Johannes Kepler University Linz (JKU)

The Johannes Kepler University Linz (JKU) is proud to offer exciting PhD opportunities at the intersection of cutting-edge single-molecule research and modern biomedical science. As a top-tier European institution with a rapidly expanding Faculty of Medicine and a long-standing tradition in natural sciences and nanotechnology, JKU provides a uniquely fertile environment for interdisciplinary discovery.

Linz has emerged as an international hub for single-molecule techniques, hosting the globally renowned Winter Workshop on Single Molecules for over two decades. Many groundbreaking methods originated here, including single-molecule recognition force spectroscopy, cell force spectroscopy, recognition imaging, and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) for membrane proteins. JKU researchers also helped pioneer stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy, overcoming classical resolution limits and enabling unprecedented insights into molecular systems.

State-of-the-art facilities in Linz support a broad spectrum of single-molecule approaches, including Austria’s only high-speed atomic force microscope (HS-AFM), two-photon STED-inspired sub-diffractional lithography, and custom-built single-molecule fluorescence setups tailored for nano-confinement studies. These capabilities are actively embedded in the university’s research and doctoral training ecosystem.

Complementing this strong foundation in the natural sciences is JKU’s dynamic and modern Faculty of Medicine. Developed in collaboration with the Medical University of Graz, the faculty features a modular, organ- and topic-centered curriculum and maintains close ties to the Kepler University Hospital. Research is driven by the Center for Medical Research (CMR), a comprehensive facility that houses over 16 research groups and six core platforms, including genomics, proteomics, histology, imaging, and cytometry.