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.
- RTG 2098: Biomedicine of Sphingolipids
- RTG: 1949 Immune Response in Infectious Diseases - Regulation between Innate and Adaptive Immunity
- RTG 1739: Molecular determinants of the cellular radiation response and their potential for response modulation
- Integrated Graduate School CRC 1093: Supramolecular Chemistry on Proteins
- Integrated Graduate School on Molecular and Chemical Cell Biology, CRC 1430: Molecular Mechanisms on Cell State Transitions
The Medical Faculty and the University Hospital Essen also run the Graduate School of Biomedical Science (BIOME):
Moreover, we have a share in the International Max Planck Research School for Living Matter (IMPRS-LM):
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 |
CRC 1430: Molecular Mechanisms of Cell State Transitions
Spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Hemmo Meyer, Center of Medical Biotechnology (ZMB)
Website: https://www.uni-due.de/crc1430/
| Project | ZMB Member | |
|---|---|---|
| A01: Molecular control of kinetochore microtubule interactions at the metaphase-anaphase transition | More | Prof. Dr. Stefan Westermann |
| A02: Bridging the gap between cell biology and biochemistry with artificial protein prosthetics in cell cycle transitions | More | Prof. Dr. Andrea Musacchio |
| A03: VCP/p97-cofactor complexes at the intersection of DNA repair and checkpoint control | More | Prof. Dr. Hemmo Meyer |
| A05: A molecular interface linking DNA replication with cell states of different replication competence | More | Prof. Dr. Dominik Boos |
| A06: Implications of deregulated proteostasis in cell state transitions | More | Prof. Dr. Michael Ehrmann |
| A07: Golgi stress: impacting cell cycle transitions | More | Prof. Dr. Doris Hellerschmied |
| A08: Switching of spatio-temporal Rho GTPase signal network dynamics during cell cycle phase transitions | More | Prof. Dr. Perihan Nalbant |
| A09: Targeting oncogene-induced DNA repair pathway switches | More | Prof. Dr. Christian Reinhardt |
| A11: Molecular regulation of differentiation and cell cycle in tumor-repopulating melanoma cells | More | Prof. Dr. Alexander Roesch |
| A13: IFNγ-induced cell state transition in melanoma | More | Prof. Dr. Annette Paschen |
| A14: Metastatic transition in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma | More | Dr. Barbara Grüner |
| B01: Developing chemical tools for investigating cell state transitions | More | Prof. Dr. Markus Kaiser |
| B04: Hybrid computational strategies for the study of cell states transitions and the cell cycle | More | Prof. Dr. Elsa Sánchez-García |
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 ResearchMax Planck Institute of Biochemistry (MPIB)
Martinsried
Prof. Dr. h.c. mult. Kurt Wüthrich
Emeritus Group
Wüthrich Group ETH ZürichInstitute for Biochemistry
ETH Zurich, Switzerland
Prof. Dr. Tim Clausen
Clausen Lab
Molecular mechanisms of protein quality controlIMP - Research Institute of Molecular Pathology
Vienna, Austria
Prof. Dr. Thomas Sommer
Sommer Lab
Intracellular ProteolysisMax-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:
Click here for more information and to watch the full interview.