Are you ambitious, passionate about science, and eager to solve complex biomedical questions through computational methods? We (the Computational Science Laboratory) are looking for a PhD candidate to join our team of researchers.

What are you going to do?

Your main objective will be to develop, validate, and apply a new computational model to simulate the flow of red blood cells, platelets, and other components under specific disease and medical device related conditions. You will build on the Multiscale Modelling and Simulation Framework and develop your model within HemoCell to realize an efficient, high performance computational method that can provide answers to complex biological questions in the context of human vascular diseases, such as thrombosis, hemostasis. You will cooperate with external experimental groups throughout the process.

You will:

• develop a new multiscale computational model within HemoCell, adding the molecular level, adding biochemistry, and adding platelet adhesion and aggregation, and apply it in the context of human vascular diseases;
• complete and defend a PhD thesis within the official appointment duration of four years;
• collaborate with other researchers within our group and in external groups;
• regularly present intermediate research results at international conferences and workshops, and publish them in proceedings and journals;
• assist in relevant teaching activities.

Background information

The Multiscale Modelling and Simulation Framework defines a theoretical approach to multiscale modelling, a simulation framework to develop and run multiscale simulations and a set of tools and middleware to execute and manage multiscale computations on a broad array of computing infrastructure, from the desktop to HPC environments.

HemoCell is our open-source cellular flow modelling toolkit. It is used by several groups around the world in investigations spanning from basic research topics on cellular transport mechanism to more applied topics on endovascular medical devices.

• A Master's degree in computational science, computational biology/physics, physics, applied mathematics, or in a closely related discipline;
• a strong background in programming (C++ and Python preferred);
• a strong interest in biology, biophysics or biomedicine related questions;
• good communication, presentation and writing skills and excellent command of English;
• pro-active, cooperative attitude and creative out-of-the-box thinking;
• capability to work in an international multidisciplinary research environment.

Knowledge on the following is not required, but considered as an advantage:

• computational fluid dynamics;
• numerical techniques to solve PDEs;
• lattice Boltzmann method;
• high performance computing.

Fixed-term contract: 18 months.

A temporary contract for 38 hours per week, preferably starting at 1 november 2020 for the duration of 18 months. After a satisfactory evaluation the contract will be extended for 30 months and should lead to a dissertation (PhD thesis). You will get a customized Training and Supervision Plan, that will be evaluated every year.

The salary will be €2,325 to € 2,972 (scale P) gross per month, based on fulltime (38 hours a week), exclusive 8 % holiday allowance and 8.3 end-of-year bonus. A favorable tax agreement, the ‘30% ruling’, may apply to non-Dutch applicants. The Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities is applicable.

Some further things we offer:

• very friendly, interactive and international working environment;
• new building located near the city center (20 minutes by bicycle) of one of Europe’s most beautiful and lively cities;
• access to high-end computing facilities (e.g. cluster with 4,000+ cores).

Are you curious about our extensive package of secondary employment benefits? Then find out more about working at the Faculty of Science.

University of Amsterdam

With over 5,000 employees, 30,000 students and a budget of more than 600 million euros, the University of Amsterdam (UvA) is an intellectual hub within the Netherlands. Teaching and research at the UvA are conducted within seven faculties: Humanities, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Economics and Business, Law, Science, Medicine and Dentistry. Housed on four city campuses in or near the heart of Amsterdam, where disciplines come together and interact, the faculties have close links with thousands of researchers and hundreds of institutions at home and abroad.  

The UvA’s students and employees are independent thinkers, competent rebels who dare to question dogmas and aren’t satisfied with easy answers and standard solutions. To work at the UvA is to work in an independent, creative, innovative and international climate characterised by an open atmosphere and a genuine engagement with the city of Amsterdam and society.

Faculty of Science – Informatics Institute

The Faculty of Science has a student body of around 6,500, as well as 1,600 members of staff working in education, research or support services. Researchers and students at the Faculty of Science are fascinated by every aspect of how the world works, be it elementary particles, the birth of the universe or the functioning of the brain.

The mission of the Informatics Institute is to perform curiosity-driven and use-inspired fundamental research in Computer Science. The main research themes are Artificial Intelligence, Computational Science and Systems and Network Engineering. Our research involves complex information systems at large, with a focus on collaborative, data driven, computational and intelligent systems, all with a strong interactive component.

The Computational Science Lab of the Informatics Institute aims to make dynamic complex systems tractable via computational science. We study a broad range of dynamics systems in fields ranging from biomedicine to urban, or socioeconomic systems. We also develop theory of dynamic complex systems based on concepts of information processing.