Thesis

(online since: 04.09.2018)

Short description of the thesis:

Histomonosis of poultry is caused by the protozoan parasite Histomonas meleagridis. In turkeys the disease often causes high mortality compared to chickens. Studies on the adapted immune response against the disease revealed several peculiarities for the two closely related avian species. However, there is no information on the role of toll-like receptors (TLRs) during the immune defense against H. meleagridis. Elucidating changes in TLR expressions during infection of immune cells of chickens reveals responses of the innate immune system and can contribute to understand the disease outcome.

Within this project, a diploma thesis is available for measuring TLR-expression by RT-qPCR using an in vitro system. The main objective is to understand the innate immune response of immune cells of chickens against parasite. Technically, you will be closely supervised and acquainted with the different molecular biology procedures.

Requirements:

• theoretical/basic knowledge of RT-qPCR or PCR

Further information:

none

Key data of the thesis:

• Duration of thesis: 5 to 7 months
• Start: asap
• Language of thesis: English

Key data of the organisational unit:

• Institute: University Clinic for Poultry and Fish
• Contact:
  Dieter Liebhart
  Send E-Mail to Dieter Liebhart
  T +43 1 25077-4728

(online since: 30.03.2021)

Short description of the thesis:

Comparison Western Blot Methods

Requirements:

Biology/biochemistry

Further information:

Good practical knowledge in biochemistry

Key data of the thesis:

• Duration of thesis: 8 months
• Start: April 21
• Language of thesis: English

Key data of the organisational unit:

• Institute: Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology (FIWI)
• Contact: Dr. Sylvain GIROUD
  Send E-Mail to Sylvain GIROUD
  T +43 1 25077-7135

Feedback from students requested by 01.07.2021.

(Online since 11.02.2021)

Short description of the thesis:

Dogs perform a wide range of expressive and comuunicative signals. Indicators of stress and/or frustration include a plethora of signals amongst which yawning, lips licking, paw lifting, stretching, immobility/freezing and panting. However, few studies investigated whether this beahviours are specific to a negative perceived situations or whether they are just a reflection of an increase in arousal (excitement). This study aims to disentangle the behavioural correlates and physiological correlates (cortisol and oxytocin) of state of high positive and negative arousal in dogs. To do so we will expose dogs to a waiting period and a visit respectivly at a veterinary clinic and at the Clever Dog Lab. The veterinarian student will perform a simulation of a basic vet visit, will help to collect saliva and urine sample, to analyse them and to code beahvioural videos.

Requirements:

Theoretical knowledge on  physiology and dog behavior.

Further information:

The student will learn how to design behavioral studies, conduct behavioral testing, analyse dog behaviours live and from videos, and will be introduced to salivary cortisol analysis (EIA) and oxytocin analysis.

Key data of the thesis:

• Duration of thesis: 6 months
• Start: July 2021
• Language of thesis: English

Key data of the organisational unit:

• Institute: Domestication Lab, Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology
• Contact: Sarah Marshall-Pescini, PhD, Priv.-Doz.
  Send E-Mail 1 to Sarah Marshall-Pescini
  Send E-Mail 2 to Sarah Marshall-Pescini
  T +39 3342714408

(Online since 21.02.2020)

Short description of the thesis:

From late 2018 until the end of 2019, many fowlpox outbreaks took place in chicken and turkey farms in Austria, affecting markedly the performance of the flocks. It is known that fowlpoxviruses can persist in the environment and that birds can get infected by inhalation or ingestion of contaminated dust or aerosols. Thus, the announced diploma thesis provides an excellent opportunity to be acquainted with techniques such as viral isolation and histopathology, which will be used to investigate dust samples from affected flocks.

Requirements:

From late 2018 until the end of 2019, many fowlpox outbreaks took place in chicken and turkey farms in Austria, affecting markedly the performance of the flocks. It is known that fowlpoxviruses can persist in the environment and that birds can get infected by inhalation or ingestion of contaminated dust or aerosols. Thus, the announced diploma thesis provides an excellent opportunity to be acquainted with techniques such as viral isolation and histopathology, which will be used to investigate dust samples from affected flocks.

Further information:

In-vitro viral replication and classical histological techniques will be performed in this project.

Key data of the thesis:

• Duration of the thesis: 3-5 months
• Start: as soon as possible
• Language of the thesis: English

Key data of the organisational unit:

• Organisational Unit: Unit for Poultry Medicine
• Contact person: Dr. Miguel Matos
  Send E-Mail to Miguel Matos
  T +43 1 25077-4734

(Online since 21.02.2020)

Short description of the thesis:

Inclusion body hepatitis (IBH), caused by fowl adenoviruses, is an economically important disease reported in chicken flocks worldwide. There are so far no licensed commercial vaccines against the disease. Ongoing research at the Clinic for Poultry, and the associated Christian Doppler Laboratory for Innovative Poultry Vaccines (IPOV), is therefore dedicated to the development of subunit vaccines to prevent IBH. This project focuses on the investigation of samples collected during a recently performed animal study, in which a new IBH subunit vaccine, and its cross-protective potential against different fowl adenovirus serotypes, was tested.

Requirements:

Theoretical knowledge of basic molecular biology, veterinary virology and pathology.

Further information:

We are looking for an ambitious candidate with interest in learning and applying histopathological and molecular techniques (processing of organ/tissue samples for subsequent microscopical analysis, viral isolation, real-time PCR). The acquired data will contribute to assess the efficacy of the tested vaccine.

Key data of the thesis:

• Duration of the thesis: 4-6 months
• Start: as soon as possible
• Language of the thesis: English

Key data of the organisational unit:

• Organisational Unit: Unit for Poultry Medicine
• Contact person: Dr. Anna Schachner
  Send E-Mail to Anna Schachner
  T +43 1 25077-4727

(Online since 06.05.2021)

Short description of the thesis:

During your thesis you will work with tissue samples from mice which were kept under different nutritional states (ketosis, caloric restriction, intermittent fasting) or in vitro cultures of CRISP-PITCh modified cell lines.

Depending on your research interest you can choose from a variety of techniques to address the respective research question:

• The isolation of protein and mRNA from murine tissue samples
• The analyis of gene and protein expression of mitochondrial and metabolic proteins in different tissues
• Immunohistochemical staining of tissue samples
• Morphological evaluation of tissue samples (IHC and 2D-TEM ultrastructure)
• Experiments with a genetically modified cell line (single cell clones, fluores-cence microscopy, metabolic assays)

Furthermore, you will have the chance to participate in collaborative projects.

Requirements:

Preferentially, you study Molecular Biology, Biochemistry or Veterinary medicine, or you come from a related field. You have a strong interest in investigating metabolism and mitochondria.

Further information:

For an introduction to the topic please see our publications:

• Locker F. (2020) The influence of ketogenic diets on psoriasiform-like skin inflammation
• Rupprecht et al. (2014) Uncoupling protein 2 and 4 expression pattern during stem cell differentiation provides new insight into their putative function. PLoS One. 2014; 9(2)
• Hilse et al. (2018) The expression of uncoupling protein 3 coincides with the fatty acid oxidation type of metab-olism in adult murine heart. Front. Physiol.
• Smorodchenko, A. et al. (2009). Comparative analysis of uncoupling protein 4 distribution in various tissues under physiological conditions and during development. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1788, 2309-2319.

Key data of the thesis:

• Duration of the thesis: 1 year max.
• Start: as soon as possible
• Language of the thesis: English or German

Key data of the organisational unit:

• Organisational Unit: Unit of Physiology and Biophysics
  Dr. Felix Locker
  Send E-Mail to Felix Locker
  T +43 1 250 77-4573

Feedback from students requested by 06.07.2021

(online since: 30.03.2021)

Short description of the thesis:

Effect of torpor use during development on seasonal dynamics of telomeres

Evolutionary Ecophysiology

Evolutionary Ecophysiology

Further information:

Good background in animal biology/physiology

Experiences with animal handling and (genetic) lab practice are required

Key data of the thesis:

• Duration of the thesis: 12 months
• Start: June 2021
• Language of the thesis: English

Key data of the organisational unit:

• Organisational Unit: Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology (FIWI)
• Contact person:
  Dr. Sylvain GIROUD
  Send E-Mail to Sylvain GIROUD
  T +43 1 25077-7135

Feedback from students requested by 01.09.2021.

(Online since 15.04.2021)

Short description of the thesis:

Lifelong effects of energy saving strategies in garden dormice

Requirements:

Evolutionary Ecophysiology

Further information:

• Good background in animal biology/physiology

• Experience with animal handling and statistics using R software are required

Key data of the thesis:

• Duration of the thesis: 12 months
• Start: August 2021
• Language of the thesis: English

Key data of the organisational unit:

• Organisational Unit: Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology (FIWI)
• Contact person:
  Dr. Sylvain Giroud
  Send E-Mail to Sylvain Giroud
  T +43 1 25077-7135

Feedback from students requested by 01.09.2021
 

(online since 06.04.2021)

Short description of the thesis:

Over the past years, Vienna has developed into one of the leading centres of population genetics. The Vienna Graduate School of Population Genetics has been founded to provide a training opportunity for PhD students to build on this excellent on-site expertise.

We invite applications from highly motivated and outstanding students with a love for evolutionary research and a background in one of the following disciplines: evolutionary genetics, functional genetics, theoretical or experimental population genetics, bioinformatics, mathematics, statistics.

Topics include:

• Evolution from de novo mutations - influence of elevated mutation rates.
• Evolution of sex-specific neuronal signaling.
• Genome evolution in columbines.
• Inference of selection signatures from time-series data.
• Long-term dynamics of local Drosophila populations.
• Molecular genetics of epigenetics.
• Seed ecology.
• Structural variation and genome evolution.
• Temperature adaptation in Drosophila: phenotypic adaptation.
• The sources of diversity shaping adaptive radiation.
• Understanding polygenic adaptation.

Requirements:
Only complete applications (application form, CV, motivation letter, university certificates, indication of the two preferred topics in a single pdf) received by May 16, 2021 will be considered. Two letters of recommendation need to be sent directly by the referees.

• Further information:
  Depending on the project, PhD degrees will be awarded either in genetics, mathematics or statistics. PhD students will receive a monthly salary based on currently EUR 2.237,60 before tax according to the regulations of the Austrian Science Fund (FWF).

Requirements:

-

Further information:

-

Key data of the thesis:

• Duration of thesis: 3 years
• Start: September 2021
• Language of thesis: English

Key data of the organisational unit:

• Institute: Vienna Graduate School of Population Genetics
• Contact:
  Dr. Julia Hosp
  Send E-Mail to Julia Hosp
  T +43 1 25077-4338

Response required until 16.05.2021