PhD Position - Therapeutic Reprogramming in Human Alveolar Budding Organoids (Biberach, Germany, Baden-Württemberg)

The Position

Are you seeking an exciting scientific challenge within a globally successful, multiple “Global Top Employer” award‑winning company? Do you want to apply and expand your academic training in a cutting‑edge industrial research environment?

Apply now for PhD thesis in Immunology & Respiratory Discovery Research!

Join the Tech Innovation Lab at Boehringer Ingelheim in Biberach and address a central question in respiratory diseases: Can an established pathological alveolar niche be therapeutically reversed? Using primary human alveolar budding organoids, you will investigate whether aberrant epithelial states can resolve, whether retained alveolar type 2 cells can resume productive differentiation, and which regulatory mechanisms determine therapeutic reversibility. The project combines advanced human cell models, mechanistic disease biology and pharmacological intervention in a multidisciplinary research environment closely connected to early drug discovery.

Tasks & responsibilities

Establish therapeutic models of pulmonary fibrosis using primary human alveolar budding organoids and complementary IPF-relevant cytokine cocktails.

Design delayed-treatment and stimulus-withdrawal studies to distinguish prevention, biomarker suppression and genuine epithelial restoration.

Determine whether epithelial recovery results from redifferentiation of KRT17-positive cells or re-engagement of retained AT2 cells.

Apply molecular profiling, immunostaining, quantitative imaging and flow cytometry to assess epithelial identity, differentiation and tissue organization.

Investigate regulatory pathways controlling pathological-state maintenance and resolution using inhibition, activation and rescue experiments.

Analyze and present your data and contribute to scientific publications and therapeutic projects in pulmonary fibrosis.

Requirements

Master’s degree in cell biology, molecular biology, biochemistry, pharmacology, biomedical sciences or a related discipline, qualifying you for PhD enrolment at a competitive University

Hands-on experience with mammalian cell culture. Experience with primary human cells, organoids or complex co-culture models is highly desirable.

Experience with relevant methods such as immunofluorescence microscopy, quantitative imaging, flow cytometry, gene-expression analysis or protein assays.

Strong interest in disease biology, regenerative medicine, pulmonary fibrosis and mechanistic pharmacology.

Structured, creative and collaborative approach to experimental problem-solving.

Excellent written and spoken English. German is beneficial but not required.

Your application (please submit in Englisch)

CV, including academic grades and laboratory experience,

Motivation letter,

Degree certificates and university transcripts; and contact details for references or recommendation letters.

In your motivation letter, please briefly describe one technically or scientifically challenging experiment and how you approached it.

What we can offer you

During your PhD program, you can expect a fair compensation (classified at pay grad E12/T)

For every full month you work with us, you will receive 2.5 paid days off

A PhD position involves 18.75 hours per week (50% employment)

A mechanistic PhD project addressing epithelial regeneration and therapeutic reversibility in pulmonary fibrosis.

Access to an established primary human organoid platform and advanced imaging, flow-cytometry and molecular-profiling technologies.

Scientific supervision in an interdisciplinary industry research environment, together with an academic university partner.

Opportunities to present and publish your research and contribute to early drug discovery.

The duration of the PhD thesis is 3 years. The earliest start date is currently in January 2027. Please enter the desired period in your application.

Ready to contact us?

Please contact our HR Direct Team, Tel: +49 (0) 6132 77-3330.

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