The UMCG is one of the largest hospitals of the Netherlands with over 1.300 beds and more than 13.000 employees and takes care of an adherence region of > 2.5 million inhabitants in the north of the Netherlands. The UMCG is ISO-certified for patient care, teaching, training and research. The University of Groningen (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, RUG) is a top 100 university in international rankings. UMCG foresees a central role for particle therapy in general and proton therapy in particular, both in patient care at the UMCG Groningen Proton Therapy Center and in research. Our strategic research priorities are related to the physics and biology of particle irradiation, with a special focus on proton therapy. This focus fits completely with the UMCG strengths (state-of-the-art infrastructure) and priorities (focus on healthy aging and on complex pathology).

UMCG PARTREC operates a large superconducting cyclotron for experimental research, mainly in radiation physics and biology to support further development of radiotherapy with ion beams. For this research program the cyclotron delivers beams of various ions ranging from protons to oxygen with energies up to 190 MeV for protons and 90 MeV per amu for ions of helium to oxygen. The accelerator is furthermore used for research in nuclear physics by faculty of the University of Groningen and for commercial radiation hardness testing. Some 25 fte of technical staff operate the accelerator facility and provide support to design, build and operate experimental apparatus. UMCG PARTREC promotes multidisciplinary research in which physics and biology, imaging, big-data analysis, and clinical research come together to improve the quality of proton therapy treatment and explore potential benefits of other particles for cancer treatment. Over 30 PhD students and post graduates are currently dedicated to particle therapy research.

The facility is well integrated in the research landscape, participating in various EU-projects. Currently a new research infrastructure for image guided preclinical irradiations (IMPACT), supported by an infrastructure grant awarded by the Dutch Cancer Society in 2019, is under development. It is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2023. At this new infrastructure novel irradiation modalities such as FLASH and SFRT with proton and helium beams will be available for users. The facility will be open to worldwide users. UMCG PARTREC is a dedicated research facility functioning in synergy with the UMCG Groningen Proton Therapy Center (GPTC). Therefore, UMCG PARTREC has the ability to uniquely combine technology development, preclinical and patient studies with an R&D program to demonstrate clinical and economic benefits and to continuously improve proton therapy technology and the treatment itself, while assessing the feasibility of other particle for high precision radiotherapy, offering unique career development opportunities in the field of Medical Physics.

- PhD in physics or applied physics with proven expertise relevant for the field.
- Expertise in radiation transport physics including Monte Carlo simulations; radiation detection and dosimetry and experience in experiments at accelerator facilities.
- Experience in programming (C++, Python).
- Expertise in beam physics; instrumentation development incl. IT-aspects and imaging are highly relevant assets.
- Interest in radiation biology is essential in our multidisciplinary environment.
- Relevant post-doctoral work experience in academia or elsewhere.
- Strong internal and external communication skills, leadership qualities.
- Experience in coaching and teaching PhD students and junior postdocs is an asset.
- Interest in teaching at the RUG faculties of Science and Engineering and Medical sciences.
- Excellent command of English (spoken and written)

The applicants should be able and willing to work in a radiation environment and should have or quickly obtain the required qualification for this. Part of the work will have to be done outside the normal working hours.

The UMCG has a preventive Hepatitis B policy. The UMCG can provide you with the vaccination, should it be required for your position.

In case of specific professions a ‘Certificate of Good Conduct’ is required.

Your salary will be a maximum of € 4.615,- gross per month (scale 10), depending on your qualifications and relevant experience, based on a full-time appointment. In addition, the UMCG will offer you 8% holiday pay, and 8.3% end-of-year bonus. The conditions of employment comply with the Collective Labour Agreement for Medical Centres (CAO-UMC). English: http://www.nfu.nl/english/about-the-nfu/

The position is temporary for a period of up to three years. The successful candidate will initially be offered a position for one year. Extension is conditional on a positive evaluation after 9 months.

More information
For more information about the position, please contact:
- Prof. dr. Sytze Brandenburg, Dept. of Radiation Oncology, projectleader IMPACT, telephone: +31 50 363 2573, e-mail address: s.brandenburg@rug.nl

Applying for a job
Please use the the digital application form at the bottom of this page - only these will be processed. The application form requires:
- Motivation letter.
- CV (including educational and employment history, academic transcript of the MSc studies, publication list etc.).
- Name and (email address) of at least two academic referees.

The Departments of Radiation Oncology and Biomedical Sciences of Cells and Systems

We are looking for a highly motivated and ambitious postdoctoral scientist with a background in radiation physics for particle therapy to join our team that in the coming years will realize and commission the new IMPACT facility for image guided particle irradiations for preclinical research in particle therapy. IMPACT consists of a versatile new particle beam line; a 3D X-ray imager at the irradiation position, a bioluminescence imager and image based irradiation planning tools. It will be built in collaboration with several external partners. The project is funded by the Dutch cancer foundation KWF.

You will take the lead in the validation of the irradiation planning tools and will strongly contribute to the development and validation of the irradiation modalities, the commissioning of the entire facility and user experiments. You will be involved in setting up the data management infrastructure through which users of the facility will have access to the data related to their irradiations.