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Position Overview
Your primary responsibility will be managing the prospective clinical study of Lyme Disease (LD) in children, known as the BRILLIANT study. This research aims to elucidate the patho-mechanisms of LD and identify new microbiological and immunological markers of Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb) infection.
Key Responsibilities
- Management of the BRILLIANT study, which includes overseeing patient recruitment, scheduling follow-ups, sample processing and storage, extracting data from hospital records, and managing the study database (REDCap).
- Establishment of Bb cultures from clinical isolates: Optimizing protocols by improving qPCR screening procedures and culture conditions, and evaluating the usefulness of culture and qPCR for clinical diagnosis.
- Phenotyping the immune response in LD and LNB: Analyzing preliminary data and designing experiments to investigate relevant immune cell subsets using flow cytometry, bead-based cytokine/chemokine assays, or scRNA-seq approaches.
- Identifying genotypes of Bb clinical isolates: Performing whole-genome sequencing (WGS) on new Bb clinical isolates and identifying genotypes and virulence factors associated with LD and LNB clinical subgroups.
Additional Duties
- Writing scientific manuscripts (in English).
- Presenting results at internal meetings and training events.
- Participating in national and international conferences, including presenting your work.
- If applicable, supervising Master’s students in Biomedicine and Pharmacy.
Qualifications
- Master's degree (MSc) in medicine, biology, immunology, or a related field.
- Strong interest in clinical research; prior experience in clinical research is advantageous.
- Research interest in immunology, microbiology, and/or infectious diseases.
- Good understanding of statistics; experience with R is a plus.
- High motivation, ability to work independently, and strong written and oral communication skills.
- Proficiency in both German and English.
What We Offer
- The opportunity to work on a clinically relevant research project with clear patient benefits.
- Experience in planning, organizing, and conducting clinical studies in a hospital setting.
- A solid understanding of the epidemiology, immunology, and microbiology of pediatric infectious diseases.
- Hands-on experience with modern laboratory techniques, including spectral flow cytometry, bead-based assays, scRNA-seq, microscopy, qPCR, and both bacterial and mammalian culture.
Apply Online
To explore this exciting opportunity, apply online using the form below. Please note that only applications matching the job profile will be considered.
Contact Information
Ismael Dellova de Campos
Koordination Doktoratsprogramm Clinical Science
clinical-science@dekmed.uzh.ch