As the successful candidate for this postdoctoral position, you will be working with the Center for Translation Immunology (CTI) at the UMCU and the National Institute for Public Health and the environment (RIVM) in the field of bioinformatics/computational biology. You will be assessing the contributions of internal and external factors (such as the gut microbiome) in vaccination response and using unbiased analysis techniques to unravel biomarkers for vaccination response and immune signatures related to healthy/unhealthy ageing.

Your tasks will involve investigating a diverse set of immune parameters as a signature for immune senescence, vaccination response and its relation to environment (gut microbiome profiles) and lifestyle cues, and you will be responsible for data integration and interpretation of a large set of immunological and omics data. This project is a part of an IMI funded EU project “Vaccines and Infectious Diseases in the Aged population” (VITAL) and makes use of data collected within a clinical vaccine study. It involves multiple data sets including baseline assessments (clinical, immunological, microbiological) as well as longitudinal dynamics of immune responses after vaccination. To this end, you will need to integrate multiple data sets to assess the impact of external factors (such as gut microbiota), clinical data (comorbidities and medication use) as well as immunological parameters (different cell types, activation and cytokine production and transcriptomics ex vivo and in vitro) in relation to vaccine responsiveness (multiple readouts at the level of adaptive humoral, cellular and innate responses) and ageing.

You will apply innovative methodology for unbiased analyses of multiple datasets and search for immunological biomarkers of vaccine responsiveness. You will work closely with a PhD student to study the impact of age and other intrinsic (frailty) and extrinsic (infection with chronic herpes viruses, microbiota) factors in collaboration with international partners. In addition, you will work on related projects using multi-level and big data in the context of vaccination response and ageing at the RIVM, including using SNP array data for integration into genome wide association studies (GWAS). As a member of the UMCU’s bioinformatics group, you will exchange knowledge and explore new analysis tools that enable network analyses and systems biology approaches.

As our ideal candidate, you possess a PhD in bioinformatics, computational biology, systems biology or a comparable discipline, and have a keen interest in infectious diseases. You preferably have experience in microbial ecology, genetics and immunity, as well as in advanced statistics, integrating “omics” (DNA, RNA, epigenetic, proteomic) data analysis and biological interpretation, and in using one or more Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies (e.g. single cell RNA-Seq) and the analytical tools to support them. In addition, you have significant experience in R or Python. A solid background in immunoscience biology and experience working with data from clinical trials is an advantage, as is competency working in a Linux/Unix environment and proficiency in other languages, e.g., SQL, java, Matlab, and the ability to process SNP array data for integration into studies for performing genome wide association studies (GWAS).

In addition to the above, you are fluent in English and have excellent oral and written communication skills, and you are confident and capable in communicating effectively with biologists, biostatisticians and computational scientists.

Fixed-term contract: temporary appointment for 4 years.

For this 100% post, the maximum salary will be € 4.361,00. This will be a temporary appointment for 4 years.

The University Medical Center Utrecht

The University Medical Center Utrecht strives to achieve the highest levels in patient care, scientific research and education. Within the UMCU, the Center for Translational Immunology (CTI) aims to improve the quality of life of those suffering from allergic and chronic inflammatory and infectious diseases and cancer, conducting multidisciplinary translational immunological research to impact people’s lives by understanding the essence of life-long immune health, classifying and monitoring inflammatory diseases and identifying their treatable traits. The CTI also aims to develop immune-mediated therapy for infection, inflammation and cancer.

The RIVM is the major government research institute in the area of health, nutrition, environment and safety. It both performs research and gathers and applies global knowledge. The Center for Immunology of Infectious Diseases and Vaccines (IIV) at RIVM is the primary government knowledge center in the field of immunology of infectious diseases and vaccines. Its core mission is to provide information and advice about the effectiveness of vaccines, vaccination strategies and immune responses against infectious diseases to government parties and the general public. Research performed at IIV focuses on optimizing the effectiveness and safety of current and future vaccination programs, immunosurveillance, age-related efficacy of immune responses and correlates of protection. The center collaborates intensively with other RIVM knowledge centers and national and international collaborators specializing in immunology, microbiology, epidemiology and outbreak control of infectious diseases.