The research group Evolutionary Neurogenomics of the Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences (SILS) works on elucidating the impact of human genome evolution on human brain development and disorders and is looking for a Research Technician in iPSC engineering and organoid culture to strengthen their team.

Project description

This project is funded by the MGH Collaborative Center for X-Linked Dystonia-Parkinsonism (CCXDP). You will be working on a project aimed at elucidating the disease-mechanism of a progressive neurodegenerative disorder called X-linked Dystonia Parkinsonism (XDP). The disease leads to severe movement disorders exclusively affecting people with Filipino descent, particularly from the island of Panay where the mutation originally emerged. Recently, the cause of the disease was identified by the CCXDP, providing evidence that the insertion of a retrotransposon called SVA into an intron of the essential gene TAF1 leads to misregulation of TAF1 gene expression. The mechanism remains unclear. In this project, you will use the expertise of the Evolutionary Neurogenomics lab led by Frank Jacobs, to genetically engineer XDP-patient iPSC lines and differentiate them into brain organoids. This work will ultimately contribute to a better understanding on XDP disease progression and may ultimately provide the first crucial steps that will guide the XDP community to develop potential therapeutic strategies in the future.

Tasks

The Research Technician will be carrying out the iPSC culturing, CRISPR/Cas9 genetic engineering and perorm the differentiation assays to form brain organoids. In addition, the research technician will work closely together with a CCXDP-funded postdoc in the Jacobs lab, who will be in charge of the transcriptomic and epigenetic profiling of the organoids.

You have:

• a Higher professional education diploma, a BSc or MSc in biological/biomedical/bioengineering sciences, preferentially with prior experience on mammalian (human) cell lines;
• a good (practical) knowledge of molecular biology techniques and several months of experience in a lab-setting;
• experience with cell culture, preferentially stem cell (ESC / iPSC) culture;
• a strong collaborative spirit;
• a goal-getter mentality;
• excellent communication skills including a good command of the English language.

Fixed-term contract: One years.

The appointment will be on a temporary basis for a period of 1 year (38 hours per week) . After satisfactory evaluation it can be extended with 1 more year to a total duration of 2 years. Based on a full-time appointment (38 hours per week) the gross monthly salary will be maximum €2,709 (scale 7-5) in the first year, depending on relevant work experience. The Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities is applicable.

Are you curious about our extensive package of secondary employment benefits like our excellent opportunities for study and development? Take a look here.

University of Amsterdam

With over 5,000 employees, 30,000 students and a budget of more than 600 million euros, the University of Amsterdam (UvA) is an intellectual hub within the Netherlands. Teaching and research at the UvA are conducted within seven faculties: Humanities, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Economics and Business, Law, Science, Medicine and Dentistry. Housed on four city campuses in or near the heart of Amsterdam, where disciplines come together and interact, the faculties have close links with thousands of researchers and hundreds of institutions at home and abroad.  

The UvA’s students and employees are independent thinkers, competent rebels who dare to question dogmas and aren’t satisfied with easy answers and standard solutions. To work at the UvA is to work in an independent, creative, innovative and international climate characterised by an open atmosphere and a genuine engagement with the city of Amsterdam and society.

Faculty of Science – Institute of Physics

The Faculty of Science has a student body of around 6,500, as well as 1,600 members of staff working in education, research or support services. Researchers and students at the Faculty of Science are fascinated by every aspect of how the world works, be it elementary particles, the birth of the universe or the functioning of the brain.

The Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences (SILS) is an institute of the Faculty of Science. Its approximately 230 scientists and staff members work in 16 research groups that perform excellent research, centred on four themes:

1. Cell & Systems Biology
2. Neurosciences
3. Microbiology and
4. Green Life Sciences.