PhD Position - Therapeutic Reprogramming in Human Alveolar Budding Organoids

Are you seeking an exciting scientific challenge within a globally successful, multiple “Global Top Employer” award‑winning company? Do you want to apply and expand your academic training in a cutting‑edge industrial research environment?

Apply now for PhD thesis in Immunology & Respiratory Discovery Research!

Join the Tech Innovation Lab at Boehringer Ingelheim in Biberach and address a central question in respiratory diseases: Can an established pathological alveolar niche be therapeutically reversed? Using primary human alveolar budding organoids, you will investigate whether aberrant epithelial states can resolve, whether retained alveolar type 2 cells can resume productive differentiation, and which regulatory mechanisms determine therapeutic reversibility. The project combines advanced human cell models, mechanistic disease biology and pharmacological intervention in a multidisciplinary research environment closely connected to early drug discovery.

Tasks & responsibilities

• Establish therapeutic models of pulmonary fibrosis using primary human alveolar budding organoids and complementary IPF-relevant cytokine cocktails.
• Design delayed-treatment and stimulus-withdrawal studies to distinguish prevention, biomarker suppression and genuine epithelial restoration.
• Determine whether epithelial recovery results from redifferentiation of KRT17-positive cells or re-engagement of retained AT2 cells.
• Apply molecular profiling, immunostaining, quantitative imaging and flow cytometry to assess epithelial identity, differentiation and tissue organization.
• Investigate regulatory pathways controlling pathological-state maintenance and resolution using inhibition, activation and rescue experiments.
• Analyze and present your data and contribute to scientific publications and therapeutic projects in pulmonary fibrosis.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in cell biology, molecular biology, biochemistry, pharmacology, biomedical sciences or a related discipline, qualifying you for PhD enrolment at a competitive University
• Hands-on experience with mammalian cell culture. Experience with primary human cells, organoids or complex co-culture models is highly desirable.
• Experience with relevant methods such as immunofluorescence microscopy, quantitative imaging, flow cytometry, gene-expression analysis or protein assays.
• Strong interest in disease biology, regenerative medicine, pulmonary fibrosis and mechanistic pharmacology.
• Structured, creative and collaborative approach to experimental problem-solving.
• Excellent written and spoken English. German is beneficial but not required.

Your application (please submit in Englisch)

• CV, including academic grades and laboratory experience,
• Motivation letter,
• Degree certificates and university transcripts; and contact details for references or recommendation letters.
• In your motivation letter, please briefly describe one technically or scientifically challenging experiment and how you approached it.

What we can offer you

• During your PhD program, you can expect a fair compensation (classified at pay grad E12/T)
• For every full month you work with us, you will receive 2.5 paid days off
• A PhD position involves 18.75 hours per week (50% employment)
• A mechanistic PhD project addressing epithelial regeneration and therapeutic reversibility in pulmonary fibrosis.
• Access to an established primary human organoid platform and advanced imaging, flow-cytometry and molecular-profiling technologies.
• Scientific supervision in an interdisciplinary industry research environment, together with an academic university partner.
• Opportunities to present and publish your research and contribute to early drug discovery.

The duration of the PhD thesis is 3 years. The earliest start date is currently in January 2027. Please enter the desired period in your application.

Ready to contact us? 

Please contact our HR Direct Team, Tel: +49 (0) 6132 77-3330.