Project:

The thesis project will address the molecular collaboration of oncogenes and tumor suppressors during progression and metastasis of liver cancer. We particularly aim at analyzing the consequences of Axl receptor cleavage on the metastatic Gas6/Axl signaling in mouse and human liver cancer.

The project includes work with advanced cellular models, genetically engineered mouse and human liver models, CRISPR/Cas9, high-end ELISA techniques, NGS (RNA-seq) expression profiling, cell imaging, immunohistochemistry and chemical compound screening.

We offer:

• 2 PhD positions
• PhD salariy for 3.5 years according to the guidelines of the FWF
• a stimulating and dynamic scientific environment with individual supervision
• training in the PhD program “Malignant Diseases” of the Medical University of Vienna

Applicants should be:

• exceptionally motivated and talented
• graduated (MSc) in the fields of molecular biology, cell biology, genetics, biotechnology, biochemistry or equivalent
• experienced with standard methods of molecular and cell biology
• excellent in scientific writing and speaking English

The starting point for the PhD thesis should be as soon as possible.

Please send your application including CV and 3 references to wolfgang.mikulits@meduniwien.ac.at

About the Mikulits lab:

The laboratory focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying the invasion and metastasis of liver carcinoma. We identified the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) of liver cancer cells and described the switch of TGF-beta from anti- to pro-oncogenic actions by the molecular cooperation with the receptor tyrosine kinase Axl (Reichl et al, Hepatology 2015; Giannelli et al, J. Hepatol. 2016; Haider et al, Hepatology 2019).