We are looking for a PhD for a fully-funded (DFG)
basic/translational science project on the molecular and
cellular mechanisms of the microenvironment in chronic
lymphocytic leukemia. This project is embedded into the
collaborative research center (CRC) 1530 – "Elucidation and targeting of pathogenic mechanisms in B cell malignancies" and will be co-mentored by Dr. Laura Beckmann and Prof. Michael Hallek. As a part of this interdisciplinary research consortium, we will utilize primary patient CLL samples as well as pre-clinical in vitro and murine in vivo models to interfere with the lymphoma supportive microenvironmental niche by perturbing
microenvironmental signaling within the microenvironment and CLL cells. This PhD project focuses on investigating the role of the tumor microenvironment in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The research
combines molecular and cellular biology approaches with in vivo murine models, novel spatial technologies, and clinical correlatives to elucidate the mechanisms governing CLL progression. The project is jointly supervised by two principal investigators with complementary expertise in basic and translational lymphoma research. The laboratory is based at the CECAD Research Center on the Medical
Campus of the University of Cologne, providing a collaborative and interdisciplinary research environment with access to state-of-the-art technologies.
