The University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG) unites the Medical Faculty of the Georg-August University and the University Hospital in an integration model. With around 9,700 employees, the UMG and its subsidiaries are one of the largest employers in the region. Our clinics and institutes stand for high-quality patient care, excellent research, modern teaching and transfer of innovative technology.

Göttingen as a city of science is located in the center of Germany and the University Medical Center Göttingen is integrated into an attractive network of university and non-university scientific institutions.


The Klinik für Neurologie of the University Medical Center Göttingen is looking for a new position for the earliest start date


PhD position (w/m/d)

part time , 25,025 hours per week, initially limited to 1 year with the option to extend for 2 more years


The University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG) is a tertiary care center and offers excellent opportunities for scientific and personal development. With more than 7,900 employees working in over 65 departments and facilities, the UMG combines high-quality patient care with outstanding research and modern teaching. Göttingen, the “City of Science-, hosts a vibrant network of research institutions and provides an attractive and interdisciplinary academic environment.

The research group Translational Neuroinflammation, led by Prof. Martin Weber, focuses on understanding pathological and immunological mechanisms underlying inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system (CNS). The group investigates autoimmune and neuroinflammatory disorders, with a strong translational link between experimental models and clinical research.
Project description:

Autoimmune encephalitides represent a rapidly emerging and highly dynamic field in neuroimmunology, in which antibodies directly target neuronal and synaptic proteins, leading to severe neuropsychiatric and neurological symptoms. Among these disorders, anti-NMDAR encephalitis is one of the most frequent and clinically relevant antibody-mediated encephalitides. Despite major clinical advances, the immunological mechanisms that initiate and sustain disease remain largely unknown.

This PhD project aims to address these open questions by focusing on the role of antigen-presenting cells in anti-NMDAR encephalitis. Using a novel active immunization mouse model, which uniquely reproduces key features of the human disease this project offers the opportunity to study endogenous immune mechanisms that cannot be captured by other models.

By combining in vivo and in vitro approaches, including murine disease models, primary cell cultures, and human samples where applicable, the project will investigate antigen uptake, presentation, and immune cell interactions during disease development. In addition, the project will explore novel therapeutic strategies, including experimental treatments targeting neuroinflammation and demyelination in animal models, with the long-term goal of identifying new approaches for immune modulation and repair in CNS autoimmunity.

This project provides a unique opportunity to work at the forefront of antibody-driven neuroimmunology, bridging basic immunology, experimental neuroscience, and translational research in a rapidly expanding field.


Planning and execution of experiments
Data analysis, interpretation, and presentation
Co-supervision of interns and students
Participation in the preparation of scientific publications





Highly motivated applicant with a Master-s degree in Immunology, Neuroscience, Biology, Molecular Medicine, or a related field
Strong interest in neuroimmunology, autoimmunity, and disease-oriented research
Willingness to work with complex in vivo models and long-term experimental projects
Interest in interdisciplinary research at the interface of immunology and neuroscience
Ability to work independently as well as in a team
Good organizational and communication skills
...