PhD in Molecular Parasitology

A PhD student position is available at the University of Bern, Switzerland, to join the research group of Sven Rottenberg (Vetsuisse Faculty and Bern Center for Precision Medicine). Theileria parasites cause devastating cattle diseases that are globally widespread and have a huge economic impact. These parasites possess the unique ability of transforming their target host cells into continually proliferating, cancer-like cells. In this project we aim to provide mechanistic insights into Theileria-induced transformation, with a focus on DNA replication and repair. We propose that targeted interference with host replisome dynamics could serve as a novel therapeutic strategy against Theileria-induced disease. This hypothesis is based on exciting preliminary data showing that Theileria exports proteins into the host nucleus where they interact with the replication fork.