The Pharmaceutical Technology Research Group led by Prof. Dr. Paola Luciani at the Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Science, of the University of Bern, Switzerland, is accepting applications for a PhD position in Drug Delivery. The position is available for four years and is financed through the European Research Council's ERC Synergy Grant funding scheme. The starting date is 01 April 2026.

Many modern biotherapeutic molecules, such as peptides and proteins, cannot reach their targets inside the cell because they cannot pass through the protective cell membrane. The ERC Synergy project “Covalent Chaotropic Membrane Transport for Biotherapeutic Delivery” (acronym: CARAMEL) will investigate a new, groundbreaking strategy to transport these impermeable molecules into cells, abandoning classical design principles in favor of a completely new approach. This will be achieved within the next 6 years through the use of superchaotropic bo...