Research Topics
Find out more about the cutting-edge research topics investigated across our different research groups to help you navigate the list below.
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Applicants are asked to select specific groups in their online application form as indication of interest. Please note that the list below is preliminary and may change prior to the interviews. All eligible applications will be available to all recruiting Group Leaders to review and select candidates for interviews.
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Find out more about the cutting-edge research topics investigated across our different research groups to help you navigate the list below.
Organoid models of neuroendocrine development and cancer
The Dayton group leverages novel organoid models of neuroendocrine (NE) cells and tumours to recapitulate and dissect mechanisms of human disease, including cancer initiation, progression, and drug response.
No Recruiting GTLs
Structural biology of ubiquitin signalling
The Bhogaraju group uses structural and cell biology-based approaches to study ubiquitination pathways in normal physiology and disease.
Structure and assembly mechanisms of sarcomeric cytoskeleton
The Djinovic group studies the architecture and assembly mechanisms of sarcomeric Z-discs using an integrative structural biology approach, combining biochemical, molecular biophysics, and structural biology methods.
No recruiting GTLs
Cellular phase separation by surfactants
The Cuylen group investigates how proteins act as surfactants to regulate the spatial separation of chromosomes and other cellular organelles.
Evolutionary cell biology of the nucleus
The Dey group investigates the evolution and diversity of mitosis using comparative cell biology and genomics in microbial eukaryotes across controlled and natural environments.
Mechanobiology at the cell surface
The Diz-Muñoz lab studies how mechanics at the cell periphery govern function, with a focus on morphogenesis, migration, and fate in animal cells.
Theory of cellular and multicellular organisation
The Erzberger group studies the theoretical principles of self-organisation in complex systems using cellular and multicellular systems as paradigms.
Self-organisation in meiosis
The Köhler group studies how chromatin is organised during meiosis to allow for the production of haploid gametes from diploid precursor cells.
Advanced optical techniques for deep tissue microscopy
The Prevedel group develops new optical techniques for investigating dynamic cellular processes deep inside tissue in vivo.
Principles of genome self-organisation
The Quail group investigates the physical and biochemical principles of genome self-organisation.
Timing in embryonic development
The Aulehla group studies the role of timing during development, in particular how signalling dynamics and oscillations control spatiotemporal pattern formation as an embryo develops.
Evolution of microbial life cycles
Both eukaryotic and prokaryotic microbes display astonishing forms of primitive development, affecting how cells organise themselves into simple collectives that propagate in both space and time. The van Gestel group studies how microbial development evolves in the context of predation, a major ecological driver of evolutionary innovation, using a combination of microfluidics, functional genomics and high-content expression libraries.
Symbiosis in marine unicellular eukaryotes
The Vincent group explores the diversity and impact of marine microbial interactions across different biological scales, with a focus on symbiosis within unicellular eukaryotes.
Control principles of animal body size
Through comparative studies of planarian flatworms, the Vu Group aims to understand the control principles that define animal body size.
Genome regulation and chromatin topology during embryonic development
The Furlong group dissects fundamental principles of genome regulation and how that drives cell fate decisions during development, focusing on organisational and functional properties of the genome.
Quantitative Biology and Statistics
The Huber group develops statistical methods for modern biotechnologies, applies them to biological discovery, and translates them into reusable tools.
Decoding gene regulation using single-molecule genomics
The Krebs group combines single-cell and single-molecule genomics with large-scale genome engineering to understand fundamental mechanisms for controlling gene expression.
Spatial biology from molecules to tissues: high-dimensional investigation of cellular organisation
The Saka group develops new tools and methods to investigate the spatial and molecular organisation of cells across scales. The group harnesses new labelling approaches; fluorescence, super-resolution, and correlative microscopy methods; and DNA nanotechnology.
Statistical genomics and systems genetics
The Stegle group develops and applies statistical and machine learning methods for deciphering molecular variation across individuals, space, and time.
Organisational principles and 3D architecture of archaeal chromatin
The Dodonova group aims to understand the mechanisms and evolutionary principles of genome packaging and chromatin 3D organisation by studying archaea using a combination of biochemistry, biophysics, and high-resolution structural biology in near-native contexts.
Environmental response at the single-cell level
The Dorrity group investigates how variability propagates from the level of molecules to developing cells and tissues, and ultimately to organismal phenotype.
Assembly mechanisms and function of protein-RNA complexes at the single-molecule level
The Duss group uses single-molecule methods in combination with integrative structural biological and biochemical approaches to understand how protein-RNA complexes are assembled and how macromolecular machines cooperate with each other, providing new opportunities to fight diseases and to create new functional molecular assemblies.
High-throughput cryo-EM
The Mattei team develops methods and software supporting high-throughput and fully automated pipelines to tackle the current challenges in cryo-EM sample preparation and screening.
Stability proteomics for assessing the state of the proteome
The Savitski team uses and develops stability proteomics to understand the phenomena of aggregation and disaggregation, cell phenotyping, and the detection of protein interactions with drugs, metabolites, DNA, and RNA.
Mechanisms of embryonic gene regulation
The Boskovic group investigates epigenetic mechanisms regulating early embryonic gene expression patterns, and how their modulation influences developmental trajectories and offspring phenotypes.
Neural control of instinctive behaviour
We use pharmacological, histochemical, electrophysiological, and behavioural genetic approaches to study the neural circuits underlying instinctive behaviour in mice.
Epigenetic mechanisms and intergenerational inheritance
The Hackett group investigates the role of epigenetic mechanisms in genome regulation and developmental programming, with a focus on intergenerational epigenetic inheritance. We integrate multi-omics, high-throughput (epi)genetic editing, and environmental perturbations to understand gene regulatory responses across scales, from single cells to organism phenotypes.
AI-Driven Systems for Scientific Discovery
The Petroni group builds AI solutions that combine multimodal reasoning, agentic exploration, tool usage, knowledge retrieval and lab-in-the-loop interaction to accelerate scientific discovery. We develop intelligent agents that can cross-reference large amounts of heterogeneous data sources and help scientists uncover new insights by moving beyond traditional search toward proactive discovery. Our agents are designed to identify hidden knowledge gaps, connect concepts across disciplines, and embed directly into experimental workflows to collaborate with scientists in real time.
Dr. Alba Diz-Muñoz and Prof. Dr. Michael Platten
Our interdisciplinary approach combines the analysis of tumour tissue using light and atomic force microscopy with high-performance spatial omics tools to gain a comprehensive knowledge of the impact of tissue stiffness and ECM properties on T cell phenotypes and function.