Department of Molecular Biosciences
- Application deadline 07.05.2025
- Salary Category B1 without PhD
- Salary per Year (Full Time) € 52,007.20
- Employment Start As soon as possible
- Hours per week 30 h/w
- Duration of Contract Temporary employment
- Temporary Employment 1 Year with option of extension
Your Responsibilities
MetAGE PhD Position: Metabolic regulation of spermidine and hypusination
- Conducting and writing a dissertation at the University of Graz under the supervision of Univ. Prof. Frank Madeo
- Perform experiments and data analyses
- Plan and evaluate scientific experiments independently
- Present and discuss data at regular internal and external meetings as well as (inter)national conferences
- Publication in internationally renowned peer-reviewed journals
- Co-supervision of students working on Bachelor’s or Master’s level
- Opportunity to perform part of the project in a host laboratory abroad
Your Profile
- Completed diploma or master’s degree in the area of life sciences or natural sciences
- Eligible as a graduate student at the University of Graz, Austria
- Theoretical and practical knowledge in biochemistry, molecular and cell biology
- Ideally, practical knowledge of working with mouse models
- High level of commitment, personal initiative, and self-motivation for scientific work
- Excellent knowledge of written and spoken English
- High degree of personal responsibility and ability to cooperate
- Excellent social skills and ability to work in a team
The following documents are required for a complete application:
- Motivation letter, including a ranking if multiple PhD projects are of interest
- Academic CV including abstract of your Master Thesis
- Proof of completion of the required degree as stated in the job posting
- Two recommendation letters, which must be sent directly by the refeeres to [email protected] until the application deadline
Hearing 23.Juni 2025 in Graz
Project description Metabolic regulation of spermidine and hypusination
Background:
The polyamine spermidine is a ubiquitous molecule linked to multiple health benefits. It exists in free and bound (e.g., to DNA/RNA) forms, but both the subcellular and intercellular distribution is poorly understood. Free spermidine partly acts via the hypusination of eIF5A, but the relationship between hypusinated eIF5A and different metabolic pathays has not been addressed. Overall, it remains unclear whether aging or nutritional cues affect hyusination differently.
Hypothesis and Objectives:
We hypothesize that metabolic pathways control eIF5A hypusination and other downstream effects. Our objectives are to [1] explore differences in spermidine within different metabolic scenarios by employing a newly developed reporter system in Drosophila [2] determine subcellular distribution of polyamines under different nutritional cues and [3] establish a link between changes in subcellular pools and eIF5A hypusination. Mouse models will also be investigated.
Methodology:
We will use selective permeabilization and cell fractionation procedures to assess different pools of metabolites/polyamines (e.g., cytosol, lysosomes) during aging and investigate physiological, pharmacological and genetic perturbations of hypusination. To achieve the latter, we plan to develop novel ELISA- and MS-based methods to detect this rare posttranslational modification, to overcome laborious immunoblot-based methods.
References:
1. Madeo, F., Eisenberg, T., Pietrocola, F. & Kroemer, G. Spermidine in health and disease. Science 359, eaan2788 (2018).
2. Eisenberg, T. et al. Cardioprotection and lifespan extension by the natural polyamine spermidine. Nat Med 22, 1428–1438 (2016).
3. Hofer, S. et al. Spermidine is essential for fasting-mediated autophagy and longevity. Nat Cell Biol accepted (2024)gevity. Nat Cell Biol accepted (2024)
We offer an annual gross salary of € 52,007.20 for a fulltime position.
About us
At the University of Graz, 4700 employees work together on future questions and solutions for the world of tomorrow. Our students and researchers take on the major challenges of society and share their knowledge. We work for tomorrow. Be part of it!
Contact
Project Manager | MetAGE
Lukas Pein, BSc MSc I [email protected]
Institute Website
The University of Graz strives to increase the proportion of women in particular in management and faculty positions and therefore encourages qualified women to apply. In the event of underrepresentation, women with equal qualifications are generally given priority for admission. We welcome applications from persons with disabilities who meet the requirements of the advertised position.
Please note that in order to comply with the applicable data protection regulations, we can only accept applications via our web-based applicant tool for this vacant position.
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