Explore and teach at the University of Vienna, where more than 7,500 academics thrive on curiosity in continuous exploration and help us better understand our world. Does this sound like you? Then join our accomplished team!

Your personal sphere of influence:

The "Phytochemistry & Biodiscovery" research group headed by Prof. Dr. Judith M. Rollinger within the Division of Pharmacognosy, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences has a vacancy for a University Assistant praedoc (PhD) aiming towards the identification and characterization of bioactive natural products to be further developed as novel candidates for drug discovery. Our research includes advanced analytical and chromatographic approaches combined with chemoinformatics and biochemometrics for the targeted identification and isolation of bioactive metabolites from complex mixtures. Additionally, we use the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans to assess the phenotypic effects caused by our samples in the search for natural compounds against various pathogens as well as to identify biomolecules that contribute to healthy aging.

The candidate will use analytical and chromatographic techniques combined with in silico methods to isolate and structurally characterize bioactive compounds. She / he will test the natural products in different C. elegans assays for their pharmacological characterization.

Your future tasks:

We expect that the successful candidate will actively engage in research and teaching and provide support in administrative affairs, which means:

• Conducting research projects in the field of natural product research with a focus on phytochemistry.
• Generating extracts and fractions.
• Dereplication and application of chemometrics (e.g. molecular networking).
• Isolation and structural characterization of bioactive metabolites.
• Testing extracts, fractions and isolates in various assays (primarily using C. elegans).
• Data analysis, interpretation and reporting.
• Contributing to collaborative projects.
• Contributing to writing publications and grants.
• Contribution in administration and teaching.

This is part of your personality:

• You have an above average master's degree (or similar degree) in pharmaceutical sciences, chemistry or a similar field.
• You have a profound interest in phytochemistry and natural product drug discovery.
• You are open-minded and eager to learn new technologies.
• You are goal-oriented and motivated to strive for scientific excellence.
• You have experience in analytical and chromatographic techniques (is a must).
• You have basic knowledge in performing bioassays with C. elegans (is a plus).
• You have experience in computational approaches (is a plus).
• You have a very good command of written and spoken Englisch (is a must).
• You have a good command of written and spoken German (is a plus).

What we offer:

The employment duration is 4 years. Initially limited to 1,5 years, the employment relationship is automatically extended to 4 years if the employer does not terminate it within the first 12 months by submitting a non-extension declaration.

Job grading is in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement: §48 VwGr. B1 Grundstufe (praedoc) with relevant work experience determining the assigment to a particular salary grade. The basic salary for 40h/week is € 3.714,80 per month (brutto).

You will be part of a dynamic, diverse and ambitious team in a healthy and fair working atmosphere. All our team members enjoy flexible and familiy-friendly working hours. The lab is easily accessible by public transport. You will be given numerous opportunities to acquire and deepen your skills from a broad repertoire of internal training and coaching opportunities provided via our Vienna Doctoral School PhaNuSpo (Pharmaceutical, nutritional, and sport sciences) - all for free.

It is that easy to apply:

Use our job portal/apply now button to apply for this position. Your application documents should include:

• a letter of intent summarizing your research interests and qualifications.
• a scientific curriculum vitae.
• degree certificates (master's/diploma).
• 2 reference contact details.

If you have questions concerning the scientific content, please contact: Judith M. Rollinger (judith.rollinger@univie.ac.at)

If you have questions concerning the administrative content, please contend: Martin Groiss (martin.groiss@univie.ac.at)