Research Scientist

About us

The School VI of Medicine and Health Sciences comprises the fields of human medicine, medical physics and acoustics, neurosciences, psychology and health services research. Together with the four regional hospitals, School VI forms the University Medicine Oldenburg. Furthermore, the university cooperates closely with the University Medicine of the University of Groningen.

The Division of Sensory Physiology & Behaviour investigates how auditory signals are generated and processed in invertebrates (mosquitoes and fruit flies). The research group explicitly uses these investigations to gain a better understanding of human hearing and to enable new therapies for human hearing loss.

Your tasks

• Establishing novel transgenic Drosophila models for studying the bases of human hearing and hearing loss. This includes generation of Drosophila ‘avatars’, in which fly genes are replaced by human genes to understand the respective human genes’ functional roles and contributions to function and functional decline (e.g. age-related hearing loss). All work will take place within the context of the recently awarded excellence cluster Hearing4All (H4a.connects). A close integration into the activities of the cluster and collaborative research teams is essential.

Your profile

Required skills or experience:

• Relevant University Degree (Diplom (Uni)/ Master) and PhD in a related scientific topic.
• Profound theoretical knowledge and practical experience in molecular and cellular biology.
• Profound theoretical knowledge, and practical experience, with the genetic (and general scientific) model organism Drosophila, especially regarding its genetics and molecular biology. Practical experience must be evidenced by at least one relevant first author scientific publication. Experimental skills can include:
  • Generation of novel chromosomal Drosophila lines, by appropriately designing and implementing complex husbandry schemes (e.g. including recombination, marker/deficiency selection, etc.)
  • Generation of novel transgenic Drosophila lines through appropriately designed and applied mutagenesis strategies (e.g. CRISPR-Cas/UAS/Gal4/LexA, etc.)
  • Design, preparation, execution and analysis of cell- and molecular biological protocols (e.g. RNA-Seq, qPCR, proteomic paradigms).
• Profound knowledge of, and skills in, Scientific English. These must be credibly evidenced through (i) relevant scientific or academic stays in an English speaking country or (ii) a language certificate (English) of minimal level B2. 

Desirable skills or experience:

• Experience with Drosophila behavioural experiments
• Experience with Drosophila functional/physiological experiments.
• Experience with Drosophila neuro- and sensory-biological studies.

We offer

• Payment in accordance with collective bargaining law (special annual payment, public service pension scheme, asset-related benefits) incl. 30 days annual leave
• Support and guidance during your onboarding phase
• A family-friendly environment with flexible working hours (flexitime) and the possibility of pro-rata mobile work
• Benefits from the university's health promotion programme
• An extensive and free further education programme

Our standards

The University of Oldenburg is dedicated to increase the percentage of female employees in the field of science. Therefore, female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. In accordance to § 21 Section 3 NHG, female candidates with equal qualifications will be preferentially considered. Applicants with disabilities will be given preference in case of equal qualification.

Further information

The Department of Sensory Physiology & Behaviour is headed by Prof. Jörg Albert.

There is the possibility of personal scientific qualification (post-doctoral thesis).

Contact

For further information, please contact Prof. Dr. Jörg Albert [joerg.albert@uni-oldenburg.de].