The current job opportunity is supported by the Health Holland 2021-Human Measurements Models 1.0 project titled 'Drug disposition On-a-Chip: a multi-organ-on-chip model tailored to mimic ADME/PK in vitro' (DD-OoC). The consortium addresses an unmet safety issue in the development of drugs. Each year tens of thousands of compounds are studied by the pharmaceutical industry. Lack of efficacy and safety issues are the most common reason for drug failure in the development process. Drug disposition is tested by studying drugs’ pharmacokinetics (PK), which is very different for laboratory animals on the one hand and human beings on the other hand. It is estimated that 0.2-1.5 million animals are used annually by the pharmaceutical industry for PK-testing. Currently available and applied in vitro, cell-line based models have limitations in predicting human ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion) properties, diminishing their predictive value. The necessity for improved preclinical models to predict drug disposition and efficacy is therefore widely recognized. The consortium addresses this by developing an innovative ‘Drug Disposition-On-a-Chip’ (DD-OoC) by physiologically linking the most relevant organs associated with drug disposition: liver-, kidney- and gut-on-a-chip. This innovative modular system with human cells from three vital organs in ADME testing, combined with a system that allows for automatic cell culturing and imaging, and sampling of the various compartments for compound concentration analysis. This platform will be the first to showcase a multi-Organ-on-a-Chip focusing on PK determined by the concerted action of ADME-relevant organs (liver, kidney and gut), supporting rapid integration in the drug discovery phase of the pharmaceutical development pipeline.

As a Postdoc you will contribute in developing a research programme in the field of Organ-on-a-Chip, organoid technology, microfluidics, and engineering with a focus on pharmacokinetics. You bring a thorough knowledge of one or more of the following traits: stem cell and/or organoid cultures, tissue engineering, microfluidics, engineering, in vitro model development and pharmacology. You will become a member of the DD-OoC-team, a multidisciplinary research team at Utrecht University and TNO, and in close collaboration with commercial partners Novartis Pharma, Nestegg Biotech and Cell4Pharma. The aimed research involves experimental research on the development of a ‘Drug Disposition-On-a-Chip’ and its ability to study pharmacokinetics for which you have access to a broad range of equipment. The Postdoc positions, three in all, will be recruited on their complementary expertise and enforce the consortium that is embedded in the Regenerative Medicine Utrecht and housed at the Pharmaceutical Sciences department, the Regenerative Medicine Center Utrecht and at TNO. You will collaborate closely with the other members of the consortium including its commercial partners.

We would like for you to have the expertise to tackle one or more of the challenges as outlined above.  Ideally, your expertise complements the other Postdoc candidates and the already available expertise in the consortium and should enable the development of a ‘Drug Disposition-On-a-Chip’ model. In addition, you will be encouraged to participate actively in this consortium of academic and commercial partners. You have a doctorate degree with a proven track record in cell biology, tissue engineering, microfluidics, engineering, or regenerative medicine with a strong desire to translate experimental findings into clinical relevance.

We would like to hear from you if you think this position is the next step in your career and if you:

• hold a PhD in a field, closely related to this position;
• have an outstanding track record and potential in your field of expertise;
• have previous experience in coaching (BSc, MSc and PhD) students;
• have excellent communication skills and would like to participate in pursuing outreach activities in order to promote your research.

• the opportunity to become part of a dedicated and collaborative team of scientists;
• a full-time position for an initial period of 1 year, with the possibility of an extension for two more years;
• a full-time gross salary ranging from €3,173 to €3,545 (scale 10.4-10.7 according to the Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities (cao));
• benefits including 8% holiday bonus and 8.3% end-of-year bonus;
• outstanding secondary benefits such as a minimum of 29 leave days per year (for a full-time appointment), study facilities, a pension plan, partially paid parental leave, and flexible employment conditions based on the Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities.

All Postdoc positions will be employed by Utrecht University, but one will be accommodated at TNO.

In addition to the employment conditions laid down in the cao for Dutch Universities, Utrecht University has a number of its own arrangements. For example, there are agreements on professional development, leave arrangements, and sports. We also give you the opportunity to expand your terms of employment yourself via the Employment Conditions Selection Model. This is how we like to encourage you to continue to grow.

Utrecht University is a friendly and ambitious university at the heart of an ancient city. We love to welcome new scientists to our city – a thriving cultural hub that is consistently rated as one of the world’s happiest cities. We are renowned for our innovative interdisciplinary research and our emphasis on inspirational research and excellent education. We are equally well-known for our familiar atmosphere and the can-do mentality of our people. This lively and inspiring academic environment attracts Professors, Researchers and PhD candidates from all over the globe, making both the university and the Faculty of Science a vibrant international community and wonderfully diverse. The two research groups involved in the generation of the Drug disposition On-a-Chip are part of the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, and collaborate intensively with TNO.

At the Faculty of Science there are six departments to make a fundamental connection with: Biology, Chemistry, Information and Computing Sciences, Mathematics, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Physics. Each of these is made up of distinct institutes which work together to focus on answering some of humanity’s most pressing problems. More fundamental still are the individual research groups – the building blocks of our ambitious scientific projects.

The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine has a unique position in the Netherlands. Not only is this the only institution where Veterinarians are trained, but it is also where Researchers are working together on innovative scientific research. In addition, the faculty provides specialist clinical care in the largest academic veterinary hospital in Europe. Thanks to this position, the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine is a point of contact for all veterinary matters, both nationally and increasingly internationally. The faculty employs approximately 900 Veterinarians, Scientists and support staff and counts 1,500 students.

TNO is an independent research organization whose expertise and research make an important contribution to the competitiveness of companies and organizations, to the economy and to the quality of society as a whole. Innovation with purpose is what TNO stands for. With 3,500 people we develop knowledge not for its own sake but for practical application. To create new products that make life more pleasant and valuable and help companies innovate. To find creative answers to the questions posed by society. We work for a variety of customers: governments, the SME sector, large companies, service providers and non-governmental organizations. Working together on new knowledge, better products and clear recommendations for policy and processes. In everything we do, impact is the key. Our product and process innovations and recommendations are only worth something if our customers can use them to boost their competitiveness.