PhD Position (f/m/d) – Immunometabolism and the Gut-Liver Axis

The Department of Gastroenterology, Metabolic Diseases and Internal Intensive Care Medicine (Med. Department III); DFG Collaborative Research Center 1382 - Gut-Liver Axis is offering the following position

Operational area: The Department of Gastroenterology, Metabolic Diseases and Internal Intensive Care Medicine (Med. Department III); DFG Collaborative Research Center 1382 - Gut-Liver Axis

Working hours: 65% (25,03 hours/week) of the full working hours in the collective agreement (currently 38.5 hours/week)

Duration/Term of employment: The position is limited for 3 years in accordance with the WissZeitVG (German Academic Fixed-Term Contract Act). The successful applicant will be encouraged and supported to achieve a doctoral degree.

Start date: 01.10.2026

Remuneration/Rates: EG 13 (TV-L)

About the project

Patients with advanced chronic liver disease (ACLD) frequently develop life-threatening bacterial infections despite exhibiting profound systemic inflammation. Understanding why immune cells progressively lose their host defence function during disease progression remains one of the major unanswered questions in hepatology. We are seeking a highly motivated PhD candidate to join a newly established research programme investigating human immunometabolism within the DFG-funded Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) 1382 Gut–Liver Axis. The project combines clinical research with mechanistic immunology to understand how immunometabolic programmes regulate immune cell function during progression from compensated cirrhosis to acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF). Using unique longitudinal patient cohorts, we aim to identify the metabolic pathways driving immune dysfunction and determine whether these pathways can be therapeutically restored. Ultimately, this work seeks to establish immunometabolism as a novel therapeutic target in advanced liver disease.

We offer

a fully funded three-year PhD position within the prestigious DFG Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) 1382 – Gut-Liver Axis.

a highly translational research project addressing clinically relevant questions in human immunometabolism

access to unique, well-characterised patient cohorts and longitudinal clinical samples from patients with advanced liver disease

close supervision by experienced basic and clinician scientists with an excellent publication record and strong international collaborations

training in cutting-edge technologies and access to state-of-the-art core facilities

close interaction with clinicians, immunologists, microbiologists, metabolomics specialists and computational biologists within the CRC1382

structured doctoral training through the Biomedical Graduate School (BMGS), including transferable skills courses and career development programmes

opportunities to present your work at international conferences and build an international scientific network

an open, collaborative and supportive research environment and salary according to the German public service pay scale (TV-L), including social security and pension benefits

Why join us?

This project offers the opportunity to work at the interface of basic immunology, metabolism and clinical medicine, using human patient samples to answer fundamental questions with direct clinical relevance. You will become part of an interdisciplinary consortium investigating the gut–liver axis and will be encouraged to develop your own scientific ideas, contribute to high-impact publications and grow as an independent scientist.

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