Student Assistant (max. 37 hours/month; Minijob) - Translational Oncology/Immunotherapy/Genetic Engineering

For our Junior Research Group Pediatric Immuno-Oncology (led by Dr. Dr. Franziska Blaeschke) we are seeking, starting at the earliest date possible, a

Our group uses advanced genetic engineering approaches and high-throughput CRISPR screens to improve CAR- and TCR-based immunotherapies. Although CAR T-cell therapy has achieved remarkable success in pediatric leukemia, it remains largely ineffective against most solid tumors. We aim to understand the factors underlying this difference in efficacy and to develop more effective CAR- and TCR-based therapies to treat pediatric malignancies.

The student assistant will support several of our laboratory research projects. Their work will focus primarily on cell culture, viral vector production (up to safety level S2), and molecular cloning. They will also assist with large-scale CRISPR screens, including technologies such as viral transduction, functional CAR T cell assays, cell sorting, library generation for next-generation sequencing, etc.

Your Tasks

• Virus production (e.g., lentivirus, retrovirus, AAV)
• Molecular cloning, maxipreps, and minipreps
• Routine tissue culture (thawing, expanding, counting, and freezing cell lines)
• Isolation and cultivation of primary human T cells
• Assisting in the establishment of new experimental protocols and the optimization of novel technologies
• Supporting large-scale CRISPR screens, including CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing, viral transduction, AAV-based gene delivery, and functional assays (e.g., cytokine release, proliferation, and cytotoxicity)
• Assisting with the maintenance of the laboratory infrastructure (e.g., inventory management and general laboratory organization)
• Collaborating with postdoctoral researchers, PhD students, and technical staff

Your Profile

• Enrollment in a bachelor’s or master’s degree program for the entire duration of the position