Telomeres are nucleoprotein structures at the ends of linear chromosomes and present an essential feature for genome integrity. The laboratory of Falk Butter uses modern technology and molecular biology techniques to identify and characterize novel telomeric proteins in diverse species. Using a quantitative interactomics screen based on quantitative mass spectrometry with telomeric DNA used as a bait, we identified several new telomeric proteins in the last years. For example, we characterized the telomere length regulators HOT1 (Kappei, Butter et al., EMBO J 2013) and ZBTB48 (Jahn, Rane et al., EMBO Rep 2017) as well as the ALT-specific telomere binding protein ZBTB10 (Bluhm et al., Nucleic Acids Res 2019) in mammals. Furthermore, we conducted a phylointeractomics screen to study putative telomere-associated proteins from fish to mammals (Kappei, Scheibe et al., Nat Commun 2017). In the future, we want to deepen our understanding of the function of our previously reported telomere-binding proteins and are in the process of developing zebrafish lines. Additionally, we also applied our techniques to characterize novel telomeric proteins in other species such as trypanosomes (Reis et al., 2018), S. pombe and C. elegans (Dietz, Almeida et al., BioRxiv 2020).
The Project
We are looking for a Postdoc with prior experience in telomere biology and a special interest in techniques that can be generically applied to characterize telomere-associated proteins in eukaryotic species. We are currently characterizing telomere-binding proteins in cell culture and using zebrafish, C. elegans and S. pombe as model organisms. You will perform molecular biology, biochemistry and cell culture to characterize telomere binding proteins. To characterize novel candidates, we will also employ unbiased quantitative techniques such as RNA-Seq, quantitative proteomics and ChIP-Seq. While support in bioinformatics is available, expertise in molecular biology is required.
Required Qualifications
- PhD in a relevant field
- Fluent in English (spoken and written)
- Prior experience in telomere biology
- Expertise in molecular biology
How to apply
Please see details on the project, information on how to apply, and an online application form at http://www.imb.de/postdocs. IMB is an equal opportunity employer.
The deadline for applications is 28 January 2021. Interviews will take place online. Interview dates will be announced once available.
Application webpage: http://www.imb.de/postdocs
