PhD student - Biomedical Research Laboratory

The position on the project titled «Combination of autophagy enhancers and antioxidants for the treatment of metabolic dysfunction associated steatohepatitis (MASH)» is to be filled in the Biomedical Research Laboratory in Medical Clinic I by December 1, 2024 in the group of Prof. Piiper. Our research group is part of the Medical Clinic I at the University Hospital Frankfurt under the direction of Prof. Dr. Zeuzem as a leading international expert in the field of hepatology and gastroenterology as well as associated oncological diseases. With extensive work already published on chronic hepatitis and improvement of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treatment and diagnosis, the group of Prof. Piiper now aims at better understanding the pathogenesis leading to the development of HCC on patients with fatty liver. Whereas benign liver steatosis is not associated with increased risk of HCC, it regularly progresses to its inflammatory and more severe form, known as MASH, which drives tumorigenesis. Therefore, understanding changes in hepatocyte biology during MASH progression holds great potential value for understanding malignant transformation. Collectively, the proposed project aims to unravel a critical role of post-translational modifications in MASH, while validating a novel treatment for this disease. Working with experimental animal models (mice) LC-MS/MS detection of post translational modifications (PTM) Protein and nucleic acid isolation from cell culture and mouse tissue, qPCR analysis and Western blot analysis Histology and confocal fluorescence microscopy Quantification of imaging data, quality control of data sets Statistical analysis and evaluation