2 PhD Studentships in Pathogenomics at Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology

The research group of Felix M. Key at the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin is looking to recruit an outstanding student for a project starting in 2020/2021.

Project Descriptions:

Project 1: Uncovering the deep evolutionary history of infectious microbes intertwined with human prehistory is critical for our understanding about disease emergence and the development of successful strategies for prevention and intervention. Ancient DNA provides a unique resource that allows to trace the evolution of microbial pathogens directly back in time. Using ancient DNA and big data repositories combined with evolutionary inference methods, the project aims to reconstruct genomes from infectious pathogens thousands of years old, which we leverage to understand the timing and genetic changes associated with disease emergence and spread.

Project 2: The human microbiome comprises trillions of bacteria that generate billions of mutations every day – an enormous adaptive potential. While poorly understood, commensal bacteria might exploit this adaptive potential to translocate into new niches of the human microbiome where they contribute to disease. Using whole-genome sequencing cultured bacterial isolates from clinical samples combined with computational inference methods the project aims to reconstruct the within person evolution of commensal bacterial species during the initiation and progression of infection, which can provide new strategies for intervention or treatment. We are looking for a motivated student to work at the interface of microbiology (incl. robotic automation) and computational genetics in our new lab.

Further details:
2 PhD Studentships in Pathogenomics at Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology