We have a vacancy for an excellent PhD to work on an ENW-GROOT-funded project. The project aims to determine and understand key modifiable factors that direct and maintain iPS-cell differentiation into stable chondrogenic lineages. Hereto, you will use iPSCs that, upon chondrogenesis as single cells, will be analyzed with single cell RNAseq, ATACseq and Bisulphate seq.

You hold a master’s degree Medical Biology, Biomedical Sciences or Biology. You have a general affinity with human complex diseases, such as osteoarthritis, preferentially combined with experience in molecular and cell biology. You are able to work independently and in a multidisciplinary team, and you possess excellent communication skills, including in written and spoken English. You are willing to travel on a regular basis to University of Twente to acquire new techniques and are able to apply and extend them to your own research line.

Fixed-term contract: 4 years.

You will be appointed for the duration of four years. Your salary is a maximum of € 2,495 in the first year, amounting to a maximum of € 3,196 in the final year (scale PhD students, Collective Labour Agreement University Medical Centers).

Department of Biomedical Data Sciences, section Molecular Epidemiology

Although the project is in close collaboration with TU-Twente, this part of the project will be hosted by the Department of Biomedical Data Sciences, section Molecular Epidemiology, of the LUMC. Research at the Molecular Epidemiology section in general is aimed at the identification of molecular profiles and biological pathways affecting complex human traits and diseases. The complex disease osteoarthritis is one of the three main lines of research within the section. You will be embedded within the osteoarthritis research group, headed by Prof. Dr. Ingrid Meulenbelt under the supervision of Dr. Yolande Ramos. The osteoarthritis research line is multidisciplinary, ranging from –omic-derived molecular profiling of cartilage and bone towards biomarkers and in vitro disease modeling (organ-on-chip). Currently, the osteoarthritis research group consists of six PhD students, three postdocs and a technician. The outstanding track record in the osteoarthritis field is reflected by a large number of high impact scientific publications in collaboration with many osteoarthritis research groups in- and outside the Netherlands. The group has multiple ongoing research projects funded by e.g. NWO-VICI, ReumaNederland, or NIH. The position is for 48 months, and should start as soon as possible.