W2 Professorship (with W3 tenure track) in Translational Molecular Cardiology Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen

The Faculty of Medicine of Justus Liebig University Giessen (JLU) invites applications for a

W2 Professorship (with W3 tenure track) in Translational Molecular Cardiology

provisionally limited to a period of six years in non-tariff employment as of the earliest possible date. Reference is made to § 70 Para. 1 and 4 Hessian Higher Education Act (HessHG) and to the conditions of employment based on § 68 HessHG. In case of eligibility, which will be evaluated according to § 70 Para. 2 HessHG, a permanent W3 professorship will be offered subsequently. Proficient knowledge of German is expected.

Duties:
The professorship is affiliated with the Clinic and Outpatient Clinic I – Internal Medicine with a focus on Cardiology and Angiology. You will lead the "Molecular Cardiology" research group and represent the field comprehensively in both research and teaching.

Your responsibilities include, in particular, the advancement of novel technologies. Therefore, experience in collaborating with industry partners is desirable. Through your research activities, you are expected to contribute to understanding the causes and mechanisms of human diseases and to develop innovative treatment options. These newly developed treatment options based on your research findings are expected to be translated into clinical trials.

Furthermore, you will train early-career researchers to become medical scientists, whereby you are expected to serve as a role model in the training of family- and gender-equality-conscious researchers.

Your active participation in the university-s focus areas and the accent areas of the Faculty of Medicine is expected. Moreover, you are expected to cooperate closely with clinical and scientific research groups within existing research focus areas and consortia at the Giessen and Bad Nauheim campuses. This includes, particularly, collaboration within the existing Cluster of Excellence – Cardio-Pulmonary Institute (CPI) as well as research within the Collaborative Research Center 1213 "Pulmonary Hypertension and Cor Pulmonale-.

During your employment at JLU, further success in independently acquiring external funding, preferably from the DFG, the BMFTR, or the EU, is expected. You are also expected to actively contribute to existing research networks, initiate new research consortia, and collaborate within national and international research networks.

Your active participation in established structures of the Faculty of Medicine to support early-career researchers, such as the structured doctoral program JLU TRAINEE and the clinician scientist program JLU CAREER, is expected. Likewise, the university expects your collaboration within the Giessen Graduate Centre for the Life Sciences (GGL) as well as the supervision of theses associated with the support of early-career researchers.

The professorship is integrated into the teaching activities provided by the Center for Internal Medicine. Your teaching load is 8 hours per week (SWS). Conducting courses, including lectures and practical training in the field of cardiology and angiology with a focus on translational research, is expected.

The integration of gender aspects into research and teaching is explicitly desired.

The universities of Giessen and Marburg and the University of Applied Sciences in Central Hessen are working together in a research alliance (Research Campus of Central Hessen) as a structured cooperation based on coordinated priorities. It is expected that the applicant shows cooperativeness to university and department-wide collaborative projects.

Requirements:
You have an outstanding scientific profile in the field of molecular, biochemical, and cellular cardiology with national and international recognition, as evidenced primarily by publications in high-impact journals. In particular, you should possess expertise in the mechanisms of heart development, repair, and remodeling, including signal transduction, gene regulation, cell-cell interactions, and protein complexes, with a translational focus in the cardiovascular field.

Desirable is experience in supporting precision medicine, for example in the field of gene therapy as well as in the area of systems biology. Furthermore, experience in the application of modern research methods, such as CRISPR/Cas, live imaging, high-throughput screening, and single-cell sequencing, is desired. The profile is ideally completed by experience in the molecular manipulation of cardiomyocytes.

Additionally, proof of special pedagogical aptitude is required to represent the specialist field in academic teaching with great commitment.

You should also possess many years of experience in clinical-scientific collaborations and in management. Furthermore, success in the independent acquisition of external funding should be proven.

The prerequisites for this position include a successfully completed university education, preferably in the field of medicine, veterinary medicine, or natural sciences, as well as the necessary qualification for scientific work according to § 67 Para. 1 HessHG, which is usually proven by an outstanding doctorate. Also, relevant additional academic achievements are required (proven, for example, by a habilitation or through internationally recognized, subject-specific peer-reviewed publications), particularly in the area of basic research with a discernible link to cardiological questions.

The JLU welcomes qualified applications regardless of biological and social gender (m/f/d), disability, nationality, ethnic and social origin, religion, ideology, age as well as sexual orientation and identity. The JLU aims for a higher proportion of women in accordance with the women's promotion plan. We therefore particularly encourage qualified female candidates to apply. JLU is certified as a family-friendly university. Applications from disabled people of equal aptitude will be given preference.

We strongly recommend candidates to refer to our fact sheet on application procedures. Applicants are encouraged additionally to fill in one of the forms (Bewerbungsbogen – application form).

Please send your application with the required documents via online form to the President of Justus Liebig University Giessen by July 31^th, 2026, quoting the reference number K-11/26.