PhD tissue immunology and post-operative recovery after cancer

PhD tissue immunology and post-operative recovery after cancer

Would you like to do a PhD in a European Innovation Council project on tissue immunology and post-operative recovery after cancer? This is your opportunity to contribute to innovative research in a dynamic, international environment at Amsterdam UMC.

The project

Colorectal cancer affects over 1.93 million people worldwide each year. In most cases, surgery to remove the tumor is necessary, and intestinal continuity is restored through an anastomosis. However, a serious complication, known as an anastomotic leak, occurs in up to 20% of procedures. This complication is associated with increased mortality rates, frequent re-interventions, prolonged hospital stays, and increased risk of cancer recurrence. The incidence of anastomotic leaks remains high, largely due to poor healing and lack of recognition through biomarkers. The research group has addressed some of the clinical, microbial, and physiological factors that affect post-operative recovery after surgery. We aim to expand our understanding of complications of surgery, and immune mediated intestinal disease, in animal and human tissue.

The European Innovation Council (EIC) Transition Project “SMARTHEAL” is a collaborative project with Trinity College Dublin and the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, in collaboration with Plio Surgical and Amsterdam UMC. The aim is to develop innovative solutions for improved post-operative recovery and tissue healing.

About your role

As a PhD candidate you will take part in a dynamic and collaborative research program that focusses on intestinal diseases and complications of intestinal surgery by making use of state-of-the-art facilities and bioinformatic tools to study aspects of the disease progression and treatment success.

The role will be within the Dept of Pediatric Surgery, and the Tytgat Institute, attached to the Dept. of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Amsterdam UMC, where you will collaborate in a multidisciplinary international team of research fellows and engineers, as well as contributing to undergraduate and graduate teaching programs.

The function includes in varying proportions: research, teaching and scholarly activities, and supervision of graduate students and other research trainees. Specifically, you will be responsible for:

• Coordinating and managing data collection and screening.
• Performing (statistical) data analyses (experience in R or related software is preferred).
• Reporting your findings to the research group and consortium.
• Writing and publishing the research results in international scientific journals.

About you

• You hold a (bio)medical or biology MSc and/or MD.
• You have affinity with microbiome and protein biochemistry, and bioinformatics workflows for analyses. Preferably you have demonstrable experience in (mucosal) immunology, and with integration of omics data.
• You are a team player and work well with translational clinical scientists and well as cell biologists and computational biologists within the consortium. You are willing to work with animals and tissue. Art. 9 qualification is a pre.
• You have an intrinsic drive and enthusiasm, demonstrated excellent internship achievements, and a strong drive to interdisciplinary collaboration and translational science.
• Excellent communication skills in English are required.

Our offer

• A flying start to your career in scientific research.
• Plenty of room for your drive to shape tomorrow's healthcare.
• Working on large-scale and in-house research, with motivated colleagues from all over the world.
• You will be employed by Amsterdam UMC Research BV.
• A contract for 12 months, with the intention to extend for a total of 4 years.
• Salary scale OIO: € 3.017 to € 3.824 gross based on full-time employment (depending on education and experience) and a year-end bonus of 8.3%. Candidates that are BIG-registered Medical Doctors in the Netherlands are in salary scale 10: € 3.493 to € 5.504 gross per month based on full-time employment. From July 1st, 2025, there will be a salary increase of 3%.
• Holiday hours: 190.4 per year for fulltime and a possibility to save additional hours.
• Pension accrual with BeFrank, a modern, comprehensible and fairly priced pension.
• For >7 km each way, 100% reimbursement for public transport travel costs and, for private transport, €0.18 per km up to a maximum of 40 km each way.
• Do you prefer walking or cycling? Take advantage of our good bike scheme. Moreover, you will receive a reimbursement of €0.18 per km.

About your workplace

The dept. of Pediatric surgery and The Tytgat Institute of Liver and Intestinal Disease, at the Faculty of Medicine at the Amsterdam University Medical Centers, is a translational science unit merging Pediatrics and Gastroenterology. The Tytgat Institute houses some 70 FTE translational scientists and is tightly integrated into the Amsterdam UMC core facilities including genomics, imaging, bioinformatics and metabolomics, as well as excellent microbiota research facilities and training options.

Amsterdam UMC Research BV supports non-profit scientific research. In doing so, we provide researchers with everything they need to excel. Our principal investigators (PIs) and project leaders offer support in the field of project management, finance and human resources. In medical scientific research projects, legal support is also provided.

Amsterdam UMC has an open culture. This means that we hope that everyone feels welcome in our organization and that we strive to offer equal opportunities to everyone. We therefore cordially invite all interested parties to respond to this vacancy.

During the publication period, applications will be handled continuously. If the vacancy is filled, it will be closed prematurely.

The first round of interviews is scheduled for the beginning of July.

If you have any questions about this position, please feel free to contact Prof. dr. Joep Derikx, Pediatric surgeon, via j.derikx@amsterdamumc.nl, or Prof. dr. Wouter de Jonge, via w.j.dejonge@amsterdamumc.nl. Please use subject line “SMARTHEAL" in your email.

A reference check, screening and hiring test may be part of the procedure. If you join us, we ask you for a VOG (Certificate of Good Conduct).

Internal candidates will be given priority over external candidates in case of equal suitability.