PhD position Plant Expertise & Protein Expertise (m/f/d)

The Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry the department Biochemistry of Plant Interactions invites applications for a

PhD position (m/f/d)

(Salary group E13 TV-L, part-time 65 %) 

in the DFG-funded Integrated Research Training Group of the Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) SNP2Prot "Plant Proteoform Diversity". The position is funded from 1 October 2024 to 30 June 2028.

Who we are:  

The Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry (IPB) is a non-university research institution of the Leibniz Association on the Weinberg Campus of the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. As a foundation under public law, the IPB is under direct supervision of the state of Saxony-Anhalt.  

The IPB is an internationally recognized research institution and consists of four scientific Departments and additional independent research groups (approx. 200 employees, including around 40 doctoral students).  

Research at the IPB aims to understand the (bio)chemical basis of plant resilience and performance in challenging environments related to climate change. The IPB offers excellent research facilities and state-of-the-art infrastructure to study the chemical diversity, biochemical interactions and biological functions of small natural product molecules in plants and fungi (https://www.ipb-halle.de/en/). 

The project:

Within the CRC, the position is attached to subproject C04, which is a cooperation between the labs of Prof. Panagiotis Kastritis at the Martin-Luther University and Prof. Alain Tissier at the IPB. This position is at the IPB under the supervision of Prof. Tissier. The main goal of this subproject is to understand the impact of natural non-synonymous variations in coding sequence of the mevalonate kinase of Arabidopsis (AtMVK). AtMVK is a central enzyme in the mevalonate pathway, which supplies precursors for steroid phytohormones, sterol lipids, sesquiterpenoids and triterpenoids, mitochondrial isoprenoids and dolichol.

Your tasks: 

• Experimental research within the framework of the SNP2Prot subproject C04 Function of mevalonate kinase (AtMVK) proteoforms in the adaptation to specific climates
• Extensive characterization of the enzymatic activity of AtMVK proteoforms
• Evaluating the impact of AtMVK proteoforms on the adaptation to environmental stresses using our recently developed gene targeting technology (Schreiber et al., 2024).
• Investigate the protein interactome of AtMVK via various approaches
• Presentation and publication of scientific data

The opportunity to obtain your own academic qualification as part of a doctorate is given.

Your profile: 

• An excellent MSc degree (or equivalent) in biochemistry or biology
• A strong interest in molecular mechanisms of plant abiotic stress tolerance
• Excellent English language skills (written and spoken)
• Highly motivated to work in a cooperative manner within the CRC

 Our benefits: 

• Excellent working conditions in an international environment 
• Flexible and family-friendly working hours and possibility of home-office 
• Offer of professional training courses and measures for skill improvement 
• Compensation according to TV-L (including annual special payment) 
• Contribution to your company pension plan (VBL) 
• On-site opportunities for health promotion 

How to apply and information: 

For application use the online application form at https://blogs.urz.uni-halle.de/snp2prot/.

SNP2Prot currently provides additional free positions that you might be interested in. The online application form allows the simultaneous application for three projects of your individual preference. See an overview of all open positions here: https://snp2prot.uni-halle.de/positions/.

The submission deadline is June 30^th, 2024. 

Only applications submitted via the application web form (https://blogs.urz.uni-halle.de/snp2prot/) can be accepted.

In case of queries concerning the application process or project-related questions please contact: info(at)snp2prot.uni-halle.de, Tel.: +49 345 55-24834 or the PI of the project Prof. Dr. Alain Tissier (alain.tissier(at)ipb-halle.de, Tel.: +49 345 5582-1500).

Foreign qualifications must comply with German standards (TV-L-EntgeltO Protokollerklärung Nr. 1 Absatz 4) and be certified (equivalence test in Germany, subject to a fee) and presented to IPB Human Resources at the time of hiring: https://www.kmk.org/zab/central-office-for-foreign-education

Diversity, family and equal opportunities: 

The IPB aspires to the goal of equal opportunity, diversity, and the promotion of work-life balance as it was awarded the certificate "Total E-Quality". In addition, the IPB is a member of the nationwide company network "Success Factor Family" and of the “Diversity Charter” (Charta der Vielfalt). 

Further information can be found at: https://www.ipb-halle.de/en/institute/ 

Data protection: 

Please note, the data protection information for applicants (m/f/d) according to Article 13 and 14 GDPR on data protection processing during the application process:  https://www.ipb-halle.de/en/career/data-protection-information-for-applicants/