The University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG) unites the Medical Faculty of the Georg-August University and the University Hospital in an integration model. With around 9,700 employees, the UMG and its subsidiaries are one of the largest employers in the region. Our clinics and institutes stand for high-quality patient care, excellent research, modern teaching and transfer of innovative technology.

Göttingen as a city of science is located in the center of Germany and the University Medical Center Göttingen is integrated into an attractive network of university and non-university scientific institutions.

The Else Kröner Fresenius Center for Optogenetic Therapies (EKFZ) of the University Medical Center Göttingen is looking for a new position to 01.07.2026

Clinician Scientists (f/m/d)

full time, with 40 hours per week, for at least 12 months, starting in July 2026 or later
Remuneration according to TV-Ärzte

The EKFZ for optogenetic therapies at the University Medical Center Göttingen is dedicated to the translation of four core approaches to restore (1) hearing and (2) vision and explore the potential of optogenetics for (3) gastric pacemaking and (4) brain-computer interfaces. These four teams are supported by the platforms for (1) opsin engineering, (2) gene transfer, (3) disease models, (4) immune-phenotyping and (5) development of medical devices.

The goal of this center is to harness the great potential of optogenetics – the control of cells with light via light-sensitive proteins (opsins) – for clinical use. Optogenetics enables spatially confined, cell-type-specific control of organs and promises a transformative improvement of clinical care beyond that provided by conventional electrical medical devices for a wide range of patients.

Our goal as University Medical Center Göttingen is professional equality for all genders. We strive to equalize the gender ratio in areas where there is underrepresentation. The University Medical Center Göttingen is particularly committed to the professional participation of severely disabled people and therefore welcomes applications from severely disabled people. In the case of equal suitability, applications from severely disabled persons will be given preferential consideration in accordance with the relevant regulations. We kindly ask you to indicate a disability/equal status in your letter of application in order to safeguard your interests.

Your tasks

Clinician Scientists are given the opportunity to plan and realize their own research project. The project needs to be within the scientific scope of the EKFZ center for optogenetic therapies and supervision by a principal investigator of the EKFZ center for optogenetic therapies and assigned to one of the four teams or five platforms. The project can be either in basic research or a part of the clinical studies.

Your qualifications

completed studies in human medicine with license to practice medicine
you have started but did not finish your residency at one of the partner institutions (UMG, MHH, Freiburg)
medical doctorate, at least completed experimental part of the doctoral thesis or research experience for several months
proof of scientific interest by a scientifically sound and promising project outline
independent, responsible, flexible working style and ability to work in a team

We offer

As a Clinician Scientist you will be a key for further and improved optogenetic therapies to become available to patients. You will have the opportunity to join the EKFZ academy, which provides a training program tailored to translation including courses on methods,medical statistics, intellectual property, regulatory processes, drug development as well as pre-clinical and clinical trial planning.

Please submit your application until 15th March, 2026 consisting of:

Motivation letter (including name, affiliation, address, e-mail, phone number, max. 2 pages)
CV including publication list and research experience
Project presentation:

1. Title
2. Description of the project (max. 2 pages)
3. Main research question/ goal (max. 1 page)
4. Project plan (max. 2 pages)
5. Clinical relevance and integration into the EKFZ (1/2 page)

Letter of support from the prospective research and clinical mentors.

In view to this, you are welcome to contact the EKFZ administration team, e-mail: ekfz@med.uni-goettingen.de, to assist you to get in touch with the suitable EKFZ team or platform members.

Our goal as University Medical Center Göttingen is professional equality for all genders. We strive to equalize the gender ratio in areas where there is underrepresentation. The University Medical Center Göttingen is particularly committed to the professional participation of severely disabled people and therefore welcomes applications from severely disabled people. In the case of equal suitability, applications from severely disabled persons will be given preferential consideration in accordance with the relevant regulations. We kindly ask you to indicate a disability/equal status in your letter of application in order to safeguard your interests.

We look forward to receiving your application!