External Job Announcement Reg.-Nr. 5–2962/25‑D

The Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Faculty of Natural Sciences III, Institute of Computer Science seeks to fill a 3‑year, fixed-term position of a

Ph.D. student / research assistant in RNA bioin­for­matics (m/f/d)

in part-time 75%.

An ideal start date would be July 2025, but the start date is flexible.

The salary will corre­spond to pay group “Entgelt­gruppe 13 TV‑L”, depending on assigned tasks and individual quali­fi­ca­tions.

Project summary: Non-coding RNAs play a variety of important roles in biology, e.g., CRISPR-Cas, metabolite-binding RNAs, regulatory RNAs and catalytic RNAs. With huge and incre­asing amounts of sequence data available, resear­chers have new oppor­tu­nities to discover rare yet fasci­nating non-coding RNAs. Unfort­u­nately, searches in larger datasets lead to many more false positives, which can make RNA disco­veries difficult or impos­sible.

In this Ph.D. position, you will create algorithms for RNA searches that drama­ti­cally reduce false positive rates. Then, you will apply these improved methods to find new non-coding RNAs, which our experi­mental colla­bo­rators will validate and inves­tigate further.

Tasks:

• Develop algorithms and associated software for RNA similarity search.
• Analyze large sequence databases to test and refine these algorithms.
• Apply the software to discover new non-coding RNAs.
• Colla­borate with bioche­mists and biolo­gists for validation of predic­tions.
• Present findings internally and at public confe­rences. Publish academic papers and software.

This position offers the oppor­tunity to complete a doctoral degree.

Requi­re­ments:

• Completed university degree (Master of Science or Diploma) in bioin­for­matics or a related field.
• Profi­ciency in UNIX and a scripting language, e.g. Python, ideally in a research context.
• Strong background in bioin­for­matics and molecular biology.
• Experience with HPC clusters, machine learning, Python and C/C++ is desirable, but not required.
• Motivation to conduct bioin­­­­­for­­­matics-driven biology research and to publish results.
• Excellent written and spoken English. German is desirable.
• Good critical thinking and problem solving skills, attention to detail and ability to learn.
• Ability to colla­borate in a multi-disci­­­plinary team, and improve plans based on feedback

Appli­ca­tions from severely disabled people will be given priority if they have the same suita­bility and ability. Women are strongly encou­raged to apply. Successful appli­cants with a degree that was not obtained at a German university will have to submit a Statement of Compa­ra­bility for Foreign Higher Education Quali­fi­ca­tions from the Central Office for Foreign Education (https://www.kmk.org/zab/central-office-for-foreign-education.html) during the hiring process.

Questions can be sent to Dr. Zasha Weinberg at zasha.weinberg@informatik.uni-halle.de .

Please e‑mail your appli­cation, quoting Reg.-Nr. 5–2962/25‑D by April 21, 2025 to Dr. Zasha Weinberg at
zasha.weinberg@informatik.uni-halle.de . The appli­cation should include the following in PDF format: (1) cover letter explaining your suita­bility for this project and interest in it, (2) Curri­culum vitae (CV), (3) Your Master’s thesis (if complete/nearly complete) or an abstract of it (if still pending), (4) A copy of your transcript of records for university education (should list courses and grades, but does not have to be official or certified), (5) Names and contact infor­mation for two references who can best support your suita­bility for this position. The appli­cation should be in English, but your Master’s thesis (or abstract) and transcripts can be in English or German.

This call for appli­ca­tions is subject to possible budgetary restric­tions.

Appli­cation costs cannot be reimbursed by Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg.

🚀 Join Our Dynamic Team at Ruhr University Bochum! 🚀

Are you a passionate PostDoc with hands-on sequencing experience? We’re hiring a Scientist (m/f/x) in Compu­ta­tional and Laboratory Infection Research!

🔬 Position: Scientist (m/f/x) 📅 Duration: 2 years with possi­bility to extend ⏰ Hours: 39.83 per week 💼 Salary: TV‑L E13

What You’ll Do:

• Conduct research using scRNAseq, spatial transcrip­tomics, HTS, and ONT.
• Colla­borate with compu­ta­tional and lab teams.
• Design experi­ments to inves­tigate pathogen-host inter­ac­tions.
• Supervise junior resear­chers.
• Prepare funding appli­ca­tions.
• Author scien­tific publi­ca­tions.

Your Profile:

• PhD in a relevant field.
• Experience with scRNAseq, spatial transcrip­tomics, HTS, or ONT.
• Strong lab or bioin­for­matics background.
• AI methods in infection research are a plus.
• Excellent English skills.
• Team-oriented and independent.

Why Join Us?

• Challenging tasks with high respon­si­bility.
• Inter­na­tional team coope­ration.
• Family-friendly policies.
• German language courses available.

📅 Apply by: 21/04/2025 📧 Send your appli­cation to: computational-virology@ruhr-uni-bochum.de

Make a diffe­rence in infection research! 🌟