PhD in the field of Genetically Engineered Silks for Healthcare

Are you someone with a passion for science and who enjoys working across scientific interfaces? Are you ambitious and self-motivated and do you possess the skills to develop new ideas? Do you utilise molecular biology in vivo to functionalise biomaterials? Then this PhD is an ideal opportunity for you. Medical materials must meet stringent requirements including biocompatibility, biodegradability and appropriate mechanical properties. Few materials meet all these requirements. However, the biopolymer silk is emerging as a strong contender. Re-programming silk with state-of-the-art tools now makes it feasible to create novel silk materials for healthcare.

What you will do

•    Contribution to sericulture 
•    In vivo manufacture of silk fibroin 
•    Optimising the reprogramming pipeline
•    Characterization of expressed silk fibroins (e.g. SDS-PAGE) 
•    Genetics tools to reprogramme silk (e.g. Crispr/Cas, cloning, microinjections, PCR etc)

What you bring to the table

•    Master of Science (M.Sc.) in molecular biology, biochemistry, zoology, or a related discipline
•    Strong background in genetics, molecular biology and protein science
•    Experience in the areas of genetics and molecular biology 

What you can expect

By joining this PhD programme, you will be part of a world-class research programme in the fields of biopolymers and materials sciences for healthcare. As a PhD candidate, you will be employed at the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME in Gießen, which is an established research centre encompassing the fields of bioresources and insect biotechnology. The lab is an interdisciplinary group developing medical silks with spokes at Fraunhofer IME and the University of Strathclyde (UK) and its hub at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena. The ultimate mission of this PhD is to design silk-based wound healing substrates. To further expand our team at Fraunhofer, we are - in cooperation with our university partners - recruiting a PhD candidate starting February 1st, 2026 or earlier (fixed-term employment). The work is supervised by Dr. Daniel Brady and Prof. Philipp Seib. 

The weekly working time is 39 hours. The position is initially offered for two years, with the possibility of a one-year extension following a successful interim evaluation. The full-time position with half-time pay offers 50% of the working time for your doctorate and 50% for the collaboration in the research project as a research assistant. This position is also available on a part-time basis. 

First interviews will take place on November 7, 2025.

We value and promote the diversity of our employees' skills and therefore welcome all applications - regardless of age, gender, nationality, ethnic and social origin, religion, ideology, disability, sexual orientation and identity. Severely disabled persons are given preference in the event of equal suitability. Appointment, remuneration and social security benefits based on the public-sector collective wage agreement (TVöD). 

Interested? Apply online now. We look forward to getting to know you!

Application documents: CV, cover letter assembled into one PDF file. 

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about this position:

Désirée Schulz
E-Mail: gi-personal@ime.fraunhofer.de
Phone: +49 641 972-19203

Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, Bioresources institute branch 

www.ime.fraunhofer.de 

Requisition Number: 81517                Application Deadline: 10/31/2025