PhD – Student in Biophysics/Physical Chemistry/Biological Chemistry – Austria

The position is part of the Doctoral Network (DN) “WATER”, which aims to train 16 PhD students to unravel the multiple roles of interfacial water in biological membranes. The network will be funded under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA). The successful applicant will conduct her/his doctoral studies and research at the Institute of Biophysics (Division of Molecular and Membrane Biophysics), Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria. You will join the Membrane Transport Group (Head: Peter Pohl), which focuses on spontaneous and facilitated transport of water, protons, and other small molecules, as well as on membrane protein translocation through reconstituted translocation channels. The lab primarily employs electrophysiology, fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, confocal microscopy, and fluorescence lifetime imaging.

Duties

The successful applicant will investigate the interplay between solute and solvent transport through membrane transporters, with a particular focus on sodium-glucose cotransporters. The project involves:

• Flux measurements across reconstituted bilayers containing multiple copies of purified cotransporters
• Stopped-flow experiments
• Colorimetric and fluorometric assays
• Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy
• Micropipette aspiration
• Patch-clamp recordings from giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs)

The PhD student will undertake two secondments (2 months each):

• Lausanne: Second harmonic imaging
• Prague: Spectroscopic methods to investigate probe mobility inside a transporter

Requirements

• Applicants must not already hold a doctoral degree
• Applicants must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Austria for more than 12 months during the 3 years immediately prior to recruitment (short stays, e.g., holidays, are not counted)
• Strong academic record with a Master’s degree (or near completion) in Physics, Chemistry, Biophysics, Biochemistry, or a closely related field
• Fluency in English is essential

Desirable Qualifications

• Experience with light microscopy and spectroscopic techniques, e.g., fluorescence microscopy, fluorescence correlation spectroscopy
• Experience in electrophysiology
• Participation in international conferences or publications in fields such as optics, surface chemistry, biophysics
• Skills in preparing and handling model membranes (planar lipid bilayers, GUVs)
• Experience with protein overexpression, purification, and membrane reconstitution
• Familiarity with programming languages for data acquisition and analysis

Relevant experience should be supported by publications, certificates, thesis work, or equivalent documentation. Skills should be acknowledged in reference letters and demonstrated during the interview, where applicants will present:

• Their Master’s thesis
• A scientific paper from an unrelated field (chosen by the interviewers)

Benefits

• Full-time position (40 hours/week) for three years
• Gross salary: approx. €50,000 per year
• Monthly mobility allowance: €600
• Estimated net salary: approx. €2,800/month, paid in 14 installments per year (including holiday and Christmas bonuses)

Start date: 1 September 2025

Organization/Company – Johannes Kepler University

Research field – Physics » Biophysics

Research profile – First Stage Researcher (R1)

Country – Austria

Application Deadline – 20 Jun 2025 – 00:00 (Europe/Vienna)

More information: EURAXESS.