PhD student position in the Laboratory of Zebrafish Developmental Genomics

Laboratory of Zebrafish Developmental Genomics https://shorturl.at/bwzD1 at the International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IIMCB), Warsaw, headed by Cecila L. Winata, PhD DSc. is looking for a PhD student.

You will join the project entitled “Elucidating the contribution of non-coding genomic elements to heart development and disease” carried out as the OPUS grant (UMO 2022/47/B/NZ2/02926) of the National Science Centre, Poland.

The project aims to elucidate the contribution of the noncoding regulatory elements to heart development. We hypothesize that mutations in these regulatory elements could affect heart development as much as mutations in protein coding genes. To test this hypothesis, we will first profile the open chromatin landscape of the developing zebrafish heart at the single cell level and identify putative enhancers specific to various cardiac cell types. We will then validate the activity of selected enhancers in vivo through enhancer activity assays and CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knockout. 

As a PhD student you will be responsible for performing experiments, analyzing data, collaborating with other team members, preforming literature search, participating in lab meetings, participating in national and international conferences as well as writing thesis and publications. 

The admissions process is conducted through the Doctoral School website system. The PhD student can apply to this specific project carried out as part of the Warsaw-4-PhD doctoral school via website https://shorturl.at/cJKQY (the application system will be activated from 21^st December, 2023; deadline for sending application is 4^th January, 2024). For more information, please follow the link https://shorturl.at/mvxOR

Candidates will be selected according to the procedure complying the rules for granting scholarships for young scientists in research projects funded by the National Science Centre (NCN Council Resolution No. 25/2019 dated March 14, 2019 r.), recruitment procedure for the Warsaw-4-PhD and the procedure complying with the rules of the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers as a part of HR Excellence in Research strategy https://bit.ly/3U0dydP

Requirements for the candidate:

1. Master's degree in biology, biochemistry or related field
2. Good knowledge of the principles of cell and molecular biology, genetics, and/or developmental biology
3. Basic hands-on laboratory work experience in one of the fields: molecular biology, genomics, epigenetics, or genetic engineering.
4. Prior experience or knowledge in next generation sequencing, cell sorting, bioinformatics, and/or working with animal models will be an advantage.
5. Written and spoken fluency in English
6. Willingness to learn and take new challenges, ability to work independently, analytical thinking
7. Good interpersonal skills and a collaborative attitude

We offer:

1. Full-time PhD scholarship 4 years (8 semesters) in amount:
2. a) before the mid-term evaluation 4500 pln net/month;
3. b) after mid-term evaluation 5000 pln net/month
4. Position with 100% focus on research (no teaching obligations)
5. Benefits including reduced-rate for an individual private medical care package and membership in MultiSport programme
6. Full technical, administrative and organizational support from professional English-speaking personnel
7. Participation in courses, scientific training, support from peers, and academic mentoring

Deadline for applications is 04^th January, 2024. The summer semester at the Doctoral School shall begin on 19^th February, 2024.

How to apply:

• Apply via website https://shorturl.at/cJKQY (the application system will be activated from 21^st December, 2023; deadline for sending application is 4^th January, 2024). If you have any enquiries about the recruitment process or the project, please send your request to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• Please include the following statement in your email: “I hereby agree to the processing of my personal data, included in the application documents by the International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw, 4 Księcia Trojdena Street, 02-109 Warsaw, for the purpose of carrying out the current recruitment process.” Your personal data will be processed for the purpose of the recruitment procedure by the International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw. Full information is available under the link https://bit.ly/3UFWpY

We would like to inform that the competition for the PhD Student position has been resolved, the selected candidate is Suryan Aman