Master's Thesis Position in Breast Cancer Research

Master’s Thesis Position

The Laboratory of Iros Barozzi at the Center for Cancer Research of the Medical University of Vienna is offering a Master thesis position of 6 to 12 months, starting in January 2027. The thesis focuses on non-genetic mechanisms that allow breast cancer cells to slowly adapt to therapy.

Most patients with estrogen-receptor positive (ER+) breast cancer respond well to endocrine therapy, yet a substantial fraction eventually relapses with resistant disease. Acquired genetic alterations explain only part of this, with much of the adaptations happening without any new mutation. Genes are transcribed in stochastic bursts rather than continuously, so even genetically identical tumor cells differ in their gene expression at any given moment, and this transcriptional heterogeneity is thought to let a subset of cells tolerate treatment long enough for stable resistance to emerge. Our overarching objective is to define the regulatory layer that governs this variability and to assess its potential as a therapeutic vulnerability.

Thesis Focus

The primary focus of this thesis project will be to establish fluorescent reporter cell lines for measuring transcriptional heterogeneity in ER+ breast cancer. The goal will be to determine how drug treatment affects this heterogeneity. This will be assessed by flow cytometry, various imaging techniques and single-cell RNA sequencing to address questions such as:

• Which transcriptional and epigenetic regulators control transcriptional heterogeneity?
• Does endocrine therapy change the degree of variability between cells?
• Are more variable cells more likely to survive treatment?

Requirements

• Strong practical experience in mammalian cell culture and basic molecular biology techniques is required
• Experience with lentiviral work is desirable
• Basic coding proficiency in either R or Python is desirable
• Good communication skills in English, ability to work in a team, and efficient organizational skills

We offer

• A highly dynamic and multidisciplinary research environment
• Close supervision and hands-on training
• Methods include flow cytometry, CRISPRi, imaging, cell sorting and single cell RNA-seq
• Starting date: January 2027
• Duration: 6 to 12 months

Contact

For additional information about the research project and the position please contact:

jonatan.kendler(at)meduniwien.ac.at

To apply for this position, please send your CV and a cover letter to:

jonatan.kendler(at)meduniwien.ac.at