Research Assistant (EG 13 TV-H) - Special field Animal Physiology/Neurobiology

Part-time position with half the working hours of a full-time employee. This is a fixed term-position of three years with the general possibility of extending the contract (position for academic qualification corresponding to § 65 HHG i. V. m. § 2 Abs. 1 Satz 1 WissZeitVG; opportunity for PhD project).

Tasks:

• services in research and teaching of the subject area
• key aspects within teaching will be the preparation and realization of courses
• assistance in the application for and realization of research projects will also be required
• Insect odor transduction is a challenging topic in sensory physiology. In a comparison between the hawkmoth Manduca sexta and the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster we want to examine the roles of Orco, the conserved olfactory receptor coreceptor in insect chemosensory transduction. Electrophysiological/physiological experiments are performed, such as extracellular-recordings of single olfactory sensilla in vivo, patch clamp recordings, pharmacology, calcium imaging, molecular genetics, and FRET-experiments with insect olfactory receptor neurons and with primary cell cultures in vitro. While all experiments with the hawkmoth are performed at the University of Kassel (Prof. Dr. Monika Stengl), some experiments with the fruitfly take place at the MPI of Chemical Ecology in Jena (PD Dr. Dieter Wicher).

Further information about our groups are found at our homepages:

https://www.uni-kassel.de/fb10/en/institutes/biologie/fachgebiete/tierphysiologie/prof-dr-monika-stengl.html

www.ice.mpg.de/ext/index.php

Requirements:

• completed course of academic study (Diploma or Master degree) within a relevant subject area
• good knowledge of statistics
• substantial knowledge/experience in at least one of the following physiological techniques: patch clamp, intracellular recordings, extracellular recordings, tip recordings of sensory sensilla, calcium imaging, FRET, pharmacology
• very good knowledge of the English language required, also proficiency in German

Advantageous are:

• practical experience in electrophysiological techniques with insects, molecular genetics, biochemical techniques, skills in microsurgery with insect neuronal tissues; pharmacology, ion channel studies
• computer skills including word processing programs and image editing
• Internet and media-based presentation skills

For further information please contact Prof. Dr. Monika Stengl Tel.: 0561-804-4564, E-Mail: stengl[at]uni-kassel[dot]de.

Applications in one pdf file should include:

a cover letter including a statement about your motivation to apply and your requirements for the position,

curriculum vitae, copies of your University degrees (Diploma, Bachelor, Master).

The University of Kassel is an equal opportunity employer and aims at a clear increase of the proportion of women in research and teaching. Qualified women are therefore expressly requested to apply. Under the precondition of equal qualification, disabled persons will be preferred. Applications indicating the Position Number, which may be in digital form, should be sent to the President of the University of Kassel, 34109 Kassel, Germany or bewerbungen[at]uni-kassel[dot]de, quoting the applicable reference number.