PhD Position

Job description

The PhD student will participate in research which is part of the Netherlands Research Council (NWO)-funded consortium RecovAir: REpairing lung damage via reCOVery of stromal heAlth to restore respIRatory function that aims to develop a locally administered regenerative cell therapy for tissue restoration in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This is a prevalent inflammatory disease characterized by irreversible airflow obstruction. The disease has high morbidity and mortality, being the third leading cause of death worldwide. The tissue damage in COPD is severe and irreversible. Therefore, there is an urgent need for regenerative cell therapy for tissue restoration in COPD.

Within the UMCG, the PhD student will work with the ex vivo lung perfusion model where the main focus will be optimization of the model for administration of regenerative therapies developed within the RecovAir consortium. The ex vivo lung perfusion will be performed in cadaveric animal lungs and human explanted COPD lungs. In addition, further studies will be performed on deposition/distribution and engraftment of regenerative cells after the initial optimization.

Working environment

The PhD student will be working within the department of Pulmonary Diseases and Tuberculosis of the UMCG. The research will be embedded within the Groningen Research Institute for Asthma and COPD (GRIAC), a multidisciplinary and highly translational research institute performing fundamental and applied patient-related research with the aim to unravel underlying mechanisms of the development and progression of lung diseases, including asthma, COPD and pulmonary fibrosis.

The project is part of a national consortium, where there will be close collaboration with the department of Cardiothoracic Surgery (dr. Erasmus) and Pathology & Medical Biology (Prof. dr. Heijink, Prof. dr. Brandsma and Prof. dr. Nawijn), and laboratory of Experimental Pulmonology and Inflammation Research (EXPIRE). Within these departments multiple renowned research groups work on pathophysiological damage and repair processes, using translational and multi-omic approaches (transcriptomics e.g. single cell RNA sequencing, proteomics etc), and state-of-the-art cellular and molecular techniques, to obtain insights into novel therapeutic strategies. In addition there will be a close collaboration with the consortium partners from University of Groningen (Prof. dr. Gosens), Twente University (Prof. dr. Leijten and Prof. dr. Prakash) and University Medical Center Leiden (Dr. van der Does, Prof dr. Hiemstra and Prof. dr. J.J. Zwaginga).

What do we ask

• You have a Master’s degree in the Molecular/Medical Biology or Biomedical Sciences field with a strong drive to further develop in this area.
• You can work independently but you are also a team player.
• You have experience with cellular and molecular models in the lab, such as qPCR.
• You are enthusiastic and curious about experimental research and have affinity for fundamental and translational research.
• You are highly motivated, self-confident and pro-active.
• You have excellent organizational, communication and interaction skills, along with strong project- and time management skills.
• Command of the English language in spoken and written word is mandatory.

TThe UMCG has a preventive Hepatitis B policy. The UMCG can provide you with the vaccination, should it be required for your position. In case of specific professions a ‘Certificate of Good Conduct’ is required.

What do we offer

We offer a 4 year PhD position for 32 to 36 hours per week, with a go/no-go decision after 12 months. Your salary will be a maximum of € 3.824,- gross per month (scale PRO), depending on your qualifications and relevant experience, based on a full-time appointment. In addition, the UMCG will offer you 8% holiday pay, and 8.3% end-of-year bonus. The conditions of employment comply with the Collective Labour Agreement for Medical Centres (CAO-UMC).