Institute of Immunology

Visual Universitätsmedizin Mainz

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For Master Thesis inquiries and applications, please contact one of the group leaders.

Master Theses Delacher Laboratory

Currently (January 2025) there are to vacancies for Master theses in the Delacher laboratory. If you are interested, please contact Prof. Dr. Delacher (E-Mail: delacher@uni-mainz.de or via phone 06131-176574). 

Master’s thesis project 1/2025:
DNA methylation is a central feature that controls which genes become expressed. A genome-wide analysis of this characteristic is enabled by a technique called bisulfite sequencing. Data originating from this technique require special analysis tools that can deal with the unique characteristics of DNA methylation as well as with the inherently large amount of data (DNA methylation can affect about 28 million sites in the human genome). The aim of this project is to establish and streamline an analysis workflow for bisulfite sequencing data on the high-performance computing system “MOGON”. Previously available tools will be combined into a comprehensive and easy-to-use workflow using workflow management approaches, shell scripting and (optionally) programming in R or Python.
 
You will learn (among other things):
  • The characteristics and analysis of bisulfite sequencing, a widely applied sequencing technique
  • Usage of a high-performance computing system
  • Usage of workflow management techniques
  • Design thinking in the development of computational tools
  • It will be possible to use the newly developed workflow to tackle cutting-edge biological questions regarding the DNA methylation of immune cells.

Master’s thesis project 2/2025:

Regulatory T cells (Treg cells) are central players in the establishment and maintenance of immune tolerance. This makes them important for the prevention of autoimmune diseases. However, they also contribute to immune evasion mechanisms, hampering the immune system’s capacity to fight infections or cancer. This dual role in health and disease highlights the importance of understanding Treg cells in both of these contexts. A central feature of Treg cell function is their interaction with other cells. Thus, knowing their interaction partners and the exact nature of such interactions is of paramount importance to the understanding of Treg cell biology. The goal of this project is an investigation of Treg cell interactions in tissues. We will identify the cell types that interact with Treg cells in these contexts and delineate what cell-cell signaling pathways are involved in such interactions. To this end, we will leverage spatially resolved transcriptomic data from the “10X Xenium” platform, one of the latest innovations in the spatial omics field. All data is already available.

You will learn (among other things):

  • Analysis of data from the “10X Xenium” platform, one of the latest innovations in the spatial omics field
  • The basics of cell-cell interaction analysis
  • Programming in R
  • Usage of a high-performance computing system
  • Visualization of spatially resolved data
  • Application of statistical techniques to cutting-edge biological questions
  • It will be possible to use the newly developed workflow to tackle cutting-edge biological questions regarding the cell interaction network of Treg cells.

Contact Delacher Laboratory

 

Univ.-Prof. Dr. Michael Delacher

delacher@uni-mainz.de

Phone: +49 (0)6131 17-6574


Institute of Immunology

University Medical Center Mainz
Bldg. 308A, 2nd/3rd floor
Langenbeckstr. 1
55131 Mainz