PhD position in bacterial genomics and machine learning available

We are looking for a candidate to fill a compu­ta­tional PhD student position, with the main task of better under­standing which genetic elements (“genes”) make bacterial pathogens such as E. coli, K. pneumoniae, P. aeruginosa, and E. faecium virulent and resistant to antibiotics. We have in fact developed methods (here and here) to sift through large numbers of bacterial genomes for this exact purpose (see here, here, and here), and it will be the job of the candidate to use and improve these methods so that they can be applied to an even larger number of genomes. We are also parti­cu­larly interested in imple­menting more machine learning methods and to integrate molecular pheno­types such as gene expression and proteomics.

Our lab is part of the RESIST excel­lence cluster at Hannover Medical School (MHH), and we are part of a colla­bo­rative project with Susanne Häussler and Meike Stiesch to identify genetic deter­mi­nants of patho­ge­nicity and virulence in life-threa­tening bacterial infec­tions.

We are looking for a candidate with a strong compu­ta­tional background and relevant technical skills:

• Strong background in compu­ta­tional biology, bioin­for­matics, computer science, or a related field.
• Experience with programming languages such as Python and workflow management systems such as Snakemake.
• Familiarity with machine learning techniques and libraries (e.g., scikit-learn, TensorFlow, PyTorch).
• Knowledge of bacterial genomics and related bioin­for­matic tools.
• Experience with high-perfor­mance computing (HPC).
• Experience with version control systems (e.g., git) and software develo­pment best practices.
• Experience with statis­tical analysis and data visua­lization.

We offer a fully-funded PhD position for a little longer than 3 years, to begin in February 2026. The student will be enrolled in the Biomedas graduate program, which offers curri­culum speci­fi­cally designed for compu­ta­tional biology students. The lab is located at Twincore, embedded in a large scien­tific campus that include Hannover Medical School, and the Center for Indivi­dua­lized Infection Medicine (CiiM); we are also part of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), which offers lots of oppor­tu­nities for colla­bo­ration.

Hannover is the capital of Lower Saxony, in northern Germany, and is an affordable and vibrant city.

Please apply as soon as possible by sending the following documents to Marco Galardini at marco.galardini@twincore.de:

1. Your CV
2. A short motivation letter
3. The link to a software portfolio (e.g., your GitHub account)
4. Contact details of two references