PhD student position PERSIMMON project

Join the PERSIMMON Project: Advancing Kidney Transplantation Outcomes

Kidney transplantation is the preferred treatment for patients suffering from end-stage kidney disease. Kidney transplant recipients in general live longer compared to patients who remain on dialysis and their quality of life improves enormously after a successful transplantation. Despite the availability of modern, potent immunosuppression, rejection by immune cells of the recipient still complicate many transplantations. Antibody-mediated rejection (ABMR) is caused by donor-specific antibodies, results in microvascular inflammation and organ damage. ABMR affects 15%-20% of patients and typically has an insidious onset that complicates early diagnosis. In general, ABMR often occurs later after transplantation, is difficult to treat, and is the leading cause of long-term kidney allograft failure.

The central hypothesis of the PERSonalized IMMunosuppression for ONe kidney for life (PERSIMMON) project, funded by NWO, is that transplantation outcomes can be improved further by personalizing immunosuppression. The aim of this PhD project is to get a better understanding of the pathophysiology of ABMR, the mechanisms underlying DSA formation/ABMR, and the role of innate immunity, in particular NK cells in these processes. This is essential to improve treatment and outcome of ABMR and kidney transplantation.

We are searching for one PhD student to join our team.

Candidate Profile:

• You are a highly motivated candidate with an interest in laboratory work, including cell culture, assays, and flowcytometry.
• You have an MSc in Biomedical Sciences, Medicine, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Biochemistry or a related field.
• You have excellent oral and written communication skills in English.
• You have the ability to work in a research group.
• Experience in the field of immunology or nephrology is an advantage.