PhD position available in Engel group at the Biozentrum in Basel, Switzerland

This PhD project is part of an HFSP-funded study of how thylakoid membranes adapt to changing light conditions.  The main focus of this student will be to perform in situ cryo-electron tomography of Chlamydomonas algae cells exposed to different light intensities, and then to analyze how the thylakoid membranes are remodeled and repaired from damage.  To get a feeling for what this cryo-ET data looks like, please see: https://elifesciences.org/articles/53740.  As part of our HFSP consortium, the student will also interact with a biophysics group in Amsterdam (Roberta Croce) and a molecular modeling group in Texas (Doran Bennett).

This is an opportunity to learn FIB milling and cryo-ET in an experienced lab, to try out new deep learning-based analysis approaches, and to dive into structural studies of photosynthesis with our fun team (https://www.cellarchlab.com/people.html).  This project will be co-supervised by our group’s senior scientist, Wojciech Wietrzynski.  He’s an expert in both photosynthesis and cryo-ET, and he’s a great teacher!  Basel is a very comfortable place to live– it’s a small city, close to lots of nature, but also very international and welcoming.  And the Biozentrum is an amazing place to work, with a diverse community of world-class scientists.

The position is available immediately.  Please drop me an email if you have any questions.  For applications, please send me a CV (with the names of two references) as well as a short letter of motivation.

Ben Engel
https://www.cellarchlab.com/