PhD Programs & Mentoring

ZMB PhD Programs & Mentoring

PhD Programs

We offer students access to a wide range of structured doctoral programs in the field of biomedical research. This includes DFG funded graduate schools and also joint projects.

The Medical Faculty and the University Hospital Essen also run the Graduate School of Biomedical Science (BIOME):

Moreover, we have a share in the Max Planck Research School in Chemical and Molecular Biology (IMPRS-CMB):

Find out more about ZMB joint projects under ZMB research:
ZMB consortia

DFG funded research training groups

Research Training Group, since 2015:RTG 2098: Biomedicine of the acid sphingomyelinase/acid ceramidase system

Spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Erich Gulbins, University Hospital Essen

Website: http://www.uni-due.de/grk2098

Project ZMB Member
P01: The role of acid sphingomyelinase (Asm) in T cell responses during tumor development and radiation treatment More Prof. Dr. Jan Buer
P02: Sphingolipid signals regulate hypoxia inducible factor 1 in endothelial cells and macrophages after single-dose radiation therapy More Prof. Dr. Joachim Fandrey
P04: Role of acid sphingomyelinase in experimental inflammatory bowel disease More Prof. Dr. Astrid Westendorf
P06: Role of acid sphingomyelinase in mycobacterial infections More Prof. Dr. Karl S. Lang
P07: Preventing infection in cystic fibrosis with acid ceramidase More Prof. Dr. Erich Gulbins
P08: Role of ceramide-rich macrodomains in regulating ABC transporters post ischemia More Prof. Dr. Dirk Hermann
P10: Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) as a causal factor for impaired function of high-density lipoproteins (HDL) in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) More Prof. Dr. Bodo Levkau

Research Training Group, since 2014:RTG 1949: Immune Response in Infectious Diseases - Regulation between Innate and Adaptive Immunity

Spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Astrid Westendorf, University Hospital Essen

Website: http://www.uni-due.de/grk1949

Project ZMB Member
Analysis of rapid IFNγ production of NK cells towards adaptive immunity and anti-bacterial activities of macrophages early upon bacterial infection More Prof. Dr. Carsten Kirschning
The impact of CD47 signaling on the immune response during influenza virus infection More Prof. Dr. Jan Buer
Antigen-independent activation of T cells during polymicrobial sepsis and its impact on the differentiation and function of myeloid cells More Prof. Dr. Stefanie Flohè
Impact of different macrophage subsets on T cell responses and pathogen clearance during Plasmodium yoelii infection More Prof. Dr. Wiebke Hansen
The role of FXR signaling during infection with persistent prone virus More Prof. Dr. Karl Sebastian Lang
Modulation of anti-retroviral T cell responses by different IFNα subtypes More Prof. Dr. Ulf Dittmer
PD Dr. Kathrin Sutter
Interleukin-33-mediated dysbiosis and the consequences for enteric bacterial infection More Prof. Dr. Astrid Westendorf
 

Research Training Group, since 2012:RTG 1739: Molecular Determinants of the Cellular Radiation Response and their Potential for Response Modulation

Spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Verena Jendrossek, University Hospital Essen

Website: http://www.uni-due.de/med/forschung/grk1739/

Project ZMB Member
Molecular mechanisms linking repair of DNA double strand breaks by alternative end joining to growth factor signaling R More Prof. Dr. George Iliakis
Mechanisms of the p97- and ubiquitin-governed radiation response More Prof. Dr. Hemmo Meyer
Functions and regulations of the replication initiation regulator TopBP1 upon exposure to IR More Prof. Dr. Dominik Boos
An old passenger as a new driver: Defining Survivin’s role as a link between replication fork dynamics and radiation response More Prof. Dr. Shirley Knauer
Role of the protein kinase B/AKT pathway for the cellular radiation response More Prof. Dr. Verena Jendrossek
Role of the tyrosine kinase TrkA and TrkB in checkpoint activation and DSB repair More Prof. Dr. Alexander Schramm
Identification of novel targets for rational chemoradiotherapy strategies in non-small-cell lung cancer More Prof. Dr. Martin Schuler
Role of the acid sphingomyelinase in immune and endothelial cells for anti-tumor effects of irradiation More Prof. Dr. Erich Gulbins
Importance of Caveolin-1 for modulating the radiation response in the context of tumor-stroma interactions More Prof. Dr. Diana Klein
Identifying and targeting resistance mechanisms to 177Lu-PSMA radioligand therapy of metastatic prostate cancer More Prof. Dr. Ken Herrmann

Collaborative Research Center, since 2014:CRC 1093: Supramolecular Chemistry on Proteins

Spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Thomas Schrader, University of Duisburg-Essen

Website: https://www.uni-due.de/crc1093

Project ZMB Member
Protein-recognition by supramolecular ligands from focused combinatorial libraries (A01) More Prof. Dr. Thomas Schrader
Chemical tools from protein class-specific supramolecular ligands (A02) More Prof. Dr. Markus Kaiser
Designed copolymers and molecular tweezers for protein surface recognition (A03) More Prof. Dr. Thomas Schrader
Ultra-small nanoparticles for protein-specific targeting (A05) More Prof. Dr. Matthias Epple
DNA origami nanoarchitectures for predesigned spatial confinement of proteins (A06) More Prof. Dr. Barbara Saccà
Computational design of supramolecular ligands for specific tweaking of protein interactions (A07) More Prof. Dr. Daniel Hoffmann
Exploring protein-recognition by supramolecular binders with MD and QM/MM methods (A08) More Prof. Dr. Elsa Sánchez-García
Raman spectroscopic monitoring of protein recognition by supramolecular ligands (A09) More Prof. Dr. Sebastian Schlücker
Supramolecular ligands modulate assembly and function of HtrA proteases (B01) More Prof. Dr. Michael Ehrmann
Probing mechanisms of the Cdc48/p97 segregase with supramolecular ligands (B02) More Prof. Dr. Hemmo Meyer
Rational targeting of intracellular protein transport signals by supramolecular ligands (B05) More Prof. Dr. Shirley Knauer
Targeting centromere recruitment of mitotic regulators by supramolecular ligands (B06) More Prof. Dr. Andrea Musacchio
Manipulation of the kinetochore-microtubule interface by supramolecular ligands (B07) More Prof. Dr. Stefan Westermann
NMR Spectroscopy (Z03) More Prof. Dr. Peter Bayer

Excellent Advice:Mentoring by Nobel Laureates and internationally renowned senior scientists

For selected PhD students we offer an outstanding mentoring opportunity by the two Nobel Laureates Robert Huber and Kurt Wüthrich, as well as by Tim Clausen,a structural biologist and senior scientist at the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) in Vienna, and by Thomas Sommer, a biochemist and molecular biologist, and scientific board of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) in Berlin.

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Robert Huber

Emeritus Group

Structure Research

Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry (MPIB)
Martinsried

Prof. Dr. h.c. mult. Kurt Wüthrich

Emeritus Group

Wüthrich Group ETH Zürich

Institute for Biochemistry
ETH Zurich, Switzerland

Prof. Dr. Tim Clausen

Clausen Lab

Molecular mechanisms of protein quality control

IMP - Research Institute of Molecular Pathology
Vienna, Austria

Prof. Dr. Thomas Sommer

Sommer Lab

Intracellular Proteolysis

Max-Delbrück-Centrum für Molekulare Medizin (MDC)
Berlin

Interview with Kurt Wüthrich

In October 2017, Prof. Kurt Wüthrich talked about his early education in Switzerland and his scientific career, whether scientific success can be planned, and if a Nobel Prize can be a burden. Watch the teaser:

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Click here for more information and to watch the full interview.