PhD Student (f/m/d) ImmunoFLASH: Enhancing anti-tumor CAR T immunotherapy with FLASH radiotherapy – 2026/64 Part-time

PhD Student (f/m/d) for the Project ImmunoFLASH: Enhancing Anti-tumor CAR T Immunotherapy with FLASH Radiotherapy

With cutting-edge research in the fields of energy, health and matter, around 1,500 employees from more than 70 nations at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) are committed to mastering the great challenges facing society today.

The application of ultra-high-dose-rate radiotherapy (FLASH RT) promises reduced normal-tissue side effects while maintaining tumor cure rates similar to those of conventional radiotherapy. There is evidence that a combination of FLASH RT and immunotherapy may be synergistic. This interdisciplinary project is a collaboration among three HZDR institutes (Institute of Radiooncology – OncoRay, Institute of Radiation Physics and Institute of Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research). The project aims to evaluate the efficacy of combined proton FLASH radiotherapy and CAR T-cell immunotherapy in vitro and in vivo and to characterize the molecular pathways and biomarkers explaining these effects.

At the Institute of Radiooncology – OncoRay scientists (f/m/d) specializing in medicine, physics, biology and IT work together to crucially improve the treatment of cancer by administering radiation therapy that is biologically-personalized and technically-optimized.

The scientists (f/m/d) at the Institute of Radiation Physics conduct research on states of matter under extreme conditions and in very small dimensions.

At the Institute of Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research scientists (f/m/d) from the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, pharmacy, immunology, medicine and IT develop innovative radiopharmaceuticals and novel tools for functional characterization, improved imaging and personalized treatment of tumors.

Your Tasks

• Formulating scientific objectives and hypotheses within the project
• Preparing the animal study protocols
• Continuous update on the scientific literature in the field of study
• Planning and conducting laboratory in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo experiments
• Data recording and managing according to good scientific practice
• Evaluation and interpretation of the experimental results
• Building a strong collaboration within multidisciplinary scientific groups at HZDR working on this project
• Presenting research at the institutional seminars, national and international conferences
• Preparing research reports and writing papers for publication in peer-reviewed journals

Your Profile

• Completed university studies (Master/Diploma) in the field of Cancer Biology, Immunology or Biomedicine or related field
• Strong expertise in Tumor Biology, Molecular and Cell Biology Techniques
• Experience in working with laboratory animals (mice) is desirable
• Expertise in working with patient-derived models is desirable, but not mandatory
• Personal commitment, high motivation and ability to work in a multidisciplinary environment also as a part of a team
• Fluency in spoken and written English

Our Offer

• A vibrant research community in an open, diverse and international work environment
• Scientific excellence and extensive professional networking opportunities
• A structured PhD program with a comprehensive range of continuing education and networking opportunities – more information about the PhD program at the HZDR can be found here
• Salary and social benefits in accordance with the collective agreement for the public sector (TVöD-Bund) including 30 days of paid holiday leave, company pension scheme (VBL)
• Depending on the personal qualifications, the candidate may be classified in salary group 13 according to TVöD-Bund
• We support a good work-life balance with the possibility of part-time employment, mobile working and flexible working hours
• Numerous company health management offerings
• Employee discounts with well-known providers via the platform Corporate Benefits
• An employer subsidy for the “Deutschland-Ticket Jobticket”

We look forward to receiving your application documents (including cover letter, CV, diplomas/transcripts, etc.), which you can submit via our online-application-system.