Our “Molecular Targeted Therapies” group is mainly focused on rendering current therapies more selective. In particular, we have been developing a new approach for photodynamic therapy (PDT), making it more selective to cancer cells by using nanobodies. Although applied in some hospitals, PDT still is underutilized in the clinic, mainly because of the limited selectivity of the treatment, which employs hydrophobic photosensitizers that can interact with all cell types. Nanobodies are the smallest naturally derived antibody fragments derived from heavy chain antibodies that exist in animals from the camelidae family, and we have demonstrated nanobody-targeted PDT can indeed kill cancer cells locally and selectively. KILLCANCER is an ERC Starting Grant project that is focused on better understanding and advancing nanobody-targeted PDT. PDT has been described to induce an acute inflammation, which can trigger an antitumor immune response, thus we are seeking a postdoctoral researcher to investigate the responses triggered by nanobody-targeted PDT.


The main tasks will include:

• designing, conducting, and analysing data from in vitro and in vivo studies;
• supervising PhD and master students;
• collaborating with other researchers in Rotterdam and Leiden.

The ideal candidate holds a PhD in tumor biology or immunology, with a strong publication record. The candidate should be experienced in molecular biology, measurement of immune responses, primary cell cultures, and in vivo mouse models.

As the candidate will integrate a multidisciplinary team, excellent communication and organisation skills are required.

We offer a full-time position for 1 year in an international working environment. The salary - depending on previous qualifications and experience - ranges from €3,175 and €4,166 (scale 10 Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities) gross per month for a full-time employment.

Salaries are supplemented with a holiday bonus of 8% and a year-end allowance of 8.3% per year. In addition, Utrecht University offers excellent secondary conditions, including an attractive retirement scheme, (partly paid) parental leave and flexible employment conditions (multiple choice model). Here you'll find more information about working at Utrecht University.

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Our “Molecular Targeted Therapies” group is mainly focused on rendering current therapies more selective. In particular, we have been developing a new approach for photodynamic therapy (PDT), making it more selective to cancer cells by using nanobodies. Although applied in some hospitals, PDT still is underutilized in the clinic, mainly because of the limited selectivity of the treatment, which employs hydrophobic photosensitizers that can interact with all cell types. Nanobodies are the smallest naturally derived antibody fragments derived from heavy chain antibodies that exist in animals from the camelidae family, and we have demonstrated nanobody-targeted PDT can indeed kill cancer cells locally and selectively.

PDT has been described to induce an acute inflammation, which can trigger an antitumor immune response, thus we are seeking a postdoctoral researcher to investigate the responses triggered by nanobody-targeted PDT.