PhD position in Virology

Highlights:

1.      At our Institute of Veterinary Virology of the Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, we are offering a PhD position on the topic of Pestiviral E^rns: An RNase as a novel decoy receptor to evade the host’s innate immune system by manipulating self-nonself discrimination.

2.      Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) is pestivirus in the family Flaviviridae. It is a close relative of hepatitis C virus (HCV), a pathogen causing persistent infection in at least 170 millions of humans. BVDV is probably one of the most widespread viral pathogens worldwide. BVD virus causes persistent infection (PI) in pregnant cows by invading the fetus early in gestation. The virus escapes the innate immune system by inhibiting interferon (IFN) type-I synthesis, which seems to be required to maintain the specific immunotolerance to the infecting viral strain.

3.      In this project, you will investigate the fundamental role of the viral RNase E^rns in the evasion of innate immunity. E^rns might be viewed as a novel type of virus-encoded, enzymatically active, decoy receptor that degrades extracellular viral RNA, thus preventing its recognition by toll-like receptors (TLRs) that signal the presence of “viral nonself” to the host. This elegant mechanism represents a most unusual “stealth” mechanism contributing to the evasion of the host innate immune response.

4.      The candidate should be a highly motivated individual with a Master’s degree (or equivalent) and good knowledge and working experience in cell biology, biochemistry, molecular biology or a related field. Good knowledge of English (spoken and written) is essential.

5.      Application containing a letter of motivation, CV, copies of grades obtained during the BSc and MSc studies, detailed summary of research experiences, and contact details of 2-3 references should be sent to the address or mail below. Only those candidates will be considered for the position who are willing to visit the lab for a personal interview.

6.      Duration: 3-4 years according to the guidelines of the Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences (www.gcb.unibe.ch ).

7.      Location:   Institute of Veterinary Virology, Länggass-Strasse 122, Bern (www.ivv.unibe.ch)

8.      Start of Project:      As soon as possible

9.      Salary: PhD salary according to the guidelines of the Swiss National Science Foundation

10.  For additional details, please contact Matthias Schweizer at the address indicated below.

Dr. Matthias Schweizer
Institute of Veterinary Virology
University of Bern
Laenggass-Str. 122
P.O. Box 8466
CH-3001 Bern, Switzerland
e-mail: schweizer@ivv.unibe.ch