PhD/Predoc (m/f/d) Department of Dermatology

PhD/Predoc (m/f/d)

in the Experimental Dermato-Oncology laboratory of the Department of Dermatology at the University Hospital Dresden (Franklin group)

The position is available as soon as possible on a part-time basis (26 hours per week, 65%) and is limited to 36 months. Remuneration is based on the collective agreement for the public service of the German federal states (TV-L) and may be classified up to pay grade E13, depending on the applicant’s qualifications.

The Skin Cancer Center at the Department of Dermatology is part of the University Cancer Center (UCC) and the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Dresden and provides comprehensive interdisciplinary care for patients with malignant skin tumors. Alongside patient care, clinical and translational research is a major focus of our work. Our translational research laboratory, “Experimental Dermato-Oncology,” investigates the immune mechanisms underlying skin cancer progression and therapy response, with the aim of identifying novel biomarkers and therapeutic strategies. The laboratory is closely connected to clinical and scientific partners at University Hospital Dresden, including Immunology and Pathology, and collaborates with national and international research partners, including through the German Consortium for Translational Cancer Research (DKTK) and the NCT.

In this PhD project, we aim to uncover immune mechanisms that shape melanoma progression, systemic anti-tumor immunity and clinical outcome. Using well-characterized patient-derived tissue and blood samples, we will investigate how the immune microenvironment and systemic immune responses differ between patients with distinct clinical courses. The project will integrate spatial and quantitative tissue analysis with immunological and molecular approaches, linking experimental findings to detailed clinical data and long-term patient outcomes. Modern technologies including spatial biology, digital pathology and immune profiling will be complemented by functional experimental approaches to investigate biologically relevant findings in greater depth. By studying patients across different clinical and therapeutic settings, we aim to identify immune features associated with melanoma progression and outcome and to better understand how local and systemic immune responses contribute to disease control. The specific biological questions and methodological focus will evolve throughout the project based on emerging findings, providing opportunities to develop and pursue novel mechanistic hypotheses.

Your responsibilities:

• Independently plan, perform, document, and analyze experiments within your PhD project.
• Work with patient-derived FFPE tissue from primary melanomas, sentinel lymph nodes, and lymph node metastases.
• Establish and perform multiplex immunofluorescence assays to characterize selected immune cell populations and their activation states.
• Use digital pathology and image analysis to quantitatively and spatially characterize the immune microenvironment, including interactions between immune cells and tumor cells.
• Integrate experimental findings with clinical data and perform statistical analyses to identify immune signatures associated with metastatic progression, recurrence, treatment response, and patient outcome.
• Contribute to the integration and interpretation of multi-omics data to identify candidate immune mechanisms and pathways for further investigation.
• Characterize peripheral immune cell populations from patient blood using multiparameter flow cytometry.
• Establish and perform functional immune assays, including immune-cell activation assays and cell culture/co-culture models, to investigate selected immune mechanisms.
• Functionally and mechanistically validate promising candidate cell populations, molecules, and signaling pathways using appropriate cell and molecular biology approaches, which may include RNA, DNA, and protein analyses, sequencing, and proliferation or apoptosis assays.
• Present and discuss your findings within interdisciplinary research teams and at national and international scientific conferences.
• Prepare scientific publications and contribute to research reports and grant proposals.

Your profile:

• A Master’s degree or equivalent in biology, biomedicine, molecular medicine, immunology, biotechnology, or a related life-science discipline.
• Strong interest in tumor immunology, oncology, and translational cancer research.
• Hands-on experience with experimental laboratory work; previous experience with cell biology, molecular biology, immunological techniques, or tissue-based methods is highly desirable.
• Interest in working with patient-derived biological samples and in linking experimental findings to clinically relevant research questions.
• Strong interest in quantitative, image-based, and spatial analysis approaches as well as in the integration of multi-omics data.
• Experience with statistical data analysis and/or R, Python, or comparable software is advantageous but not required.
• Enthusiasm for learning and establishing new experimental and computational methods and for developing scientific questions independently within the scope of the PhD project.
• A careful, structured, and reliable working style, with the ability to work both independently and collaboratively in an interdisciplinary research environment.
• Very good written and spoken English; knowledge of German is advantageous but not required.

We offer:

• A clinically relevant and mechanistically oriented PhD project in melanoma immunology with the potential to identify novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets.
• Access to well-characterized melanoma cohorts and patient-derived tissue and blood samples.
• Training in a broad range of state-of-the-art experimental and quantitative methods, spanning spatial biology and digital pathology to functional immunology.
• A highly interdisciplinary research environment with close collaboration between clinical melanoma research, immunology, and pathology at University Hospital Dresden, TU Dresden, and NCT Dresden.
• The opportunity to contribute your own scientific ideas, develop increasing scientific independence, and build your own research profile.
• Structured and personalized scientific supervision within a collaborative research environment.
• Salary: Based on the TV-L collective bargaining agreement in pay grade E13, plus an annual bonus, provided you meet the personal requirements

• Vacation: 30 days of paid vacation
• Professional Development: Extensive internal and external training and development opportunities to continuously strengthen your skills
• Company Culture: We value transparency, team spirit, and shared success. Celebrate with us at company gatherings or sporting events like the Rewe Team Challenge
• Mobility: A subsidy for a job ticket to make your commute eco-friendly and convenient
• Health: We promote your well-being with modern fitness and exercise programs at our health center, mental health programs, and a comprehensive workplace health management program
• Shopping benefits: Take advantage of employee discounts at our clinic pharmacy, exclusive corporate benefits, and other shopping portals
• Work-life balance: Our Family Office supports you with questions regarding daycare spots, vacation programs, and caring for family members. We also offer flexible work arrangements

For further information, please contact Prof. Dr. med. Cindy Franklin (cindy.franklin@ukdd.de).

Your contact in the HR Directorate

Elena Koch

Tel: 0351-458- 2594