About JSMC

The Jena School for Microbial Communication (JSMC) at the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena is not only an Excellence Graduate School, but also a lively network of scientists from a broad variety of natural & life sciences institutes and an umbrella organization for three Research Training Groups in Jena. The JSMC was first awarded funding within the German Excellence Initiative in 2007. In June 2012 the Excellence Status of the JSMC was confirmed and funding for an additional six years was granted to the Graduate School. Since 2019 the JSMC is funded by the Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung.

Today, JSMC hosts a total of about 130 doctoral researchers. Their research projects are situated at the numerous institutes that make up the JSMC network, including institutes and clinics at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena as well as non-university research institutions.

Jena Alliance: Siegfried Czapski Publication Prize

The 2023 call for nominations for the Siegfried Czapski Publication Prize of the Jena Alliance is open! You have written a remarkable paper that has been accepted by an international journal within the last year? Then ask your supervisor to nominate you for the publication prize! It is a wonderful opportunity to recognize and appreciate an outstanding scientific achievement.

The Prize honours an exceptional contribution at the interface of the university profile lines LIGHT and LIFE that has been accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal of international quality. The Prize is endowed with 2,000 EUR of personal and taxable prize money and supervisors can nominate publications by early-career researchers until July 15.

Further info

Recruitment 2023/03

The Cluster of Excellence Balance of the Microverse invites applications for Postdoc Positions

The Cluster of Excellence Balance of the Microverse of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena combines expertise in life, material, optical and computational sciences to elevate microbiome studies from descriptive to hypothesis-driven and functional analyses. Our core mission is to elucidate fundamental principles of the interactions and functions in microbial communities in diverse habitats ranging from oceans and ground water to plant and human hosts. The affiliated early career program of the Jena School for Microbial Communication (JSMC) offers an ambitious, structured and interdisciplinary post-graduate training based on top-level fundamental research.

We are curently offering two postdoctoral researcher positions. We are seeking motivated and engaging candidates who strive to collaborate widely and look beyond traditional disciplines to further our mission.

Application deadline: 6 June 2023.

Applications for this position is accepted via the JSMC Online Application Portal.

An overview of all positions offerend can be found here

Transforming my mental illness: from suffering to advocacy

Our Scientific Manager, Hendrik Huthoff, gave an interview on mental health for the Marie Curie Alumni newsletter. If you want to find out more about Hendriks experience in dealing with menatl health and setting up a Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) team at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena you can find the whole interview here: medium.com/marie-curie-alumni

an interview by Pooja Khurana

Jena Alliance "Life in Focus"

The JSMC is part of the Jena Alliance "Life in Focus" that promotes a nationally and internationally visible excellent graduate qualification at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena.

Under the umbrella of the Graduate Academy, the Jena Alliance networks and strengthens the established graduate programmes: Jena School for Microbial Communication (JSMC), Jena School of Molecular Medicine (JSMM), Abbe School of Photonics (ASP) and Max Planck School of Photonics (MPSP).

Want to know more?