Offer Description
Within the context of the EU-funded Marie Skłodowska Curie Doctoral Network (DN) “MeChaNiSM” there are 15 fully funded open positions for PhD students in the field of nucleic acids chemistry and biophysics. We explicitly encourage female researchers to apply.

You will get the opportunity to:

• be supervised by an expert in the field;




• take charge of an exciting research project;




• research in close collaboration with partners within the Marie Skłodowska Curie Doctoral Network: https://www.chalmers.se/en/projects/mechanism/




• participate in innovative training modules, including a series of hands-on workshops that provide technical, transferable and presentation skills, international conferences, and outreach activities.

Description of research field
Nucleic acids (NAs) are central to the storage, transmission, and regulation of genetic information. DNA carries the genetic information for all cellular life, while RNA plays many diverse roles. These include not only the traditional roles of messenger-, transfer- and ribosomal-RNA, but also many regulatory functions such as gene silencing in RNA interference, precision nuclease targeting in CRISPR/Cas, and in providing the blueprint for mounting mRNA vaccine immune responses to combat SARS-CoV-2. Significantly, the genetic material of many viruses, including influenza, HIV and SARS-CoV-2, consist of RNA folded into complex 3D structures. Single-molecule techniques have revolutionized the understanding of complex NA structures and their interactions with therapeutic oligonucleotides, small molecules, and proteins. However, for Europe to adapt to new therapeutic challenges1 and to increase its competitiveness, new expertise is urgently required in single-molecule analysis of NAs, a research field that intersects physical chemistry, biophysics, chemical synthesis, and molecular simulation. MeChaNiSM will train the next generation of European scientific leaders in the development of single-molecule biophysics techniques to investigate critical, cross-disciplinary questions regarding the structure, dynamics, function, and interactions of NAs.

The following member institutions and companies are involved in this Doctoral Network:

Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden
Prof. Fredrik Westerlund, Dept. Life Sciences (network coordinator)
Read more and apply here: https://www.chalmers.se/en/about-chalmers/work-with-us/vacancies/?rmpag…

Prof. Marcus Wilhelmsson, Dept. Chem and Chem Eng   
Read more and apply: https://www.chalmers.se/en/about-chalmers/work-with-us/vacancies/?rmpag…

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Prof. Gijs Wuite, Dept. Physics
Prof. Erwin Peterman, Dept. Physics   
Read more and apply here: https://workingat.vu.nl/vacancies/phd-in-mechanical-characterization-of-nucleic-acids-amsterdam-1118884

University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Dr. Jocelyne Vreede, Van ‘t Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences - Computational Chemistry
Read more and apply here: https://werkenbij.uva.nl/en/vacancies/two-phd-positions-in-molecular-si…

University of Augsburg, Germany
Prof. Jan Lipfert, Dept. Physics 

Dublin City University, Ireland
Prof. Andrew Kellett, School of Chemical Sciences

University of Barcelona, Spain
Prof. Felix Ritort, Dept. Cond. Mat. Phys   
https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/295487

KU Leuven, Belgium
Prof. Enrico Carlon, Dept. Soft Matter and Biophysics
Read more and apply here: https://www.kuleuven.be/personeel/jobsite/jobs/60413652?hl=nl&lang=nl

University of Cologne, Germany
Prof. Stephanie Kath-Schorr, Dept. Chemistry
Read more and apply here: https://kathlab.uni-koeln.de/en/job-offers

Research Fields: Life Science
Career Stage: Early-Stage Researcher or 0-4 years (Postgraduate)
Research Profile: First Stage Researcher
Benefits: The Horizon Europe DN Mechanical Characterization of Nucleic acids using Single Molecule techniques (MECHANISM) involves 8 partners and supports up to 15 PhD students. Marie Curie Fellows enjoy the benefits of full social security, competitive monthly living, mobility and family allowance. See here: https://marie-sklodowska-curie-actions.ec.europa.eu/actions/doctoral-networks

The program provides an excellent opportunity for students to participate in network-wide training in both scientific and transferable skills at different locations throughout Europe with leading scientists in the field, including secondments to our industrial and academic partners.

Requirements:

• Degree: Master in organic chemistry, biochemistry, biophysics or similar




• Language: English proficiency (oral and written)

We are looking for motivated researchers with MSc degrees in organic chemistry, biochemistry, biophysics or similar (early-stage researcher) with excellent experimental and theoretical skills as well as good team spirit. Your application should include a letter, emphasizing your specific interest, qualifications and motivation to apply for this position, a detailed CV, publication list (if any), contact details of at least two referees, and academic transcripts of BSc and MSc grades.

Eligibility:
Applicants must fully respect three eligibility criteria:

• Supported researchers must be Doctoral Candidates (DC), i.e., not already in possession of a doctoral degree at the date of the recruitment. Researchers who have successfully defended their doctoral thesis but who have not yet formally been awarded the doctoral degree will not be considered eligible.




• Recruited researchers can be of any nationality and must undertake trans-national mobility (i.e., move from one country to another) when taking up the appointment. In particular, at the time of selection by the host organization, researchers must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of their host organization for more than12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to their recruitment. Short stays, such as holidays, are not taken into account.




• The candidates’ ability to understand and express themselves in both written and spoken English should be sufficiently high for them to derive the full benefit from the network training.

Application details
Each institution will carry their independent recruitment process.