Achieving valuable and sensible medical care, by application of research and innovation. This is wat we strive for within our combined networks. The Canisius Wilhelmina Ziekenhuis (CWZ) and the Radboud university medical center (Radboudumc) combine forces and challenge talented aspiring researchers to become part of our team. Will you be our future colleague in this PhD-tract 'Development of an innovative therapy to prevent and treat post-traumatic osteoarthritis (OA)'?

As a junior researcher / PhD-candidate you give shape to a novel cohort study that studies the underlying etiology of post-traumatic osteoarthritis that develops in patients after joint trauma, irrespective of surgery to restore joint stability. This cohort study will yield valuable information both regarding the etiology of the disease but also for a future stem cell based therapeutic approach. To this end you will be responsible for the collection and/or processing of both clinical data and patient material. You will coordinate the logistics and process and analyze the patient material that is collected. The tissue will be analyzed using state-of-the-art techniques like (single cell) RNA sequencing and the data analysis that comes with this.

You will work in a multidisciplinary team of scientists and clinicians that strive for excellence and innovation and see the benefit of cooperation in order to achieve this.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Responsible for the logistics regarding collection of patient material and clinical data.
• Participate in the preparation of samples for (single cell) RNAseq.
• Perform data analysis to identify genes and cellular pathways that may predict outcome.
• You will perform in vitro experiments with the collected material to evaluate the potential efficacy of Stem cell therapy.
• You will actively participate in work discussions of the research groups.

We are looking for a talented, enthusiastic and dedicated researcher holding a master degree in a relevant academic area such as Biomedical Sciences or Medical Biology with affinity for immunology and pathology. Furthermore:

• You already have experience in, or are eager to obtain knowledge about, transcriptomics analysis.
• Your way of communicating is friendly, empathetic and involved.
• A healthy sense of responsibility is one of your key qualities, both when you work within a team and when you perform in independent tasks.
• Of course you are eager to learn en likes challenges.

We offer you a challenging work environment, which is in full development and where there is plenty of room for personal grow!

• Your appointment is at the CWZ but you will also work at the Radboudumc location.
• A contract for 3 years with the aim of completing a promotion.
• A salary of € 2,811 gross per month (FWG 50 per 1-1-2021) for a 36-hour working week.
• Terms of employment in accordance with Cao Ziekenhuizen.
• Good secondary employment conditions such as:
  • a vacation allowance.
  • a fixed end-of-year bonus of 8.33%.
  • favorable insurance policies.
  • an attractive tax benefit when purchasing a bicycle, laptop or your gym subscription.
• Good pension accrual at Zorg & Welzijn.
• Participation in courses to further develop a variety of scientific qualities.
• The opportunity to present your results at (inter) national conferences.

Radboudumc

This project is a tight collaboration between Experimental Rheumatology at the Radboudumc, and the Orthopedics department of the CWZ. Our teams contains expert Clinicians with a strong history both in medical care and in clinical research. We regard as a huge merit, that within this project this expertise will be combined with strong expertise in preclinical research. The research group of Experimental Rheumatology in Nijmegen has gained a worldwide reputation in basic and clinical rheumatology research with a track record of >500 peer-reviewed scientific papers.

The department takes part in the research program of the Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences (RIMLS). The RIMLS trains students and PhD candidates and conducts research in medical research. In this project we aim to unravel mechanisms involved in stem cell driven protection of development of joint pathology in inflammatory osteoarthritis.

Research Institutes
At the moment there are more than 1,300 PhD candidates at our medical hospital. This number includes PhD candidates on our pay roll as well as external candidates (those employed somewhere else but researching on our premises).

• Radboud Institute for Health Sciences: ± 700
• Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences: ± 400
• Donders Center for Medical Neurosciences: ± 200

Read what it is like to do a PhD at the Radboud University Medical Center.

Radboudumc
Radboudumc in Nijmegen strives to be a leading developer of sustainable, innovative and affordable healthcare to improve the health and wellbeing of people and society in the Netherlands and beyond. This is the core of our mission: To have a significant impact on healthcare. To get a better picture of what this entails, check out our strategy.

Read more about what it means to work at Radboudumc and what our people have to say about it.