You will be involved in multiple ongoing research projects in the research group of Dr Huijbers. In addition to experimental work, you will be involved in lab management tasks related to maintaining the lab and supporting other PhD students and postdocs. The group of Dr Huijbers studies the pathophysiology of neuromuscular autoimmune diseases like myasthenia gravis (MG). In addition, there is a special interest in autoimmune diseases predominantly mediated by IgG4 autoantibodies. For one of these disorders, MuSK MG, monoclonal antibodies of patients have been isolated which facilitates the study of the pathophysiology of this disease. In addition, these antibodies have special features that might enable therapeutic applications. Your work will include the administration of these antibodies to experimental animals to study their (local) effects. This will also include the production and manipulation of the antibodies. These studies are facilitated by a variety of genomic and proteomic, antibody-oriented technologies as well as a variety of cellular and animal models that the lab has at its disposal.

You are an enthusiastic and driven research technician who likes to work in a young and dynamic team with a focus on unravelling fundamental and mechanistic research questions. You have hands-on experience in working with experimental animals and common molecular biology tools (molecular cloning, mammalian cell culture, Western blotting, fluorescent microscopy, flow cytometry, etc). Experience with affinity chromatography (antibody purification) is an advantage. You are accurate and able to work independently and within a team. You have a flexible attitude, great sense of teamwork and possess excellent communication skills in English, and preferably also in Dutch (or are willing to learn Dutch). Furthermore, you like to be involved in the organisational tasks of running a research lab.

Fixed-term contract: 1 year.

You will be appointed for the duration of one year. Your salary is based on your experience and education and amounts to a maximum of € 3,280 (scale 7, Collective Labour Agreement University Medical Centers).

Human Genetics and Neurology

You will work in between two departments at the LUMC: Human Genetics (Prof Dr S.M. van der Maarel, head of the department) and Neurology (Prof Dr J.J.G.M. Verschuuren, head of the department). Both departments have a longstanding collaboration on research of neurological motor disorders. This research is embedded in the LUMC medical research profile 'Translational Neurosciences'. The collaboration facilitates translational research based on fundamental research, patient material and clinical expertise. It is also supported through interactions with other departments both within and outside the LUMC. The MuSK research team is led by Dr M.G.M. Huijbers.