Abschlussarbeiten

(Abschlussarbeit online seit: 06.08.2021)

Kurzbeschreibung der Abschlussarbeit/des Themas:

The thesis project will address the involvement of mitochondrial uncoupling proteins in metabolic flexibility in mouse and human cancer cell lines. We will focus on the UCPs expression alterations and its possible cross-talk with changes in malignant cell metabolism.

Anforderungen/Erforderliche Kenntnisse:

Ongoing bachelor/master studies (University / University of Applied Science) in a related field (molecular biology, cell biology, genetics, biotechnology, biochemistry or equivalent).

• Interest in cancer biology, strong motivation to engage in the project.
• High reliability, great team-working skills.
• Fluency in spoken and written English.
• Experience in molecular/cell biology techniques would be advantageous.

Zusätzliche Bemerkungen zur Abschlussarbeit:

• You will be part of our young international team with a collaborative and inspiring working atmosphere.
• A stimulating and dynamic scientific environment with individual supervision. We are familiar with the supervision and execution of bachelor /master theses and we look forward to supporting you accordingly.
• A financial support according to the guidelines of Vetmed Uni Vienna is possible.

Eckdaten der Abschlussarbeit:

• Beginn: as soon as possible
• Dauer der Abschlussarbeit: k.A.
• Sprache: Englisch
• Rückmeldung von InteressentInnen erbeten bis: the announcement is valid until the vacancy gets occupied.

Name der Organisationseinheit:

• Organisationseinheit: Unit of Physiology and Biophysics
• AnsprechpartnerIn/BetreuerIn für die Abschlussarbeit:
  Taraneh Beikbaghban, MSc.
  T +43 1 25077-4503
  Send E-Mail to Taraneh Beikbaghban

Short description of the thesis:

Intense research in the last few decades has shown that dogs are extremely good at reading human social and communicative behavior. However, as compared to social cognition, the cognitive abilities of dogs in the physical domain have been relatively sparsely studied. As a result, it still remains unclear what dogs know about physical relations, for instance about the fact that an object can have an impact on the movements of another one (i.e., means-end understanding).

A usual way of studying means-end understanding in animals is Piaget’s “support problem”- which involves a goal object (e.g., food) that is out of a subject’s reach, but is resting on a support (e.g., a wooden board) that is within the subject’s reach. The task is based on the assumption that if an animal understands the physical properties of the wooden board it uses it as a means to an end, i.e., pulls the support to get the reward into reach. Animals without means-end understanding will only be able to succeed through repeated exposure allowing for associative learning.

In this study, dogs will be tested in a variation of the support problem – known as the “on/off task”. Dogs will need to retrieve an out-of-reach food reward placed behind a physical barrier (fence). While the reward itself is out of reach, it is physically connected to a wooden board within the dog’s reach. Dogs will be presented with two wooden boards - one board with a food reward on top of it (ON board), and another board with a reward placed next to it (OFF board). Successful retrieval of the treat requires the dogs to pull the appropriate board by pawing the wooden until the treat emerges from under the barrier.

Two groups of dogs will be tested repeatedly in two experimental conditions: 1) in the natural condition, dogs will be able to retrieve the reward by pulling the ON board. The reward placed next to the OFF board will not move if dogs pull on this board; 2) in the magic condition, dogs will be able to retrieve the reward by pulling the OFF board. The reward placed on the ON board will not move if dogs pull on this board. The main hypothesis is that, if solving the task is based on associative learning, dogs will learn the causally correct (i.e., natural) and causally incorrect (i.e., magic version) versions of the task similarly fast. However, if dogs have a certain level of means-end understanding, they will learn faster in the causally correct version than in the magic one.

Testing will take place in the Clever Dog Lab (link) and will be carried out by two master students who will collaborate to 1) conduct the behavioral testing, 2) conduct qualitative/quantitative behaviour coding (live and from videos), and 3) statistically analyse the data.

Requirements:

• Experience with animal/dog handling
• Basic knowledge in statistics using R
• Excellent teamwork skills

Further information:

The students will learn how to design behavioral studies, conduct behavioral testing, conduct qualitative/quantitative behaviour coding (live and from videos), and statistically analyse data using the appropriate statistical methods.

Key data of the thesis:

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

Key data of the organisational unit:

• Organisational Unit: Messerli Research Institute, Comparative Cognition Unit/ Clever Dog Lab

• Contact persons: Christiana Tsiourti (christiana.tsiourti@vetmeduni.ac.at)  /Zsófia Virányi (Zsofia.Viranyi@vetmeduni.ac.at) /

Short Description of the Thesis/Topic:

Intestinal organoids are a highly sophisticated three-dimensional in vitro model to investigate the physiology and pathophysiology of the epithelium. We have established canine intestinal organoid cultures from all different sections of the dog intestine, which can be used for disease modelling. In contrast to rodents, dogs also spontaneously develop inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) just as humans do and therefore pose a relevant model for translational research. 
The successful applicant will develop a lentiviral gene transfer system to transfect canine organoids with a redox sensitive protein to analyse the redox status of organoids in live cell imaging. Furthermore organoids from healthy donors can be compared to organoids from IBD patients or healthy organoids can be manipulated to more closely resemble a disease state.

Required Skills and Knowledge:

• BSc Degree in Biology, Molecular Biology, Biotechnology, Biomedicine or a related subject
• Experience with sterile cell culture work
• Fluent in English

Additional Information:

Prerequisites:
• Interest in infection biology, strong motivation to engage in the project
• High reliability and great team-working skills
• Experience with molecular/cell biology techniques
• Experience with imaging techniques
• Experience with lentiviral gene transfer

Language of the Thesis:
English

Duration of the thesis:
6 months

Contact Person for the Thesis/Topic (Name, E-Mail,Phone):

Georg Csukovich, MSc; E-Mail: georg.csukovich@Vetmeduni.ac.at; +43 1 25077-6547 

Feedback from students requested by:
asap

Name of the Institute/Clinic/Unit:
Small Animal Internal Medicine

 

Short description of the thesis/topic:

NK cells are cytotoxic lymphocytes of the innate immune system playing a critical part as immediate effector cells in anti-viral and anti-tumor responses. While these innate immune cells are important early effector cells, they also represent a potential origin of cancer. NK cell neoplasms are rare but highly aggressive diseases with poor prognosis, thus emphasizing the need for research on the mechanisms of tumorigenesis in order to find new therapeutic approaches.

The successful applicant will join a dynamic multidisciplinary laboratory that is performing top-level cancer research. The project will be carried out under the supervision of an experienced post-doctoral researcher and involves work with primary cell culture, biochemical assays, flow cytometry and in vivo mouse models.

Requirements:

• BSc Degree in Biology, Molecular Biology, Biotechnology, Biomedicine or a related subject
• Basic knowledge in immunology and tumor biology
• Experience with sterile cell culture work
• Fluent in English
• Previous experience with flow cytometry or mouse work is beneficial

Further information:

• Financial support will be provided
• Duration of the thesis: 9-12 months
• Start: July-December 2022
• Language of the thesis: English
   

Contact details:

• Name of the organisational unit (Institute/Clinic/Unit): Insitute of Pharmacology and Toxicology
• Contact person for the thesis: Dagmar Gotthardt, PhD
• E-Mail: dagmar.gotthardt@vetmeduni.ac.at                               
• Telephone: +43 1 25077-2900
• Feedback from students requested by: as soon as possible

Short description of the thesis:

Intense research in the last few decades has shown that dogs are extremely good at reading human social and communicative behavior. However, as compared to social cognition, the cognitive abilities of dogs in the physical domain have been relatively sparsely studied. As a result, it still remains unclear what dogs know about physical relations, for instance about the fact that an object can have an impact on the movements of another one (i.e., means-end understanding).

A usual way of studying means-end understanding in animals is Piaget’s “support problem”- which involves a goal object (e.g., food) that is out of a subject’s reach, but is resting on a support (e.g., a wooden board) that is within the subject’s reach. The task is based on the assumption that if an animal understands the physical properties of the wooden board it uses it as a means to an end, i.e., pulls the support to get the reward into reach. Animals without means-end understanding will only be able to succeed through repeated exposure allowing for associative learning.

In this study, dogs will be tested in a variation of the support problem – known as the “on/off task”. Dogs will need to retrieve an out-of-reach food reward placed behind a physical barrier (fence). While the reward itself is out of reach, it is physically connected to a wooden board within the dog’s reach. Dogs will be presented with two wooden boards - one board with a food reward on top of it (ON board), and another board with a reward placed next to it (OFF board). Successful retrieval of the treat requires the dogs to pull the appropriate board by pawing the wooden until the treat emerges from under the barrier.

Two groups of dogs will be tested repeatedly in two experimental conditions: 1) in the natural condition, dogs will be able to retrieve the reward by pulling the ON board. The reward placed next to the OFF board will not move if dogs pull on this board; 2) in the magic condition, dogs will be able to retrieve the reward by pulling the OFF board. The reward placed on the ON board will not move if dogs pull on this board. The main hypothesis is that, if solving the task is based on associative learning, dogs will learn the causally correct (i.e., natural) and causally incorrect (i.e., magic version) versions of the task similarly fast. However, if dogs have a certain level of means-end understanding, they will learn faster in the causally correct version than in the magic one.

Testing will take place in the Clever Dog Lab (link) and will be carried out by two master students who will collaborate to 1) conduct the behavioral testing, 2) conduct qualitative/quantitative behaviour coding (live and from videos), and 3) statistically analyse the data.

Requirements:

• Experience with animal/dog handling
• Basic knowledge in statistics using R
• Excellent teamwork skills

Further information:

The students will learn how to design behavioral studies, conduct behavioral testing, conduct qualitative/quantitative behaviour coding (live and from videos), and statistically analyse data using the appropriate statistical methods.

Key data of the thesis:

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

Key data of the organisational unit:

• Organisational Unit: Messerli Research Institute, Comparative Cognition Unit/ Clever Dog Lab

• Contact persons: Christiana Tsiourti (christiana.tsiourti@vetmeduni.ac.at)  /Zsófia Virányi (Zsofia.Viranyi@vetmeduni.ac.at) /

Level of employment: full time (30 hours/week)
Length of employment: 3-4 years
Deadline for applications: 1.12.2021 (position will remain vacant until filled)
Start: January 2022 or any time thereafter (negotiable)
Project Description
Several Doctoral/PhD positions are open at the Christian-Doppler Christian-Doppler-Laboratory for Innovative Gut Health Concepts in Livestock (CDL-LiveGUT) located at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna/Austria. In a nutshell, the aim of the research is to understand the molecular basis of rumen/gut microbiome × host interactions both driven from the animal individual characteristics and the diet. Upon this knowledge, feeding strategies will be tested to better exploit the such benefical interactions and enhance gastrointestinal health. The CDL-LiveGUT is joint research cluster that brings together various disciplines of animal nutrition, microbial ecology, gut physiology, and biomarker discovery, with a main goal to enhance gut health in farm animals by developing early biomarkers of gut health disorders and feeding approaches to prevent them.

www.cdg.ac.at/forschungseinheiten/labor/innovative-darmgesundheitskonzepte-bei-nutztieren