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.
Read more about the application process here.
The list below has been updated for the 2027 winter recruitment, however, it may be subject to further changes.
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.
Multicellular systems biology
The Sharpe group brings together an interdisciplinary team of biologists, physicists and computer scientists to build multi-scale computer simulations of a paradigm of organogenesis – mammalian limb development.
Computational modelling of multicellular systems
The Torres-Sánchez group employs methods from theoretical physics and computational engineering to develop mathematical models and computer simulations that help identify the physical principles guiding the self-organisation and shaping of tissues.
Analysis of protein sequence and structure
The group studies the sequences and structures of proteins to understand their evolution and function. Our major focus is on the identification and analysis of adhesive proteins of the bacterial cell surface.
Intraspecies variation in medaka fish and humans
The Birney group applies novel AI methodologies to gain new insights into molecular, cellular and organismal biology, in particular methods which leverage genetic or genomic information.
Pathogen informatics and modelling
Our group develops bioinformatic and mathematical modelling approaches to use sequencing data to better control pathogen threats. In particular, we study genome evolution, transmission, and the effects of vaccines and antimicrobial resistance in bacterial populations.
Services for animal agriculture, aquaculture and biodiversity genomics
The team develops the regulatory components, core infrastructure and web applications for the Ensembl project, a world-renowned genome browser. It also focuses on services to support animal agriculture, aquaculture and biodiversity genomics.
Cellular structural biology of host-pathogen interactions
The Anton group investigates the role of proteins of the innate immune system at the host-pathogen interface using in situ cryo electron microscopy approaches.
Structural biology of ubiquitin signalling
The Bhogaraju group uses structural and cell biology-based approaches to study ubiquitination pathways in normal physiology and disease.
Multi-scale imaging for evolutionary cell biology
The Wollweber group develops and applies multi-scale imaging methods – such as cryo-electron tomography and expansion microscopy – to decipher the cell biology of non-model organisms and understand the evolution of complex life.
Biological X-ray imaging
Our research programme focuses on new approaches in X-ray imaging of biological samples and encompasses experimental, technical, and computational developments.
Metabolism-driven immunity
The Osterman Group investigates bacterial defense and phage counter-defense strategies to discover new enzymes, metabolites, and pathways linking metabolism and immunity across the tree of life.
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.
Advanced optical techniques for deep tissue microscopy
The Prevedel group develops new optical techniques for investigating dynamic cellular processes deep inside tissue in vivo.
Volume correlative light and electron microscopy
The Schwab team is developing tools for the 3D correlation of data generated by multiple imaging modalities, such as fluorescence microscopy, X-ray imaging, and electron microscopy.
Principles of genome self-organisation
The Quail group investigates the physical and biochemical principles of genome self-organisation.
Advanced Light Microscopy technology development and service provision
The Zimmermann team will act as an essential connection of biological researchers to the latest and not yet commercialised LM instrument and method developments coming out of EMBL and external development groups. Additionally, the group will work on the development of original methods and technologies in super-resolution microscopy and in cryo-fluorescence microscopy.
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.
Critical points and transitions in embryo development
The Petridou group aims to understand how complexity arises during early embryo development by focusing on the emergence and function of collective tissue properties. To do so, we combine diverse disciplines, including comparative embryology, biophysics, statistical mechanics, and quantitative and synthetic biology.
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.
Biomolecular condensates in cell biology
The Hyman lab studies biomolecular condensates and their roles in the organisation of the cell.
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.
Engineering structural variation to understand human genome function
We develop scalable genome-editing technologies to generate, genotype, and phenotype thousands of designed structural variants. Our goal is to map sequence dispensability, decode noncoding genome architecture, and lay the foundation for minimal mammalian genomes.
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.
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.
Multi-omics-based modelling of microbial ecosystems
The Zimmermann-Kogadeeva group combines computational modelling and multi-omics data integration to investigate how microbes adapt to their surroundings and how metabolic adaptations of individual bacteria shape the functional outcome of microbial communities and their interactions with the environment.
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.
The Eustermann group explores the molecular landscape of chromatin to understand at an atomic level the principles underlying expression and maintenance of genomic information in eukaryotes.
Phenotypic patterning and molecular bacteriology in biofilms
In the Squyres group, we use high-resolution live imaging, quantitative analysis, microfluidics, molecular genetics, mathematical modelling, and more to understand how bacteria build biofilms, and how biofilms shape bacteria.
Systems microbiology
The Typas group develops high-throughput approaches to study bacterial cellular networks in the context of their interactions with each other and their environment.
Genetic control of innate animal behavior
The Chen group investigates the genetic control and evolution of innate animal behavior using high-throughput omics and computational approaches.
Dr. Wolfgang Huber, Dr. Carsten Müller-Tidow, Dr. Caroline Pabst and Dr. Junyan Yu