PhD student position in Cancer Research (f/m/d)

“Role of thyroid hormone receptor β / AR interaction in prostate cancer”

We are looking for a highly motivated PhD student to be jointly hosted by the team of Assoc. Prof. Brigitte Hantusch and Prof. Lukas Kenner at the Department of Pathology (Medical University of Vienna) and at the Department of Experimental Animal Pathology (Vetmeduni Vienna). The PhD project will be part of a project for “Role of thyroid hormones and thyroid hormone receptor β in prostate cancer” funded by the “FWF”: https://www.fwf.ac.at/forschungsradar/10.55776/P37116

The Project:

The goal of this project is to elucidate the role of the thyroid hormone signaling pathway for prognosis and therapy response of PCa. We could show that thyroid hormones stimulate PCa growth and that TRβ can regulate PCa-specific genes in conjunction with the androgen receptor (AR). Interfering with this yet unnoted T3/TRβ/AR axis might represent a potential approach for novel therapies in androgen-refractory PCa. We aim to elucidate the TRβ/AR signaling interaction with and without androgen and/or T3 stimulation in vitro and in xenografted PCa mouse models in vivo. We aim to measure the transcriptional activity of regulatory TRβ/AR complexes by promotor gene activity, nuclear translocation and gene expression studies. We further aim to investigate the effects of anti-thyroid agents, validate the results in mouse xenograft models for PCa and correlate them with histo-pathological and molecular findings in PCa patients to identify those that might benefit from therapeutic targeting of thyroid hormone signaling.

The Host Institute:

The Department of Pathology is located in the AKH at the Campus of the Medical University of Vienna: https://www.meduniwien.ac.at/web/. Our laboratory is equipped with state of the art facilities. 

The Candidate – Desired Skills and Experience:

- Master’s degree in Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Bioanalytical Sciences or a related field.

- Strong background in molecular biology: DNA and RNA isolation, qRT-PCR, cloning, luciferase reporter assays, Western blotting, protein chemistry, Co-IP, ChIP, CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing.

- Experience in cell biology: cell culturing, cell transfections and assays, gene knock down / knock out.

- Interest in conducting pre-clinical research (xenograft experiments with mice).

- Willingness to learn new (e.g. omics) technologies and data-science analyses.

- Very good communication skills in English (optional: German); high flexibility and mobility.

We offer:

• State-of-the-art laboratory and imaging infrastructure and supervision by recognized experts.

• Position in an inspiring, dynamic, young, multi-disciplinary and engaged research environment.

• Full-time PhD position starting as soon as possible; salary according to collective FWF guidelines.

Send your application directly to:

brigitte.hantusch@meduniwien.ac.at or lukas.kenner@meduniwien.ac.at