The Department of Angiology is dedicated to a multitude of research projects to advance the field of vascular medicine. Research focuses e.g. on the cellular and immunological mechanisms of vascular diseases, namely atherosclerosis which is underlying disease of a lower extremity arterial disease, heart attack or stroke. Lipids are of vital importance through integration in cell membranes, as energy source and in cellular signaling and function. As such, they also play decisive roles in cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, cancer and chronic inflammatory disease. These diseases affect 33%, 60%, 10% and 33% of Europeans, and are responsible for \\>60% of global deaths. PhD student position immediately or by agreement fixed-term position for 3 years Description We are looking for a PhD candidate to study how the chemokine-like receptor ChemR23 regulates arterial vascular inflammation. Particularly the project focuses on the therapeutic potential of selectively modulating ChemR23 signaling within the arterial wall and surrounding perivascular adipose tissue. Within the project we will establish antibody-targeted lipid nanoparticle delivery of either anti-inflammatory (chemerin-9) or blocking ligands and will explore cell and context dependent RNAi of ChemR23. Further, ligand milieu of ChemR23, namely chemerin and resolvin E 1 will be modulated to determine whether enhancing ChemR23-driven anti-inflammatory pathways can attenuate vascular inflammation and disease progression. Eligibility Applicants must comply with EU Doctoral Network mobility rules: doctoral candidates may not have resided or carried out their main activity in the recruiting country for more than 12 months in the 3 years preceding recruitment. Candidates of any nationality are eligible. Your profile Eligible candidates should have experience with mouse models, immunological and molecular biological and 'omics' techniques, and a strong motivation and team spirit. German language skills would be helpful, solid English skills, written and spoken, are mandatory. The successful candidate should hold an above average Master degree or equivalent in biological sciences or related fields and should have a background in inflammatory immunology. About LipidBRIGHT The PhD position is part of The LipidBRIGHT Consortium. As an European Doctoral Network LipidBRIGHT combines scientists, clinicians, companies and stakeholder organisations with expertise in these disease fields. By integrating expertise in lipids from the clinical, biomedical, technological and data science field across disease borders and by transferring complementary knowledge and technology, LipidBRIGHT aims to speed up innovations towards improved disease prevention, diagnosis, prognosis and therapy. LipidBRIGHT will train scientists in a close cooperation between academia, SMEs and industry partners. Key objectives are to provide: 1) Excellent scientific training on interdisciplinary level, covering lipid biochemistry and pathophysiology as well as clinical application; 2) Excellent complementary skills in personal and career development as well as business training required to extend beyond scientific research; and 3) Exposure to both academic and non- academic environments, required to build bridges between researchers and entrepreneurs and support the future translation of research findings in innovative products and services. LipidBRIGHT builds on available patient cohorts, advanced technologies and established cooperations and strives to synergistically improve structural training on European level. LipidBRIGHT will nurture the development of young, broadly-trained scientists able to successfully bridge clinical with basic research as well as academia and industry, which is a cornerstone in effectively combatting complex diseases as cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, cancer and chronic inflammatory disease. Contributing partners in LipidBRIGHT: Universiteit Maastricht (NL), Catholic University Leuven (BE), University Hasselt (BE), University Hospital Jena (DE), INSERM (FR), University Utrecht (NL), SciCross (SE), RD Néphrologie SAS (FR), University of Bern (CH). For more information Your Research Environment In Bern the successful candidate will be working in the Department of Angiology at the Inselspital Bern and in the Department of Biomedical Research (DBMR) as a member of the research group 'Translational Angiology' under the direction of Prof. Dr. med. Yvonne Döring.