08.06.2023

In the context of the 6-year ERC Synergy-funded Sympore project “Plasmodesmata, Symplasmic pores for plant cell-to-cell communication” (SYMPORE), the research group of Wolf B. Frommer (Institute for Molecular Physiology, Heinrich Heine Universität Düsseldorf, Germany), is offering a two-year renewable Postdoctoral position to study composition, structure, dynamics, function and regulation of the enigmatic plant cell-cell connections, called plasmodesmata(PD). The evolution of multicellularity in plants encompassed the development of cell-cell bridges, the PDs, that mediate transport of small molecules, RNAs, and proteins. PDs are highly regulated multimembrane multiprotein pores whose precise composition, structure and functionare not understood.

The SYMPORE team in Wolf B. Frommer´s lab focuses on unravelling PD activities in signaling and transport. For this purpose, the team employs new assay systems to characterise trafficking of cargos through PD and the role of PD components for transport.

In addition to the know-how  of the Frommer group in transport and biosensors, the team benefits from the interdisciplinary and complementary expertise of the three other SymPore collaborating teams, in new proteomic tools (Waltraud Schulze @University Hohenheim, Germany), fluorescence imaging (Rüdiger Simon @Heinrich Heine Universität, Düsseldorf, Germany,) and near atomic level structure determination approaches such as cryo-electron tomography (Wolfgang Baumeister @Max Planck Institute Biochemistry, Martinsried, Germany). This close collaboration provides a unique opportunity to unravel PD composition, structure and function.

Qualification profile

• PhD degree in Biology or a related field 
• High level of motivation, accuracy and reliability, team spirit and hands-on mentality
• Excellent communication skills in English
• Good knowledge of MS Office applications and data analysis software
• Advanced experience with statistics

We offer: The candidate will work in a highly motivated, international environment, embedded in an experienced team of four research groups from three different institutions. Start date is as soon as possible. The position is full-time with salary and benefits commensurate with a public service position in North Rhine-Westphalia state, Germany (TV-L E 13, 100 %). The position will be filled by a temporary contract that is limited to the period which is necessary to gain further scientific expertise (such as the preparation for a subsequent qualification period). The limitation of the contract complies to § 2 Abs. 1 WissZeitVG. In areas where women are underrepresented, female applicants will be preferred in case of equal qualification. Applicants with a disability as described in SGB IX (§ 2 Abs. 2, 3) will be preferred in case of equal qualification.

Please send your application including CV, names and email addresses of three references, and a one-page motivation letter as a single pdf document to .