Ph.D. Student Position in Developmental Genetics and Genomics BALE

A 3-4 year Ph.D. position is available in Developmental Genetics at the new Centre for Biomedicine (CBM) of the University of Basel Medical School. Human and mouse genetics have revealed the importance of non-coding genomic sequences for embryonic development. The availability of several genomes across the animal kingdom is now allowing us to study the mechanisms involving such sequences that regulate the expression of gene clusters located rather distant to these cis-regulatory regions on the same chromosome. My research team analyses the role of one of these fascinating genomic landscapes in regulating signalling response to Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) signalling during pattern formation. We also use systemic approaches to study cellular response to the SHH morphogen during organogenesis, using the developing limb bud as a model. We combine mouse molecular genetics (advanced knockout and transgenic strategies including BACs and lentivirus), microarrays and in-silico analysis with experimental manipulation of embryos (see e.g. Michos et al. 2004, Development 131, 3401ff; Zuniga et al. 2004, Genes Dev. 18, 1553ff, Zuniga 2005, Curr Opin Genet Dev. 403ff).

For more information, please consult the following link: http://www.unibas.ch/anatomie/zeller/ (the CBM webpage is currently under construction).

The successful applicant will join an international team (working language: English) housed in state-of-the-art molecular laboratories and core facilities at the DKBW Centre for Biomedicine. Life sciences studies at the University of Basel are top-ranked at an international level and offer students a dynamic and attractive research environment in close proximity to the Friedrich Miescher Institute and to leading pharmaceutical companies. The city of Basel in the heart of Europe provides a youthful and attractive cultural setting in combination with a high standard of living and easy access to neighbouring Germany, France, Italy and the rest of Europe (the international airport is a major hub for budget airlines).