Postdoc for the study of age-dependent colorectal cancer metastasis
100%

Department for BioMedical Research (DBMR), UVCM, Gastroenterology
Start of employment: 01.03.2026 or as soon as possible.

The Zeissig group at the Division of Gastroenterology and Mucosal Immunology at the Department for BioMedical Research at the University of Bern is looking for a postdoctoral fellow.

Our group is interested in the mechanisms which contribute to the pathogenesis of chronic intestinal inflammation and colorectal cancer (CRC). A particular focus of our work are host-microbial interactions and the crosstalk between metabolism and immunity in inflammation and cancer. In recent work, we have identified pathways of host-microbial interactions which contribute to CRC development and progression through activation of tumor-promoting pathways in the intestinal epithelium (Peuker et al., Nat. Med. 2016).

Furthermore, we could show that microbial sensing by tumor-infiltrating myeloid cells promotes CRC progression through regulation of crosstalk between epithelial cells and cytotoxic CD8+ T cells (Peuker et al., Immunity 2022). My group has recently moved to Bern University on Oct 1st 2025, and maintains an additional active laboratory in Greifswald, Germany.

Description of the project and position
Early-onset CRC (EOCRC), defined as diagnosis of CRC before the age of 50 years, has shown a substantial rise in incidence in the past decades and is often diagnosed at advanced stages of lymph node and distant metastasis. In the proposed project, we therefore investigate how host age influences CRC metastasis through regulation of anti-cancer immunity and cancer metabolism. Studies will be primarily performed in CRC mouse models, with confirmatory work in human CRC tissue.

We will focus on mechanistic investigations using RNA sequencing and metabolomics, in conjunction with functional interference with immunologic and metabolic pathways in mice and ex vivo organoid cultures. To investigate host-microbial interactions in age-dependent regulation of CRC metastasis, studies will be partially conducted using gnotobiotic mice at the Bern Clean Mouse Facility (CMF). The long-term goal of this project is to identify druggable pathways which regulate CRC progression. The position is advertised for our laboratory at the University of Bern, located at the Department of BioMedical Research (DBMR) and work will be exclusively performed in Bern.
Requirements
Candidates hold a PhD in Immunology, Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Biotechnology, Animal Science, or any related fields in biological sciences. Candidates ideally have expertise in cell culture and mouse studies. As the work involves the analysis of spatial transcriptomic data, basic expertise in computational biology, with experience in R and/or Python will be beneficial. Excellent command of English language (oral and written) is a requirement.
We offer
Studies will be conducted in the Department of BioMedical Research (DBMR), in the research laboratories of the Gastroenterology/Mucosal Immunology division. We offer a highly interdisciplinary research environment dedicated to the study of mucosal immunology, microbiota, inflammation, and cancer development, involving human work, animal studies, and computational biology.
Payment is based on the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)'s funding regulations for postdoctoral fellows.
How to apply?
Prof. Dr. med. Sebastian Zeissig, Chair of Gastroenterology, and PD Dr. Stephanie Ganal-Vonarburg, Research Group Leader in Gastroenterology and Mucosal Immunology, Department for BioMedical Research and Department of Visceral Surgery and Medicine, stephanie.ganal@unibe.ch
Please send your application in single PDF file named “application_firstname.lastname” to the contact person (stephanie.ganal@unibe.ch) indicating “Postdoc position colorectal cancer” in the email subject.

The file should include
1. cover letter
2. curriculum vitae (it must have the date format mm/yyyy),
3. copies of academic degrees and transcripts of records,
4. contact information of 1-2 previous advisors for reference,
5. list of publications (do not include your publications in the pdf file).
 
The application deadline is 25.01.2026


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