Short Description of the Thesis/Topic:
With a series of behavioural and eye-tracking tests we want to investigate if pet dogs can see the world from others’ perspectives and in particular if they understand that others can make mistakes. In this project we will test pet dogs in behavioural tasks, such as the one described here: royalsociety.org/blog/2021/07/are-dogs-sensitive-to-human-mental-states/. Moreover, we will record videos to be shown to dogs who participate in eye-tracking tests. The main responsibilities during the Internship will include: recruiting the dogs’ caregivers, for example through our database and social media; testing dogs in behavioural tasks; scoring videosof dogs' behaviours; reading the scientific literature on the topic; writing experimental protocols and documenting progress.

Required Skills and Knowledge:
•    BSc in Biology or related field
•    Interpersonal skills (to recruit and interact with dogs’ caregivers)
•    Certified experience with dog training is preferred but not required

Additional Information:
If this sounds interesting to you, and you have at least 4 months to dedicate to this project, please apply here: s.surveyplanet.com/llhm9yc3.

Planned duration of the thesis project:
Autumn 2024 to Spring 2025

Language of the Thesis:
English

Name of the Institute/Clinic/Unit:
Messerli Research Institute, Clever Dog Lab

Contact Person for the Thesis:
Contact: Lucrezia Lonardo, PhD (lucrezia.lonardo@Vetmeduni.ac.at)
Supervisor: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Ludwig Huber (ludwig.huber@Vetmeduni.ac.at)

Interested candidates may reply until: 
As soon as possible

Short Description of the Thesis/Topic:
Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in women and affects over 7 million people worldwide. Metastasis to distant organs is the main cause of death of these patients, which underlines the need for novel therapeutic means.
NK cells are effector lymphocytes of the innate immune system and the first line of defense in anti-tumor responses. They are also crucial to limit metastasis but their function is often strongly suppressed by the cancer environment.
Immune checkpoints are crucial regulators of immune cells guaranteeing controlled actions and preventing autoimmunity. Cancer growth and progression are associated with immune suppression and immune evasion. One of the evasion mechanisms of cancer cells is the ability to activate such immune checkpoints thereby preventing the cytotoxic ability of immune cells.
In this project, we plan to study changes of NK cells in the course of metastatic breast cancer to identify new checkpoints on NK cells, the inhibition of which, unleashes the NK cell response against metastasizing cells.

Required Skills and Knowledge:

• 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

Additional Information:
The successful applicant will join a collaborative research project with the Karl Landsteiner University. The project will be carried out at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna under the supervision of an experienced junior group leader and involves work with primary cell culture, biochemical assays, flow cytometry an in vivo mouse models

Planned duration of the thesis project:
01.10.2024 to 01.10.2025

Language of the Thesis:
English

Name of the Institute/Clinic/Unit:
Department for Biological Sciences and Pathobiology, Pharmacology and Toxicology

Contact Person for the Thesis:
Ass.Prof. Dagmar Gotthardt, PhD
dagmar.gotthardt@Vetmeduni.ac.at
+43 1 25077-2900

Interested candidates may reply until: 
as soon as possible

Short Description of the Thesis/Topic:
Colitis is a frequent and serious problem in horses as well as humans. The pathophysiological mechanisms are supposed to involve a complex crosstalk between immune cells and epithelial cells that results in destruction of the epithelial barrier and further progression of disease. This project aims to establish a co-culture model of equine colon epithelium and immune cells to characterize the signalling pathways involved and to test new therapeutic approaches.

Required Skills and Knowledge:
High motivation, experience in cell culture work and/or molecular biology;  
BSc degree in Biology, Molecular Biology, Biotechnology, Biomedicine or a related subject 

Further Information:
We offer a highly supportive team, established methods and guidance by supervisor and colleagues.

Language of the Thesis:
German or English

Duration of the thesis:
6 months

Name of the Institute/Clinic/Unit:
Institute of Physiology, Pathophysiology and Biophysics, Department of Biomedical Sciences & Clinic for Horses, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna

Contact Person for the Thesis:
Franziska Dengler - Franziska.dengler@vetmdeuni.ac.at
Jessika Cavalleri - Jessika.cavalleri@vetmeduni.ac.at

Feedback from students requested by:
as soon as possible, flexible starting date

Please send a short CV and motivation letter.

Overall project: The SLA Complex: Molecular Genetics and Importance in Veterinary Vaccine Research

Short project description: Livestock species are a major source of animal protein worldwide. To ensure animal health and food safety, it is essential to prevent infectious diseases via biosecurity and use of well-designed vaccines and therapeutics. Advances in genomics have informed our understanding of the complexity of the immune system and the genes that influence disease and vaccine responses, with the most important being the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). Viral, bacterial and parasitic infections have severe influences on animal welfare and livestock economy. Development of an adaptive immune system to fight off these infections relies on effective activation of T lymphocytes and their recognition of pathogen-derived peptides presented by MHC molecules to T cell receptors (TCR). The highly polymorphic nature of the MHC allows for the presentation of a wide panel of antigenic peptides and thus influences disease resistance and vaccine responsiveness. In Europe, swine represent economically important farm animals and furthermore have become a preferred preclinical large animal model for biomedical studies, transplantation and regenerative medicine research. The need for typing of the swine leukocyte antigen (SLA) is increasing with the expanded use of pigs as models for human diseases and organ transplantation experiments and their use in infection studies and for design of veterinary vaccines. In this study, we characterise the SLA class I (SLA-1, SLA-2, SLA-3) and class II (DRB1, DQB1, DQA) genes of farmed pigs representing various commercial pig lines by low-resolution (Lr) SLA haplotyping. Further reading: Anim Genet. 2021 Aug; 52(4): 523–531. Published online 2021 May 24. DOI: 10.1111/age.13090

Previous knowledge/prerequisites:

• BSc Degree in Biology, Molecular Biology, Biotechnology, Biomedicine or a related subject
• Basic knowledge in molecular genetics and immunology
• Experience with basic molecular techniques
• Profound English language skills are welcome but not mandatory
• Previous experience with veterinary immunology or immunogenetics is beneficial

Additional comments: If you are interested and would like to be part of the immunology research team, please send a cover letter and a curriculum vitae to Priv.-Doz. Dr. Sabine E. Hammer

Planned duration of the thesis project: 01.03.2024 - 30.09.2024 – from March 1, 2024 to September 30, 2024

Name of the research unit: Institute of Immunology at the Department of Pathobiology

Supervisor: Priv.-Doz. Dr. Sabine E. Hammer

Interested candidates may reply until: February 16, 2024 – 16.02.2024