The eye disorder glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. Last resort treatment is surgical intervention: glaucoma filtration surgery. The current project is a part of a large, public-private funded project aimed to set a new standard of glaucoma filtration surgery. We will develop a new, innovative filtration implant and a tailor-made, sustained medication regimen. To achieve this, a consortium was founded consisting of several departments of the University Maastricht, the TU/e and a number of (inter)national companies.

 The postdoc will select and design the new medication regimen on the basis of in vitro bioassays and select an appropriate drug delivery system. In addition, you will supervise the animal experiments in which prototypes of implants and medication regimen will be tested. This work will be performed in a team of senior scientists, ophthalmologists, PhDs, and technicians.

• PhD degree in biochemistry, pharmacy or related field.
• Preferably, expertise in drug design and sustained drug delivery.
• Excellent communication skills since the team members have diverse backgrounds.
• A creative can-do mentality and team spirit.
• Preferably, experience with animal studies.

Fixed-term contract: We offer a temporary position for 1 year that can be extended.

The terms of employment of Maastricht University are set out in the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities (CAO). Furthermore, local UM provisions also apply. For more information look at the website www.maastrichtuniversity.nl .

Successful candidates will be offered contracts on the appropriate scale of the CAO UM 

Maastricht University is renowned for its unique, innovative, problem-based learning system, which is characterized by a small-scale and student-oriented approach. Research at UM is characterized by a multidisciplinary and thematic approach, and is concentrated in research institutes and schools. Maastricht University has around 16,300 students and 4,300 employees. Reflecting the university's strong international profile, a fair amount of both students and staff are from abroad. The university hosts 6 faculties: Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Faculty of Law, School of Business and Economics, Faculty of Humanities and Sciences, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience.

The new implant and medication regimen will be developed in the Chemelot Institute for Science & Technology (InSciTe), a public-private institute for biomedical materials and biobased materials to make materials smarter. From its base in the south of the Netherlands, Chemelot InSciTe rises to the challenges facing our world today: it develops solutions for the sustainable health of an ageing population and for the sustainable production of chemicals and materials. Founding fathers Royal DSM, Maastricht University and University Medical Center, Eindhoven University of Technology and the Province of Limburg invite industrial and academic partners around the world to join them in developing healing biomedical materials for high quality, affordable healthcare, and processes to produce biobased materials from renewable raw materials that do not compete with the food chain.

http://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/