Fellowships & Exchange
The HZI promotes scientific exchange with national and international partner institutions. These collaborations with other research institutions and industry are formative for the cutting-edge research at our center.
EMBL-HZI Postdoctoral Fellowship Program
This program leverages the expertise of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in the field of human microbiota research.
Postdoctoral Research fellows are granted salary funding for two years to carry out research projects between at least one group at EMBL and one group at HZI, located at the multiple sites of both institutes. Fellows have a main host lab at EMBL or HZI, where they are employed, and spend at least a total of 3 months at the partner institution. Research activities address the following topic:
The human microbiome: From molecular understanding to exploiting these microbial ecosystems for human health
Humans are hosts to diverse and dynamic assemblages of microorganisms. Alterations in these communities have been linked to many human diseases, including the susceptibility and treatment outcome of infectious, metabolic-, immune-mediated diseases and cancer.
Understanding the causal molecular elements and underlying mechanisms of these associations is instrumental for developing novel interventional strategies based on rational and effective microbiota editing. To address this challenge, scientists from EMBL and HZI work together to understand the functional diversity of microbes living in these communities, to dissect the interactions and properties of the complex communities they assemble, and to study the molecular interactions with the host. The two institutes combine their expertise in bacteriology, genetics, molecular and cell biology, multi-omics approaches and systems biology, immunology, natural product research, bioinformatics and modelling.
Fellows of the program have a primary lab at EMBL or HZI, but are jointly mentored by scientists from both institutions to harness the complementary expertise of the research centres. They have access to state-of-the-art core facilities for sequencing, imaging and omics approaches, and cutting-edge expertise in a number of areas related to microbiome research, including the generation of disease-specific gnotobiotic models, advanced genetic tools for commensal bacteria, automated platforms for the high-throughput phenotyping of microbes and their communities, and computational resources and tools for leveraging the large amounts of data being generated.
The call for applications is closed. In case you have any questions regarding the programme, please contact Birgit Grün.
Postdoctoral fellowships in Infection Research
The association “Friends of the HZI” has launched the “Singh-Chhatwal-Postdoctoral Fellowship Program” to attract talented researchers from abroad to HZI. Fellowships of 3200 Euro per month are awarded for two years to candidates with a background in life sciences and medicine.
Further information on the Singh-Chhatwal-Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, the application process and current deadlines can be found on the page of the Friends of the HZI.
