PhD Student no. 13/2026/ICHB/PSD: Predicting Immunotherapy Response in Melanoma Using Gut Mycobiome Metabolic Signatures Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences in Poland

PhD position at the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poznań, Poland

This PhD opening is part of a research project on predicting response to immunotherapy in advanced melanoma using metabolic signatures of the gut mycobiome. The project is hosted by the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, within the Poznań Doctoral School of the Institutes of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

The research focuses on an underexplored area of cancer microbiome science: the functional activity of gut fungi and their metabolites, rather than taxonomy alone, as biomarkers of response to anti-PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitors. The successful candidate will work with metagenomic, metabolomic, and clinical data from patients with advanced melanoma and contribute to the development of interpretable machine learning and artificial intelligence models for precision oncology.

The PhD student will be involved in omics data integration, development and validation of predictive models, statistical analysis, interpretation of results using AI methods, and preparation of scientific publications. The work also includes analysis of shotgun metagenomics data, taxonomic and functional profiling, exploratory analysis of multivariate datasets, and presentation of findings at seminars and conferences. Computational work will be carried out using the high-performance computing infrastructure of the Poznań Supercomputing and Networking Center (PCSS).

Funding is provided through the National Science Center project 2025/59/D/NZ2/00484. The stipend is approximately 5555 PLN gross per month (4930 PLN net) for 36 months, with the possibility of extension up to 48 months and a potential increase after the mid-term evaluation.

Applicants should have an MSc degree in biology, bioinformatics, computer science, or a related field, or meet the legal eligibility conditions for doctoral studies. Desired skills include bioinformatic analysis of biological data, programming in Python/R/Bash, basic statistics, and strong English skills. Experience with NGS, metabolomics, machine learning/AI, and HPC systems such as Slurm is an advantage.

The application deadline is 31 August 2026 at 23:59 (Europe/Brussels). Applications must be submitted via the eRecruiter portal together with the required documents, including the application form, diploma or graduation certificate, scientific CV, cover letter, English certificates if available, and referee contact details. For questions, contact the principal investigator, Dr hab. Natalia Szóstak, at [email protected].