The Cost of Resistance - Master Thesis in Evolution-informed Treatment Strategies in Pancreatic Cancer

The group of Prof. Oliver Strobel at the Department of General Surgery at the Medical University of Vienna is looking for a highly motivated master’s student to investigate the cost of resistance in pancreatic cancer. Based on the hypothesis that drug resistance comes with a fitness cost, this project aims to determine if acquired drug resistance is associated with reduced fitness under low-resource environmental conditions.

Pancreatic cancer is a lethal disease characterized by high drug resistance. The successful candidate will work in a research project using 3D patient-derived pancreatic tumor organoid cultures to investigate the cost of acquired resistance to gemcitabine in different environmental conditions. Methods to be used include cell culture, microscopy, western blot, ELISA, FACS, RNA-sequencing, immunofluorescence staining, as well as mathematical modelling and bioinformatic approaches.

The project is designed as a collaboration project with the Mathematical Oncology Group, Clinic for Internal Medicine II, Hematology and Oncology, University of Kiel (Group leader Prof. Philipp Altrock), Germany.

The ideal candidate holds a bachelor’s degree in biomedical sciences (biology, medicine, genetics, biochemistry, biotechnology) or in a related field and has experience in cell culture and general lab work. The candidate should have a strong interest for cancer research, evolutionary medicine, and have good communication and organization skills, the ability to work in a team and be fluent in English. Financial support (Forschungsbeihilfe) will be provided by the laboratory.

Please send your application to Solange Le Blanc Soto, PhD, email: solange.leblancsoto(at)meduniwien.ac.at

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling base until May 22th 2026.