Master’s Thesis Candidate (f/m/x) – Multimodal Brain Mapping in Nicotine Addiction

102949

close to full time
35 hrs./week

Neuherberg near Munich

Partial Home Office possible

At Helmholtz Munich, we develop groundbreaking solutions for a healthier society in a rapidly changing world. We believe that diverse perspectives drive innovation. Through strong partnerships, we accelerate the transfer of new ideas from the lab to real-life applications, improving lives.

At the our major goal is to accelerate biomedical research by developing and combining enabling technologies. Our major research fields are AI-based organ mapping, Tissue engineering and Precision medicine in cancer treatments. Sophisticated technologies such as 3D tissue imaging, molecular profiling are combined with AI tools to decode the complexity of tissues and shed light into cancer biology.

Our interdisciplinary team — comprising biologists, engineers, computer scientists, and medical researchers — develops next-generation computational models to interpret complex biomedical data across multiple scales. Our innovations in tissue clearing, 3D microscopy, and AI-driven pathology have been featured in leading journals (Nature Methods, Nature Neuroscience, Cell, Nature Biotechnology) and major media (The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Süddeutsche Zeitung).

We are seeking a highly motivated Master’s student (f/m/x) to investigate brain-wide circuit mechanisms underlying nicotine addiction and smoking cessation using state-of-the-art tissue clearing, light-sheet microscopy, and proteomics. The project combines experimental neuroscience with computational analysis to identify novel therapeutic targets in addiction-related circuits.

Your tasks

Perform whole-brain tissue clearing and light-sheet microscopy experiments
Analyze large-scale imaging datasets using computational pipelines
Conduct molecular profiling (e.g., spatial proteomics/transcriptomics)
Integrate multimodal datasets (imaging, connectivity, molecular data)

Your profile

Enrolled Master’s student in Neuroscience, Biology, Bioinformatics, or a related field
Strong interest in systems neuroscience and addiction research
Experience in programming/data analysis (e.g., Python, FIJI)
Ability to work independently and collaboratively in an interdisciplinary team

Desirable qualifications

Background in imaging, molecular biology, or histology is a plus

Remuneration and social security benefits are based on the Collective Bargaining Association of German States (TdL). This position has a fixed term, depending on the requirements of your study program.

Managing Director Mike Frieser: „We believe that diversity is the key to groundbreaking research and innovative solutions. Our flexible working models and remote options create a supportive environment for balancing work and family life. For us, contributing to a healthier society in such an inspiring workplace is truly meaningful.“

Interested in applying?

If you have any questions, feel free to contact Stefanie Reitinger, stefanie.reitinger@helmholtz-munich.de, who will be happy to help.

Our recruiting is decentralized - your application will be reviewed directly by the specialist department in which you could work in the future.

Please send your application only via our online application tool and with the following documents:

CV
Cover letter
Contact details for at least two referees

If you have obtained a university degree abroad, we will require further documents from you regarding the comparability of your degree by the time you start work at the latest.

We are committed to promoting a culture of diversity and welcome applications from talented people regardless of gender, cultural background, nationality, ethnicity, sexual identity, physical abilities, religion or age. Qualified applicants with physical disabilities will be given preference.

Our commitment

Helmholtz Munich
Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Gesundheit und Umwelt (GmbH)
Institute for Intelligent Biotechnologies
Ingolstädter Landstraße 1
85764 Neuherberg