Postdoctoral researcher - On-chip kidney interaction model
Postdoctoral researcher - On-chip kidney interaction model
You cannot apply for this job anymore (deadline was 1 Sep 2018).
Browse the current job offers or choose an item in the top navigation above.
Job description
About TU/e:
TU/e is a University of Technology with a focus on Health, Energy and Mobility. Within the Health area, several departments cooperate on topics such as Chemical Biology, Regenerative Medicine, Computational Biology, and Biosensing, with close links to healthcare and industry. TU/e is an open and inclusive university with short communication lines. The people are curious, collaborative, and strive for excellence. TU/e enables its academic staff to develop research and education at an internationally renowned level. Our lively campus community facilitates connections between staff and students, in an open, friendly, vibrant atmosphere that welcomes and inspires.
About BME:
The Department of Biomedical Engineering offers a research driven BME Bachelor program and Masters in Biomedical Engineering and Medical Engineering in its Graduate Program. Its research areas range from Molecular Bioengineering and Imaging, Biomechanics and Tissue Engineering to Biomedical Imaging and Modelling. The department has more than 800 students and up to 200 tenured and non-tenured employees.
About the BME Soft Tissue Engineering and Mechanobiology group
The STEM group (www.tue.nl/stem), headed by prof.dr. C.V.C. Bouten, concentrates on the engineering of soft tissues, aimed at either the replacement of diseased or malformed tissues, or the development of in-vitro model systems of developing tissues. Important fundamental research lines concern the biophysical (stem) cell niche and the mechanobiology of tissue organization. Results are used to design novel approaches of in-situ tissue regeneration, with principle application in the cardiovascular area (heart valves and vessels) and organ regeneration (heart, kidney). The group houses the Cell and Tissue Engineering laboratory, a shared research infrastructure operating at the international forefront of the engineering of living, load-bearing tissues.
Importantly, this position will be partly seconded to the department of Mechanical Engineering and much of the research will be supervised by Prof.dr.ir. J.M.J. den Toonder.
About ME:
The Mechanical Engineering Department focuses on research in the field of product and process design and manufacturing. The crux of the department is devoted to designing, analyzing, improving and manufacturing new products and processes, as well as the materials needed for this. The Department's research areas range from materials & mechanics, to energy & flow, to dynamics & control. The department is a breeding ground for international top-level research, with much collaboration with industry. The department has more than 1100 (BSc and MSc) students and 250 employees of whom more than 100 are PhD candidates and postdoctoral researchers.
About the ME Microsystems group:
The Microsystems group (www.tue.nl/microsystems), headed by prof.dr.ir. J.M.J. den Toonder, develops microsystems design approaches and out-of-cleanroom micro-manufacturing technologies that are rapid and flexible. These are applied to realize active mechanical control in micro-fluidics, to make and study meso-structured and soft materials, to create biomedical microdevices to study cells and organs on chips, and to develop advanced micromechanical actuators and sensors for various microsystems applications, often in collaboration with industrial partners. The group has a micro-fabrication lab that forms the basis of much of the research and education in the group: the Microfab/lab.
About RegMedXB:
This vacancy is posted as part of RegMedXB, which stands for 'Regenerative Medicine Crossing Borders'. RegMedXB is a virtual institute composed of universities, health foundations, governments and private companies in the Netherlands and Belgium. The partners work together to tackle some of the greatest challenges in regenerative medicine, while building a community of researchers and companies to realize health and economic benefits. For more information, please visit www.regmedxb.com.
Job description
The adult kidney is a highly complex organ, containing more than twenty highly specialized cell types, arranged in a spatial architecture critical to its function. The human kidney is composed of approximately one million functional units, the nephrons that filter and remove excess material and waste products from the blood, and take care of metabolic, hemodynamic and endocrine functions. Worldwide, the number of patients with end-stage kidney disease necessitating dialysis or transplantation is reaching epidemic proportions. Kidney transplantation currently offers the best treatment option but is associated with limited transplant availability and rejection. Within the RegMed XB Kidney Moonshot program, the overall aim is to develop innovative strategies to regenerate kidneys and to provide renal replacement therapies.
The project of this position aims to develop a microfluidics-based model that forms a minimal representation of kidney function and which can be used to get insight into processes relevant for kidney regeneration. The model will follow a development towards integrating more complexity if needed to realize kidney function. The postdoctoral researcher will design and fabricate the microfluidic device, establish a cell co-culture within the device representative of the basic nephron function, and characterize the obtained in-vitro model e.g. characterizing morphology, active transport, and using biological readouts.
We will strongly collaborate with all partners in the RegMed-XB Kidney Moonshot consortium, in particular with UMCU and LUMC on cell sources and readouts, with MERLN on modeling and integration of complex geometry, and with MERLN and TU/e on synthetic matrices.
TU/e is a University of Technology with a focus on Health, Energy and Mobility. Within the Health area, several departments cooperate on topics such as Chemical Biology, Regenerative Medicine, Computational Biology, and Biosensing, with close links to healthcare and industry. TU/e is an open and inclusive university with short communication lines. The people are curious, collaborative, and strive for excellence. TU/e enables its academic staff to develop research and education at an internationally renowned level. Our lively campus community facilitates connections between staff and students, in an open, friendly, vibrant atmosphere that welcomes and inspires.
About BME:
The Department of Biomedical Engineering offers a research driven BME Bachelor program and Masters in Biomedical Engineering and Medical Engineering in its Graduate Program. Its research areas range from Molecular Bioengineering and Imaging, Biomechanics and Tissue Engineering to Biomedical Imaging and Modelling. The department has more than 800 students and up to 200 tenured and non-tenured employees.
About the BME Soft Tissue Engineering and Mechanobiology group
The STEM group (www.tue.nl/stem), headed by prof.dr. C.V.C. Bouten, concentrates on the engineering of soft tissues, aimed at either the replacement of diseased or malformed tissues, or the development of in-vitro model systems of developing tissues. Important fundamental research lines concern the biophysical (stem) cell niche and the mechanobiology of tissue organization. Results are used to design novel approaches of in-situ tissue regeneration, with principle application in the cardiovascular area (heart valves and vessels) and organ regeneration (heart, kidney). The group houses the Cell and Tissue Engineering laboratory, a shared research infrastructure operating at the international forefront of the engineering of living, load-bearing tissues.
Importantly, this position will be partly seconded to the department of Mechanical Engineering and much of the research will be supervised by Prof.dr.ir. J.M.J. den Toonder.
About ME:
The Mechanical Engineering Department focuses on research in the field of product and process design and manufacturing. The crux of the department is devoted to designing, analyzing, improving and manufacturing new products and processes, as well as the materials needed for this. The Department's research areas range from materials & mechanics, to energy & flow, to dynamics & control. The department is a breeding ground for international top-level research, with much collaboration with industry. The department has more than 1100 (BSc and MSc) students and 250 employees of whom more than 100 are PhD candidates and postdoctoral researchers.
About the ME Microsystems group:
The Microsystems group (www.tue.nl/microsystems), headed by prof.dr.ir. J.M.J. den Toonder, develops microsystems design approaches and out-of-cleanroom micro-manufacturing technologies that are rapid and flexible. These are applied to realize active mechanical control in micro-fluidics, to make and study meso-structured and soft materials, to create biomedical microdevices to study cells and organs on chips, and to develop advanced micromechanical actuators and sensors for various microsystems applications, often in collaboration with industrial partners. The group has a micro-fabrication lab that forms the basis of much of the research and education in the group: the Microfab/lab.
About RegMedXB:
This vacancy is posted as part of RegMedXB, which stands for 'Regenerative Medicine Crossing Borders'. RegMedXB is a virtual institute composed of universities, health foundations, governments and private companies in the Netherlands and Belgium. The partners work together to tackle some of the greatest challenges in regenerative medicine, while building a community of researchers and companies to realize health and economic benefits. For more information, please visit www.regmedxb.com.
Job description
The adult kidney is a highly complex organ, containing more than twenty highly specialized cell types, arranged in a spatial architecture critical to its function. The human kidney is composed of approximately one million functional units, the nephrons that filter and remove excess material and waste products from the blood, and take care of metabolic, hemodynamic and endocrine functions. Worldwide, the number of patients with end-stage kidney disease necessitating dialysis or transplantation is reaching epidemic proportions. Kidney transplantation currently offers the best treatment option but is associated with limited transplant availability and rejection. Within the RegMed XB Kidney Moonshot program, the overall aim is to develop innovative strategies to regenerate kidneys and to provide renal replacement therapies.
The project of this position aims to develop a microfluidics-based model that forms a minimal representation of kidney function and which can be used to get insight into processes relevant for kidney regeneration. The model will follow a development towards integrating more complexity if needed to realize kidney function. The postdoctoral researcher will design and fabricate the microfluidic device, establish a cell co-culture within the device representative of the basic nephron function, and characterize the obtained in-vitro model e.g. characterizing morphology, active transport, and using biological readouts.
We will strongly collaborate with all partners in the RegMed-XB Kidney Moonshot consortium, in particular with UMCU and LUMC on cell sources and readouts, with MERLN on modeling and integration of complex geometry, and with MERLN and TU/e on synthetic matrices.
Specifications
- max. 38 hours per week
- Eindhoven View on Google Maps
:fill(white)/logos/tue-en-wide_acOLN2b.png)
Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e)
Requirements
We are accepting applications from enthusiastic candidates who are interested in a dynamic, stimulating and ambitious environment to perform their research. The candidate should have a PhD in biomedical engineering, mechanical engineering, or an equivalent area, and have background in micro-fabrication and biology, and should have affinity with (bio) medical applications. Experience with microfluidic device manufacturing and cell culture is highly appreciated. The candidate will be able to effectively communicate scientific ideas, foster collaboration and have a capability for independent thinking. Moreover, the candidate should be able to work independently within a dynamic team and be skilled in written and spoken English.
Conditions of employment
We offer you: An exciting job in a dynamic work environment. A fulltime appointment at Eindhoven University of Technology, initially for one year, with a possible extension with another year (www.tue.nl/en). The salary is in accordance with the Collective Labor Agreement of the Dutch Universities (scale 10), depending on your experience. The possibility to present your work at international conferences. An attractive package of fringe benefits, including end-of-year bonus (8,3% in December), an extra holiday allowance (8% in May), moving expenses and excellent sports facilities.
