Project (Lukas Cyganek)

Our research groups at the Stem Cell Unit, University Medical Center Göttingen, and at the Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology use patient-specific and CRISPR-engineered induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) for disease modeling and drug screening to develop personalized therapies such novel drugs or gene therapy approaches. The offered position will focus on the establishment and optimization of 2D and 3D iPSC models, incl. neuronal, liver and cancer organoids, for imaging- and omics-based high content screening applications.
We offer an exciting and biomedically relevant research project, a creative and stimulating scientific environment with access to a broad spectrum of high-end technology and opportunities for extensive interdisciplinary collaborations at both institutions at Fraunhofer and the medical center.
We are looking for a highly motivated PhD candidate with substantial background in stem cell biology and biomedicine, experiences in omics-based approaches (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics), general molecular biology, mammalian cell culture and CRISPR/Cas9 technology. The successful candidate is expected to hold a Diploma or a Master’s degree in disciplines or fields related to biology, pharmacology or biochemistry and a strong interest in stem cell research to address interdisciplinary questions in the regenerative medicine.

• Busley AV, Gutiérrez-Gutiérrez Ó, Hammer E, Koitka F, Mirzaiebadizi A, Steinegger M, Pape C, Böhmer L, Schroeder H, Kleinsorge M, Engler M, Cirstea IC, Gremer L, Willbold D, Altmüller J, Marbach F, Hasenfuss G, Zimmermann WH, Ahmadian MR, Wollnik B, Cyganek L. Mutation-induced LZTR1 polymerization provokes cardiac pathology in recessive Noonan syndrome. Cell Rep. 2024. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114448
  
  
• Knauer C, Haltern H, Schoger E, Kügler S, Roos L, Zelarayán LC, Hasenfuss G, Zimmermann WH, Wollnik B, Cyganek L. Preclinical evaluation of CRISPR-based therapies for Noonan syndrome caused by deep-intronic LZTR1 variants. Mol Ther Nucleic Acids. 2024. doi: 10.1016/j.omtn.2024.102123
  
  
• Hanses U, Kleinsorge M, Roos L, Yigit G, Li Y, Barbarics B, El-Battrawy I, Lan H, Tiburcy M, Hindmarsh R, Lenz C, Salinas G, Diecke S, Müller C, Adham I, Altmüller J, Nürnberg P, Paul T, Zimmermann WH, Hasenfuss G, Wollnik B, Cyganek L. Intronic CRISPR Repair in a Preclinical Model of Noonan Syndrome-Associated Cardiomyopathy. Circulation. 2020; 142(11).
  
  
• Kleinsorge M, Cyganek L. Subtype-Directed Differentiation of Human iPSCs into Atrial and Ventricular Cardiomyocytes. STAR Protocols. 2020; 100026.
  
  
• Cyganek L, Tiburcy M, Sekeres K, Gerstenberg K, Bohnenberger H, Lenz C, Henze S, Stauske M, Salinas G, Zimmermann WH, Hasenfuss G, Guan K. Deep phenotyping of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived atrial and ventricular cardiomyocytes. JCI Insight. 2018; 3(12).