being an ambassador for transatlantic science.

Eligible applicants are invited to develop interdisciplinary research projects in the context of the EMBL research programme: Molecules to Ecosystems. Projects require an EMBL host and a partner. The partner may come from EMBL or from an academic institute, clinic or industry located in an EMBL Member State, Associate Member State or Prospective Member State (MS). The participation of EMBL and external labs from different sectors provide fellows with valuable interdisciplinary research training and strong inter-sectorial exposure. Fellows choose the type of research project they would like to work on and the combination of research groups to best enable their projects based on their research interests and future career goals. Importantly, projects must allow candidates to gain new skills contributing to interdisciplinary research skill sets.

We are looking for a highly motivated computational biologist/bioinformatician (either post-doc or staff position) to collaborate within the team in diverse projects. You will work on diverse types of NGS data, collaborating with experimental and computational biologists in a dynamic, open and creative culture. The successful candidate will lead data analyses to examine different aspects of genome regulation, such as large-scale chromatin conformation capture data in different conditions, including mutants, to undercover 3D principles of how enhancers interact with their target gene’s promoters. A second direction involves extensive single cell data of different modalities across different conditions.