In this project, funded by the Foundation Fighting Blindness USA, it is our aim to further translate preclinical proof-of-concept of AONs for Stargardt disease to clinical application, by optimizing selected AON sequences and assess their efficacy and safety in retinal organoid models.

You will conduct the molecular and cellular experiments within the project. Together with another technician and a post-doc that are active in the project you are responsible for the molecular work that is needed to prepare the most promising AONs for clinical studies.

Tasks and Responsibilities:

• Perform wet-lab experiments using standard molecular and cellular techniques such as (RT-)PCR, cloning, Western blot and cell culture.
• Independently and critically analyze results.
• Present and discuss the results at workgroup meetings.

Candidates must have relevant education and/or hands-on lab experience, including basic molecular and functional techniques at DNA, RNA, protein and cellular levels (PCR, cloning, RT-PCR, Western Blot, cell culture and immunocytochemistry amongst others). Previous experience in eye research, stem cell culture and/or molecular therapy will be considered a plus.

Candidate should have a result-oriented attitude, should be flexible, and be able to work in an independent manner as well as in a team.

Fixed-term contract: 2 years.

Working at Radboud university medical center means that you are ahead of the curve and working together on the healthcare of the future. But there is more. Our secondary terms of employment are impressive. These are fully tailored to you thanks to our Employment Conditions Selection Model. At Radboud university medical center, you will be given trust, and you will take the responsibility to handle everything together. We provide annual courses, both professional and personal.

• In addition to your monthly salary and an annual vacation allowance of 8%, you will receive an end-of-year bonus of 8.3%.
• As a full-time employee (36 hours per week), you are entitled to approximately 168 vacation hours (over 23 days) per year.
• Radboud university medical center pays 70% of the pension premium. You pay the rest of the premium with your gross salary.
• You get a discount on health insurance as well: you can take advantage of two group health insurance plans. UMC Zorgverzekering and CZ collectief.

In addition to our terms of employment, we also offer employees various other attractive facilities, such as childcare and sports facilities. Want to learn more? Take a look at the CAO UMC.

Radboudumc

The "Molecular Therapy for Inherited Retinal Diseases" group, headed by Prof. dr. Rob Collin and his colleague Dr. Alex Garanto, aim to develop various therapeutic interventions for inherited retinal diseases, with a strong focus on splice modulation and RNA therapies.

Stargardt disease is a progressive retinal disease that initially affects central vison, and later in life can lead to complete blindness. Stargardt disease can be caused by numerous different mutations in the ABCA4 gene, some of which cause pre-mRNA splicing defects in ABCA4. Over the last decade, our group has demonstrated pre-clinical proof-of-concept for splicing modulation therapy using antisense oligonucleotides (AONs) for several different subtypes of retinal disease, including Stargardt disease. In addition, the first application of AONs in the human eye have revealed encouraging results, with improved visual function upon ocular administration of AONs in patients with retinal disease.

The research is embedded at the Department of Human Genetics within the Radboudumc in Nijmegen, which is internationally renowned for its research and diagnostics on a variety of genetic and genomic disorders. The Department offers an exciting work environment with enthusiastic people from many parts of the world enjoying high quality research.

Radboudumc
Radboud university medical center is a university medical center for patient care, scientific research, and education in Nijmegen. Radboud university medical center strives to be at the forefront of shaping the healthcare of the future. We do this in a person-centered and innovative way, and in close collaboration with our network. We want to have a significant impact on healthcare. We want to improve with each passing day, continuously working towards better healthcare, research, and education. And gaining a better understanding of how diseases arise and how we can prevent, treat, and cure them, day in and day out. This way, every patient always receives the best healthcare, now and in the future. Because that is why we do what we do.

Read more about our strategy and what working at Radboud university medical center means. Our colleagues would be happy to tell you about it. #weareradboudumc