Extracurricular Internship in In Situ Cryo-Electron Tomography

Build the science that shapes the future of human health.
Application closing date: 25.09.2026 

Human Technopole (HT) is an interdisciplinary life science research institute, created and supported by the Italian Government, with the aim of developing innovative strategies to improve human health. HT is composed of five Centers: Neurogenomics, Computational Biology, Structural Biology, Genomics, and Health Data Science. The Centers work together to enable interdisciplinary research and to create an open, collaborative environment that will help promote life science research both nationally and internationally.

The Structural Biology Center at HT develops and applies advanced structural biology approaches to investigate molecular organization and mechanisms relevant to human health.

In the Erdmann research group within the Structural Biology Center, we develop in situ cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) and advanced cryogenic sample-preparation workflows to investigate molecular organization directly within cells and complex biological specimens, combining electron tomography, focused ion beam (FIB) milling, correlative imaging, and computational analysis.

Internship Project Description

We are seeking a motivated intern to contribute to research on cellular organization in disease-relevant biological models. The project aims to develop and apply advanced cryogenic electron tomography workflows for structural investigation of complex biological specimens, combining sample preparation, imaging and computational analysis across spatial scales.

Your main tasks and responsibilities

• Support the preparation and optimization of biological samples, including tissues and organoids, for cryo-FIB milling and cryo-ET.
• Contribute to the implementation and optimization of workflows for the in situ structural investigation of tissue material.
• Support the processing, analysis and interpretation of cryo-ET datasets.
• Document experimental activities and present results within the research team.

Requirements

Essential requirements

• MSc in Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Structural Biology, Biophysics or a related discipline.
• Hands-on experience with biological sample preparation for cryogenic electron microscopy, including cryo-EM grid preparation.

• Practical research experience with mammalian cell culture and fluorescence microscopy, including analysis of biological imaging data.

Preferred requirements

• Experience with single-particle cryo-EM data collection and/or image processing.
• Experience working in Linux environments and/or basic programming experience, for example Python.
• Experience with molecular biology techniques such as cloning or transfection.

Organizational and social skills

• Excellent communication and team working skills.
• Ability to work carefully and independently, organize and document experimental work, and learn new methods in an interdisciplinary research environment.

Application Instructions

• a CV.
• a motivation letter in English.
• For specific enquires concerning the role only, please contact the Talent & Acquisition Team, recruitment@fht.org (this email address should not be used to send applications).

 
Why Human Technopole

HT seeks scientific excellence, we recruit the best scientific talents through international, open calls.

Our working environment is international, friendly and inclusive. Our scientists work together across disciplines on research topics of biomedical relevance, leveraging synergies between their diverse skillsets and methodological approaches.

We believe that highly diverse teams yield the best and most innovative results.

We engage in outward-facing scientific activities aimed at benefiting the national and international research community. Training is also at the heart of our activity, with initiatives and opportunities for our staff, including scientific courses, conferences and workshops.

What we offer

• Canteen service.
• Guest House upon availability, if needed.
• Access to all training initiatives targeted to HT scientists.
• International research environment with networking and training opportunities.
• Hands-on experience with real-world research projects addressing compelling scientific questions and applying state-of-the-art technologies.
• Supervision by experienced researchers providing personalized feedback and career advice.

Special consideration will be given to candidates who are part of the protected categories list, according to L. 68/99.

Number of positions offered: 1

Internship duration: 6 months.     

Reimbursement: 800€ gross per month

The position is based in Milan.