Application deadline: 30/6/2026
Applications are invited for a PhD student position under the supervision of Dr. Haroon Shaikh (Experimental Stem Cell Transplantation) in the research group of Prof. Andreas Beilhack at the Department of Medicine II, University Hospital Würzburg. The successful candidate will join an interdisciplinary research project focused on the development and application of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-based immunotherapies for B-cell leukemia in the setting of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HCT).
In close collaboration with Dr. Ignazio Caruana (Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital Würzburg), our research aims to develop next-generation immunotherapeutic strategies that enhance graft-versus-leukemia (GvL) activity while minimizing graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) following allo-HCT. A major focus of our work is the investigation of cellular mechanisms and immune interactions that drive pro- and anti-inflammatory responses (Flamman C* & Shaikh H* et al., 2025, Blood; Shaikh et al., 2025, bioRxiv; Jorgacevic I* & Shaikh H* et al., 2025, Cardiovascular Research; Shaikh H et al., 2022, JCI Insight; Shaikh H et al., 2021, Frontiers in Immunology). State-of-the-art preclinical animal models, primary leukemic tissue together with cutting-edge technologies including advanced microscopy (confocal, LSFM), cellular methods (flow cytometry) as well as RNA-seq approaches (i.e. bulk and single cell) as well as numerous molecular biotechnological methods such as gain- and loss-of-function assays are applied in our research.
