Doktorander/utbildningsplats

Sahlgrenska akademin utlyser doktorandplatser med placering vid institutionen för biomedicin, institutionen för medicin och institutionen för neurovetenskap och fysiologi.
Doktorandplatserna avser två års utbildningsbidrag och två års doktorandanställning, alternativt fyra års doktorandanställning, och beräknas leda fram till doktorsexamen.
För mer information och ansökningsblankett se: http://www.sahlgrenska.gu.se/doktorandportalen/doktor_fran_start_till_mal/soka_doktorandplats/

http://www.sahlgrenska.gu.se/doktorandportalen/Doktor_Fran_start_till_mal/doktorandplatser/


Dendritic cell activation and immunity to Salmonella

Application deadline: 2010-12-08

Description of the research project
Dendritic cells are the cells that start an immune response to infection.For an immune response to start, however, dendritic cells must first become activated.Dendritic cell activation can occur in two ways: 1) by direct recognition of bacteria through toll-like receptors or 2) indirectly by cytokines.These two ways of activation result in dendritic cells with a different functional capacity to start an immune response.Thus, one aim of the project is to understand the signaling differences that drive the differential activation of dendritic cells activated directly by bacteria or indirectly by cytokines.This will be done using quantitative proteomics to identify differentially expressed and/or phosphorylated proteins, followed by protein validation and functional studies.An additional aspect of dendritic cell activation is that distinct types of activation signals encountered during infection act in synergy to alter dendritic cell function.For example, a dendritic cell receiving signals through toll-like receptors together with signals delivered by physical interaction with immune cells such as T cells can alter the outcome of dendritic cell activation.However, the molecular mechanisms governing synergistic effects of activation signals are unexplored and the functional consequences poorly understood.Thus, a second aim is to analyze the molecular changes that occur in dendritic cells activated by toll-like receptors alone or together with signals delivered upon cell-cell contact.This will be explored in functional studies using dendritic cells deficient in defined signaling pathways.Molecular studies that compare differentially expressed and/or phosphorylated proteins in dendritic cells activated by single or dual activation signals will also be addressed using quantitative proteomics.This project provides the exciting opportunity to investigate the mechanisms that govern optimal activation of dendritic cells to fight bacterial infections.

Desired Background
A strong background in immunology is desired.Experience with mouse models, cell culture techniques, molecular biology, proteomics, bioinformatics and/or microbiology is an asset.