Jobs in Structural Biology and Related Fields


Group Leader: New approaches in electron microscopy


EMBL Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Application deadline: 13 Aug 2020


EMBL Hamburg are seeking to recruit highly motivated group leaders who wish to pioneer new approaches in electron microscopy at EMBL.

EMBL Hamburg has pioneered the use of synchrotron radiation in the Life Sciences and has provided service facilities for the use of X-rays in Structural Biology for decades on the DESY campus, Hamburg, Germany. At present, the EMBL Integrated Facility for Structural Biology provides access to structure determination pipelines employing crystallography and/or small-angle X-ray scattering to a large international user community. EMBL and other research organisations in Hamburg are now expanding and diversifying this portfolio towards imaging of biological samples at multiple scales, as our contribution toward a future Science City Hamburg-Bahrenfeld. This includes the establishment of a new EM user facility on DESY campus.

EMBL’s future scientific directions, Molecules to Ecosystems, include a vision to advance our understanding of ecosystems at the molecular level, applying expertise in molecular biology to study life in its natural context. New research areas will focus on applying experimental, computational and theoretical approaches to study at multiple levels (molecules, cells, tissues and populations) how organisms interact with each other and respond to environmental change.

The future group leader will be embedded in the multidisciplinary and collaborative environment of EMBL, which provides many opportunities for interaction with other research groups. In particular, there are opportunities for synergistic projects with applications in X-ray based structural biology and imaging, integrative structural modelling approaches, and advanced sample preparation and characterisation methods.

Your role

  • Establish an innovative research program towards new approaches in electron microscopy, encompassing experimental and/or computational developments. These could cover a broad range of approaches, addressing structures of biological molecules, ranging from reconstituted assemblies to in situ approaches in cellular systems and at multiple scales.
  • Develop and contribute to projects in structure-based research on infection biology of the EMBL Hamburg Unit and CSSB.
  • Contribute to the planning and operation to future EM facilities on the Hamburg-Bahrenfeld research campus.

You have

  • A PhD in a relevant research area.
  • Expertise in challenging molecular and/or cellular cryo-electron microscopy applications.
  • Track record and interest in technical developments, which could range from experimental approaches (sample preparation, characterization, data acquisition) to computational approaches (data processing and interpretation, modeling, automation).
  • Strong motivation to work in a highly collaborative and multidisciplinary environment of EMBL.
  • A concise research plan with clearly outlined original and ambitious research goals.

Applications close on 13 August 2020, with interviews to be held 28 - 30 September 2020.

More information, including how to apply for this role, can be found on the EMBL website.

Hamburg, Germany

Group Leader: New approaches in electron microscopy