Postdoctoral Fellowship (08) at Masaryk University, Czech Republic

We’re excited to announce an open post-doctoral position in Robert Vacha’s Research Group!

With nearly 10 million lives claimed annually, cancer remains one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide, highlighting the urgent need for more effective treatments. One promising strategy involves mRNA-based cancer immunotherapy vaccines, which require a drug delivery system capable of reliably reaching the cytosol. Developing such delivery systems is challenging: they must ensure cytosolic delivery and therapeutic efficacy while maintaining safety, long-term stability, and compliance with scalable manufacturing standards—including high mRNA loading efficiency and uniform particle size. Current lipid- and polymer-based systems offer distinct advantages, but integrating lessons from both may help develop more effective next-generation carriers. A major limitation remains the incomplete understanding of nanoparticle assembly and disassembly under diverse physiological conditions (e.g., extracellular fluids, endosomal compartments, cytosol).

This project will use coarse-grained molecular simulations, complemented by in-house experimental validation, to gain molecular insights in the controlled system assembly and disassembly. Our goal is to guide the rational design of improved mRNA delivery systems to advance the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy.

We are looking for a colleague to join the Centre for the Digital Research of Religion at the Department for the Study of Religions in the position of a postdoctoral researcher focusing on mathematical modelling of data and statistics within the Czech Science Foundation Junior Star project Socio-Spatial Situatedness of Roman Professions and its Impact on Religion in the Roman Empire: A Formal Modeling Approach (SIPROME).

The SIPROME project investigates how professions and the socio-environmental and geographical situatedness of work environments in the ancient Roman Empire contributed to the spatial spread of ancient cults. Using computational methods, the project examines how the occupational risks faced by inhabitants of the Roman Empire influenced their choice of preferred cults. The main methods used in the project include spatial analysis, predictive modelling, statistics, and the analysis of geocoded data, especially of epigraphic and archaeological origin.

• Performance of auxiliary/partial research and development work according to the instructions of the senior employee.
• Work in a research team of ERC Synergy project CoCo.
• Involvement in publication activities, possibly also presentation of research results.
• The content of the research activity:
• focusing on the landscape settings and contexts using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and network analysis
• analysing the relations between Early Medieval meeting places and the landscape, waterways and settlement hierarchies and incorporating more technical datasets such as geomorphology and metal detection finds into archaeological analysis
• researching into the complexity of the production and distribution chains, that linked producers, middlemen and users of specific or highly prestigious artefacts (by digital prototyping, material and isotopes analysis etc.).

We are looking for a colleague to join the Department of Archaeology and Museology with focus on archaeometallurgy.

We are seeking a highly motivated Postdoctoral Researcher to join our team!

The research project will focus on developing fluorine NMR methodologies to unravel the nucleic acid conformational landscapes.

G-quadruplexes (G4) and i-motifs (iM) are paradigmatic non-canonical nucleic acid structures that are abundant in the human genome and overrepresented in evolutionarily conserved and functionally important regions, including the telomeres, centromeres, and promoter regions of (onco)genes. They have been involved in pathobiological processes and the development of genetic instability-driven conditions, rendering them a fascinating subject within structural biology. This project will integrate ¹⁹F NMR and complementary biophysical assays on G-quadruplex- and i-Motif-forming DNA/RNA sequences to investigate their structural equilibrium, dynamics, and ligand binding interactome in vitro and in the intracellular space. The outcome will provide fundamental insights into the dynamic structural interconversion of non-canonical nucleic acid systems, enabling the fine-tuning of gene expression and associated cellular dysfunctions.

We are seeking a creative and independent individual with documented research experience relevant to this position. We welcome candidates from diverse backgrounds and are committed to fair hiring practices.

The Faculty of Medicine of Masaryk University in Brno is hosting the Central European Advanced Therapy and Immunotherapy Centre (CREATIC), a Horizon Europe Teaming for Excellence centre established in collaboration with Fraunhofer IZI, the University of Leipzig, and the University of Copenhagen (www.creatic.muni.cz). The CREATIC Centre of Excellence was officially established in January 2024 and aims to support the scientific career development of high-potential researchers with significant international experience. We are currently seeking a senior researcher with expertise in Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs) who will contribute to ATMP research within the already established Research Group on ATMPs for Rare Diseases, led by Prof. Lenka Zdražilová Dubská.

We are looking for a postdoctoral fellow for a one-year full-time position with the possibility of extension. The selected candidate will be involved in the research of A. Vetešníková Šimková’s working team. The work will involve independent bioinformatic processing of RNAseq data (transcriptome of fish immune organs), selection and validation of genes of interest at the level of molecular laboratory analyses, data evaluation and scientific interpretation of outputs in the form of preparation of scientific manuscripts for international journals, or further involvement in the form of bioinformatic analyses in ongoing project studies realized by A. Vetešníková Šimková’s team.