As a research technician in the Molecular Virology group of the Medical Microbiology department you will spend most of your time on molecular virology research projects, which can be both basic and strategical. You independently perform these research tasks under supervision of staff members and in collaboration with your colleagues in the Molecular Virology group. With your colleague technicians you are furthermore responsible for performing several general laboratory and management tasks such as cell culture, data management and equipment management.

In short

·       You will spend most of you time on molecular virology research

·       You will have several additional tasks, such as cell culture, data management and equipment management

·       You will contribute to both basic and strategical research

·       You will work in a multidisciplinary environment

For this position we are looking for an enthusiastic research technician with an eye for detail, who is used to working very accurately. You should possess an HLO-diploma (or similar) and should have at least two years of relevant work experience. Experience with working at BSL-3 level is recommended, as well as experience with animal experiments. In case you do not have BSL-3 experience, you should be willing to enter our internal BSL-3 training program very soon after your start. You should furthermore have ample experience with a broad package of molecular biological, biochemical and recombinant DNA techniques, including cell culture, sequencing, and PCR techniques. Although you are a genuine team player, you also like to work independently and are not afraid of taking initiative to organize or initiate new things. Your communication skills are very good, also In English, as this is the main language among our International group of colleagues.

Fixed-term contract: min. 2 years.

You will initially be appointed for two years, with possible extension of another two year

LUMC

You will be employed on the basis of 36 hours per week. Appointment is for a maximum of four years, to be completed with a doctoral thesis. Your salary will start with € 2,422 gross per month in the first year, amounting to a maximum of  € 3,103  gross per month in the fourth year based on a fulltime position (scale for PhD students in the Collective Labour Agreement for University Hospitals).

The LUMC Department of Medical Microbiology has approximately 120 employees and is comprised of the Laboratory for Clinical Microbiology and a research section which includes the Molecular Virology group. The department works closely together with the Departments of Parasitology and Infectious Diseases within the LUMC Centre of Infectious Diseases (LU-CID), together forming a unique center of expertise and infrastructure for the research on infectious diseases and their treatment. You will work within the Molecular Virology section which largely focuses on positive-strand RNA viruses, including the family of coronaviruses. Important research themes are the molecular biology of virus replication and virus-host interactions. A significant part of the work in the near future will focus on development of antiviral agents and vaccines, among which those against the recently emerged coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) that causes COVID-19, and that currently causes worldwide problems. Within the research, predominantly molecular biological, cell biological and biochemical techniques are used. Part of the work in the department is being done in a Bio Safety Level 3 (BSL-3) laboratory.