The current PhD opportunity is supported by the Top Sector AgriFood project titled “Predictive model for the sensitising capacity of novel nutritional proteins”, within a consortium of three public and five private partners.

It is estimated that by 2050, 1,100 million tons of food will be needed annually to feed every mouth on earth. As a result, agricultural land worldwide is being depleted and the production of animal proteins - read livestock farming - is under great pressure because of the vast damage it causes to the environment. So new, sustainable sources must be tapped to produce our food. A complicating factor is that by 2025, 50 percent of Europeans will have some form of allergy. At least that is the prediction of the European Academy for Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI). The new proteins to be produced must therefore be safe and not initiate allergic reactions or develop new allergies!

To address this need, the people involved in this project will develop cell-based models to predict immunogenic and allergenic properties of (novel) proteins and products derived thereof. The models will be based on an existing adverse outcome pathway (AOP) analysis and validated by computational modelling of experimental, clinical, and literature data of molecular events in allergic sensitisation. These models are intended to be used in food manufacturing focused on the safety of the product for the potentially allergic and/or immune disbalanced individual.

As a PhD student, you will contribute to the development of advanced in vitro models, based on an epithelial cell layer, antigen presenting cells (DCs/Mo), T cells, and B cells. Two models will be set up: a skin AOP model and an intestinal AOP model. The next step will be to miniaturize the individual skin- and intestinal cell models, which will be coupled to create an integrated skin-gut-immune-axis-on-a-chip model. Finally, this model will be validated and fine-tuned using selected test components. Within the consortium, you will collaborate closely with partners from Wageningen Food & Biobased Research, Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam as well as private partners from the food industry.

We are looking for a PhD candidate who has the expertise to tackle one or more of the above-described challenges. You have a Master's degree in one of the life sciences programmes, such as biofabrication, regenerative medicine and technologies, pharmaceutical sciences, or biomedical sciences and you demonstrate 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 have:

• an MSc in a field that is closely related to this position;
• excellent written and oral proficiency in English;
• experience in 3D cell culturing and biofabrication techniques;
• the ability and enthusiasm for working both independently and collaboratively in a highly multidisciplinary environment;
• a team player spirit;
• hands-on microfluidics experience (considered a plus, but not essential at the start).

Ideally, you also have:

• experience in microfluidics;
• good knowledge of immunology;
• excellent writing skills.

• the opportunity to become part of a dedicated and collaborative team of scientists;
• a full-time position for 4 years;
• a full-time gross salary that starts at €2,395 and increases to €3,061 per month in the fourth year (scale P of 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 pension plan, partially paid parental leave, and flexible employment conditions, based on the Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities.

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.

More information about working at the Faculty of Science can be found here.

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 and wonderfully diverse community.

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 that 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.

You will be working in the Experimental Pharmacology group focused on regenerative pharmacology and disease modeling within the Pharmacology division, headed by Professor Garssen. The research in the division focuses on the basic mechanisms underlying especially, but not exclusively, non-communicable disorders (NCD) and their pharmacological manipulations via drugs, vaccines, biologicals, and/or medical food components. Their objective is to gain deeper insight into the pathways in which cells and mediators of the immune and/or central nervous systems interact, aimed at developing new concepts for prevention and/or treatment with a strong focus on inflammation management and organ function restoration.