Graduate Center for Neurosciences, Biophysics, and Molecular Biosciences

The Göttingen Graduate Center for Neurosciences, Biophysics, and Molecular Biosciences (GGNB) welcomes qualified students to join our vibrant international research community! Founded in 2007, GGNB is a joint enterprise between four faculties of the University of Göttingen (Biology, Chemistry, Medicine, and Physics), the Max Planck Institutes for Multidisciplinary Sciences (MPI-NAT) and Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPI-DS), the Leibniz Institute German Primate Center (DPZ), as well as the Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology (ITMP-TNM). Fourteen international doctoral programmes are united under the roof of GGNB, including four International Max Planck Research Schools (IMPRS). The GGNB doctoral programmes differ in their scientific focus within the broad field of molecular life sciences, neurosciences, and biophysics. With approx. 500 PhD candidates and 200 faculty members, GGNB is currently one of the largest graduate centres in the natural sciences in Germany, integrating top-level research and promoting close scientific collaboration on the university research campus and beyond. While most of the GGNB doctoral programmes require a Master’s degree in the natural sciences as an entry qualification, GGNB also includes two integrated MSc/PhD programmes (IMPRS for Molecular Biology and Neurosciences) that accept outstanding Bachelor’s graduates. These integrated programmes offer a fast track option to continue with a PhD project after one year of intensive coursework. The primary goal of GGNB is to provide an excellent research environment for PhD candidates as well as an outstanding research-based training programme, preparing students for a career in academia, science management, or industry. Each PhD candidate is affiliated with one of the GGNB doctoral programmes, which provides individual counselling and the guidance of a thesis advisory committee. Training includes lectures and seminars, advanced methods courses, courses and workshops in professional skills and other activities such as student-organised scientific meetings, industry excursions, and intercultural events. Participation in international meetings is encouraged and supported by travel grants. While the focus is clearly on the individual research project, PhD candidates can individualise the curriculum by choosing from over 200 courses and events offered by the graduate school every year. All courses are conducted in English. It is a particular strength of the Göttingen research landscape that method development and top-level biological research are traditionally linked, which has produced internationally recognised discoveries. For instance, the Nobel Prize-winning inventions of STED microscopy, temperature-jump techniques (pioneering the measuring of ultrafast kinetics), and of patch-clamping (which has revolutionised electrophysiology) have been complemented with discoveries such as the highly sensitive procedures for magnetic resonance imaging and the use of siRNA as a tool to knock down protein expression. The contribution of physics to the life sciences is expanding beyond pure technology towards the development of new physical concepts and theories. Together, breakthrough technologies and new conceptual approaches constitute strong drivers for current research.