Two PhD candidates will develop an in vitro culture system for human spermatogenesis. Successful in vitro spermatogenesis can form the basis for novel methods to treat patients with impaired spermatogenesis or the development of alternative fertility preservation strategies. One PhD project will focus on the testicular somatic cells required to support proper germ cell development and the other PhD project will focus on in vitro germ cell differentiation from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hIPSCs).                                                                                                      

• PhD 1 will generate (hIPSC-derived) Sertoli cell-like and/or other testicular cells to direct germ cell differentiation into the male direction to support in vitro spermatogenesis, using existing mouse and human protocols. These cell lines will be characterized by single-cell sequencing (omics) and compared to existing signature of human embryonic cells and/or Sertoli cells of boys of pubertal age. 
• PhD 2 will generate germ cell precursor cells from hIPSCs that will subsequently be co-cultured with a to-be-decided feeder layer originating from human somatic testicular cells, fibroblast feeder cells or existing human Sertoli-cell lines to induce differentiation through meiosis and spermiogenesis and complete hIPSC-derived human spermatogenesis.

Both PhD students will be working closely together and with a Post-Doctoral fellow. The project will i.e., involve various cutting edge cell culture systems, microscopy and molecular biology techniques and will be performed at the Reproductive Biology Laboratory of the division Laboratory Specialisms. The Reproductive Biology Laboratory functions in close collaboration with the AMC Center for Reproductive Medicine and is part of the Amsterdam Reproduction and Development Research Institute.

The project
The project is part of a multi-center consortium (ZonMw PSIDER, HipGametes) that will study the societal, ethical and biological aspects of in vitro generation of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived gametes to model human embryogenesis.
The offered PhD-student positions concern the development of an in vitro culture system for human spermatogenesis from hIPSCs. Successful in vitro spermatogenesis can form the basis for novel methods to treat patients with impaired spermatogenesis or the development of alternative fertility preservation strategies. One PhD project will focus on the testicular somatic cells required to support proper germ cell development in vitro. The other PhD project will focus on in vitro germ cell differentiation from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hIPSCs). 
Both PhD students will be working closely together and with a Post-Doctoral fellow. The project will i.e., involve various cutting edge cell culture systems, microscopy and molecular biology techniques and will be performed at the Reproductive Biology Laboratory of the division Laboratory Specialisms. The Reproductive Biology Laboratory functions in close collaboration with the AMC Center for Reproductive Medicine and is part of the Amsterdam Reproduction and Development Research Institute.

Both candidates should hold a Master of Science (MSc.) degree in (medical) biology or comparable background with proven knowledge about, and strong interest in, (stem) cell biology and physiology. The candidates should have practical experience with cell culture and common cell biological research methods. The ideal candidates can propose new techniques and analyses and look forward to working on a project in a team where the data is obtained during the PhD. The project is part of a large consortium working on in vitro gametogenesis (ZonMw PSIDER, HipGametes), including ethical and social aspects, and the candidates should therefore be able to explain complex findings in an understandable way to audiences that are less familiar to this field, be able to adequately communicate with medical and scientific professionals and be able to communicate fluently in English, both in speech and writing.

Fixed-term contract: 12 months with the intention to extend for a term with a maximum of the project duration (2 years).

• A jump start to your career in research work.
• All te space for you to contribute shaping the care of tomorrow.
• Working on large-scale and research project, with motivated colleagues from all over the world.
• We offer a contract for a year (12 months) with the intention to extend for a term with a maximum of the project duration (2 years).
• Additional benefits include an 8.3% end-of-year bonus and 8.0% holiday pay.
• The base salary does not include holiday pay (8%) and a year-end bonus (8.3%). 
• In addition to excellent accessibility by public transport, AMC also has a sufficient number of parking spaces for employees.
• Pension is accrued at Be Frank. 

AMC

The two PhD positions are available at the Reproductive Biology Laboratory of the Amsterdam UMC, location AMC. The Reproductive Biology Laboratory functions in close collaboration with the AMC Center for Reproductive Medicine and is part of the Amsterdam Reproduction and Development Research Institute. The candidates will be supervised by principal investigators within the laboratory and will closely collaborate with clinicians of the Center for Reproductive Medicine, with other researchers and technicians of our laboratory and within the multi-institutional consortium on in vitro gametogenesis (ZonMw PSIDER, HipGametes). The Reproductive Biology Laboratory works at the forefront of research on gametogenesis. For instance, our laboratory has been able to maintain and amplify human spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) in vitro, achieved to make mouse SSCs undergo complete meiosis in vitro, unraveled the mechanisms that lead to human spermatogenic arrest and was the first to publish the transcriptome of specific human male germ cell subtypes. The goal of the current project is to use this knowledge to develop an in vitro culture system for human spermatogenesis that can form the basis for novel methods to treat patients with impaired spermatogenesis or the development of alternative fertility preservation strategies.