Job ID: 122222

PhD position: Consequences of aircraft-related pollution on brain pathophysiology

Position: Ph.D. Student

Deadline: 13 April 2025

Employment Start Date: 1 July 2025

Contract Length: 3 years

City: Mainz

Country: Germany

Institution: Mainz University Medical Center

Department: Institute of Anatomy

Description:

We are seeking a highly motivated PhD student to join us at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany, to study the consequences of aircraft-related pollution on brain structure and function in mouse models.

Environmental pollution is one of the leading risk factors for a wide range of diseases, including cardiovascular diseases and neuropsychiatric disorders. A major contributor to environmental pollution is air travel, which generates high emissions of particulate matter as well as substantial noise pollution, both of which have been shown to negatively impact human health and well-being. To date, however, the mechanisms by which aircraft emissions and noise pollution exert their harmful effects remain incompletely understood, limiting our ability to prevent or reverse detrimental health consequences.

The MARKOPOLO (Markers of Pollution) consortium, funded by the EU ‘Horizon Europe’ program and coordinated by the Department of Cardiology at the Mainz University Medical Center, seeks to bring researchers from across Europe together to investigate the effects of aircraft emissions and noise pollution on the heart-brain axis. In association with this consortium, a Ph.D. position is available at the Mainz University Medical Center to study how exposure to particulate matter and aircraft-related noise alters brain function in mouse models. In this project, directed by Prof. Michael Schmeisser and Prof. Dilja Krueger-Burg of the Institute of Anatomy, a combination of neuroanatomical, biochemical, and mouse genetic and behavioral techniques will be used to investigate the mechanisms underlying aircraft pollution-induced neuroinflammatory processes, synaptic and circuit alterations, and psychiatrically relevant behaviors.

To this end, we are looking for a new team member with a background in neuroscience or a related biological or biomedical field and a strong interest in investigating the pathophysiology of brain disorders and the heart-brain axis. We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in a dynamic and international research environment with many research groups. Our research facilities include state-of-the-art laboratories supported by several core facilities.

The successful candidate will be affiliated with the Focus Program Translational Neurosciences (FTN) of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (https://www.blogs.uni-mainz.de/ftn-eng/), a member of the Rhein-Main Neuroscience Network (http://www.rmn2.de/). The doctoral degree will be granted through the Mainz Research School of Translational Biomedicine (https://www.unimedizin-mainz.de/transmed/home.html).

Applications including a letter of motivation, CV, university transcripts, and contact information for two letters of recommendation, should be sent to Prof. Michael Schmeisser (mschmeisser@uni-mainz.de) and Prof. Dilja Krueger-Burg (dkruegerburg@uni-mainz.de) by April 13, 2025.