As a consequence of cancer and its treatment, patients lose aerobic fitness, muscle mass and strength, and experience fatigue and reduced quality of life. Physical exercise can counteract these problems. Exercise oncology research at the department includes randomised controlled trials, cohort studies and qualitative studies aiming to:

• Examine effects of exercise interventions on patient-reported and clinical outcomes in various (understudied) cancer populations.
• Better understand mechanisms of action through which exercise may affect symptoms and outcome.
• Improve exercise participation and adherence.

As a PhD candidate, you will conduct studies contributing to this aim in close collaboration with the department of medical oncology and health evidence.

Taksk and responsibilities

• Support in the conduct of exercise oncology studies.
• Perform (exercise) tests in patients with cancer.
• Perform statistical analyses.
• Write scientific papers.

You will participate a PhD-program. The Radboud University Medical Center and the Radboud Institute for Health Sciences offer a unique, multidisciplinary working and learning environment with opportunities for developing expertise in a diversity of research areas and techniques. Dr. Laurien Buffart will be your primary supervisor. You will work in a multidisciplinary team of other researchers and clinicians involved with whom regular meetings will be scheduled. As we also very much value social and communication skills, you will be stimulated to take part in the vivid social interactions and scientific debates in our research institute.

This project will offer you the opportunity to conduct research on a pertinent topic in a stimulating, multi-centre environment with access to both high-quality data and expert supervision. This may jumpstart your academic career. However, for these promises to deliver, this requires your dedication, determination to succeed, ability to scientifically excel, and above all creativity to handle (scientific) challenges as they come along. You should demonstrate the potency to be one of those emerging scientific talents of the future generation. Furthermore:

• A Master's degree (or equivalent) in medicine, biomedical sciences, or human movement sciences.
• A strong interest in exercise oncology.
• Experience and/or interest in clinical studies (in patient groups) and/or clinical experience.
• Outstanding, communicative and collaborative skills, and you have experience or interest in statistical analyses and writing scientific articles.

Fixed-term contract: 3 years.

The salary depends on education. Scale 10 will be offered to MSc medical graduates; those holding degrees in other disciplines will be offered scale 10A.

Upon commencement of employment we require a certificate of conduct (Verklaring Omtrent het Gedrag, VOG) and there will be, depending on the type of job, a screening based on the provided cv. Radboud university medical center's HR Department will apply for this certificate on your behalf.

Read more about the Radboudumc employment conditions and what our International Office can do for you when moving to the Netherlands.

Radboudumc

The department of Physiology is a vibrant, growing department that pursues and promotes knowledge of how the human body functions through an understanding of biomolecules, cells, organs, and organisms. The group Integrative Physiology led by prof. Hopman has a long-standing tradition in human-in-vivo research related to oxygen transport (circulation) and oxygen utilization (muscle) at rest and during exercise in health and disease. Research at the department focuses on the role of physical exercise on the development and treatment of various diseases including cardio- and cerebrovascular disease and cancer.

Research Institutes
At the moment there are more than 1,300 PhD candidates at our medical hospital. This number includes PhD candidates on our pay roll as well as external candidates (those employed somewhere else but researching on our premises).

• Radboud Institute for Health Sciences: ± 700
• Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences: ± 400
• Donders Center for Medical Neurosciences: ± 200

Read what it is like to do a PhD at the Radboud University Medical Center.

Radboudumc
Radboudumc strives to be a leading developer of sustainable, innovative and affordable healthcare to improve the health and wellbeing of people and society in the Netherlands and beyond. This is the core of our mission: To have a significant impact on healthcare. To get a better picture of what this entails, check out our strategy.

Read more about what it means to work at Radboudumc and how you can do your part.