Silja Wessler

TagTIC – Targeting Infection-Driven Cancers is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network offering 11 fully funded PhD positions in an interdisciplinary European research programme hosted by the University of Salzburg and partner institutions across Europe. The network investigates how microbial infections contribute to gastrointestinal cancer and how this knowledge can be translated into prevention, diagnosis, and therapy. The projects span infection biology, cancer biology, immunology, organoid and assembloid systems, multi-omics, artificial intelligence, advanced imaging, medicinal chemistry, biophysics, and drug discovery. Candidates will join a highly international training environment with joint supervision, industrial mentoring, secondments at academic and non-academic partners, and access to state-of-the-art methods such as patient-derived organoids, single-cell and spatial transcriptomics, high-content imaging, computational modelling, and AI-supported analysis. The positions are designed to start in January 2027 and run for 48 months. Project themes include H. pylori- and EBV-driven gastric transformation, EBV-targeted inhibitor discovery, therapy resistance in Fusobacterium nucleatum-positive colorectal cancer, bacterial virulence and host-pathogen interactions, epithelial immunity and cancer prevention, AI-guided therapeutic design, anti-virulence drug discovery, tumour evolution under chronic infection, microbial metabolites and cancer signalling, RNA modifications in cancer, and explainable AI for infection-driven cancers. Applicants must hold a Master’s degree or equivalent by recruitment, must not already have a doctoral degree, and must satisfy the MSCA mobility rule. Excellent English skills and a strong background relevant to the chosen project are required. Candidates of any nationality are welcome. Applications must be submitted through the central TagTIC portal. Applicants need to rank three project preferences and provide a CV, motivation letter, degree certificates/transcripts, and referee contact details. The deadline is 25 September 2026 at 23:59 (Europe/Vienna). Funding is provided through Horizon Europe MSCA Doctoral Networks, and successful candidates will be employed under MSCA conditions with full funding for the doctoral positions.