At the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI, www.helmholtz-hzi.de) in Braunschweig, scientists study bacterial and viral pathogens, their interactions with the host organism and innate and adaptive immune response mechanisms. With its long-standing history in natural product research, the HZI and its subsidiaries Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarbrücken (HIPS) and TWINCORE Centre for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research in Hannover also strongly pursue the discovery and development of novel drug lead candidates with the ultimate goal of translating basic research results into clinical applications. The HZI with more than 750 employees is jointly financed by the Federal Government (90%), the State Government of Lower Saxony (9%) and the State Government of Saarland (1%). The HZI is a member of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres, Germany's largest non-university scientific organisation. The HZI is actively involved in founding the German Centre for Infection Research (Deutsches Zentrum für Infektionsforschung - DZIF) to join forces with 26 German partner institutions excelling in the field of infection research.
 
The Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research invites applications for the position of two independent

Junior Research Group Leaders

in the field of Infectious Disease Research

The candidates, highly qualified junior scientists holding a MD or PhD, should have an excellent scientific track record plus at least two years of postdoctoral experience in the above-mentioned research areas. While there is no particular restriction on the specific research area, there is the expectation that the successful candidates will be able to establish synergistic collaborations with institutional and regional university groups working in related fields.
 
The Junior Groups will be funded for a period of 5 years. Funding for each group includes the position of the group leader (tenure track), a postdoctoral scientist, a technician and a PhD student as well as consumables and instrumentation for 5 years.
 
The Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research is committed to increase the proportion of female faculty members and therefore encourages applications by female candidates. Candidates with disabilities will be given preference, provided they are equally qualified.
 
Please check the details online at www.helmholtz.de/ausschreibungen. For additional information please contact the Scientific Director of the HZI, Prof. Dr. Dirk Heinz: dirk.heinz@helmholtz-hzi.de.
 
Applications, including a full CV, list of publications, a brief outline of future research interests (max. 2 pages) and the names, addresses, telephone numbers and emails of three referees should be sent either by regular or electronic mail (maximum of three documents, - 10 MB size in total) by March 30, 2012 to