PhD Project: LYME Neuroborreliosis IN Children: from Understanding Pathogenesis to Precise diag

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Your main task will be to manage the prospective clinical study of LD in children (BRILLIANT study) in order to draw conclusions on patho‑mechanisms of LD and identify new microbiological and immunological markers of Bb infection.

• Management of the BRILLIANT study: overseeing patient recruitment, scheduling follow‑ups, sample processing and storage, extracting data from hospital record, managing study database (REDCap).
• Establishment of Bb cultures from clinical isolates: further protocol optimization by improving qPCR screening procedure and culture conditions. Evaluation of usefulness of culture and qPCR for clinical diagnosis.
• Phenotype the immune response in LD and LNB: analyze preliminary data, design experiments to further investigate relevant immune cell subsets using flow cytometry, bead‑based cytokine/chemokine assay or scRNA‑seq approaches.
• Identify genotypes of Bb clinical isolates: perform WGS on new Bb clinical isolates and identify genotypes and virulence factors associated with LD and LNB clinical subgroups.

Furthermore, your duties as part of the employment will include:

• Writing scientific manuscripts (in English)
• Presentation of results at internal meetings and training events
• Participation in national and international conferences (including presenting your work)
• If applicable, supervising Master's students in Biomedicine and Pharmacy

• Master's degree (MSc) in medicine, biology, immunology, or a related field
• Strong interest in clinical research, experience in clinical research is a plus
• Research interest in immunology, microbiology and/or infectious diseases
• Good understanding of statistics, experience with R is plus
• High motivation, ability to work independent, good written and oral communication skills
• Good knowledge of German and English

• Work on a clinically relevant research project with clear patient benefit
• Learn how to plan, organize, and conduct clinical studies in hospital setting
• Gain solid understanding of epidemiology, immunology and microbiology of pediatric infectious diseases
• Gain experience in modern laboratory techniques, such as spectral flow cytometry, bead‑based assays, scRNA‑seq, microscopy, qPCR, bacterial and mammalian culture

• Dynamic interdisciplinary team of physicians, study managers and basic researchers
• Fully equipped workstation at the Children's Hospital Zurich research complex
• Access to state‑of‑the‑art shared facilities (flow cytometry, microscopy, biobanking) at the new Children's Hospital Zurich research complex
• Direct supervision by a postdoctoral researcher
• Opportunity to participate in weekly group meetings, journal clubs and progress reports
• Opportunities for continuous education (courses, seminars, workshops)

Ismael Dellova de Campos
Koordination Doktoratsprogramm Clinical Science
clinical-science.ch