A 2-year full-time (1.0FTE) Postdoc position supported by a FET-OPEN European project entitled “Enable light- and synthetic biology driven volumetric bioprinting of functional human tissues” (ENLIGHT).

Engineering 3D tissues requires control over a complex and tightly choreographed interplay between cellular communication, cellular self-organization programs and cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions. Recent advances in synthetic biology and bioprinting are opening the possibility to use synthetic gene and signaling circuits and biomaterials to not only probe morphogenesis but also to re-construct it and direct it. The project focuses on developing engineered stem cells and synthetic biology tools for the production of vascularized, centimeter-scale pancreatic organoids as models to test new therapies against diabetes and as regenerative grafts for tissue transplantation. You will perform cutting-edge research merging synthetic biology strategies, new ultra-fast light-based volumetric bioprinting technologies and engineered stem cells to produce complex pancreatic models capable of performing endocrine hormonal functions. These technologies are highly novel, one-of-a-kind, and the project is expected to result in several highly impactful publications.

You will collaborate with international partners, with opportunities for research exchanges. As a member of the Living Matter Engineering and Biofabrication team, based at the Department of Orthopaedics and at the Regenerative Medicine Center Utrecht, collaborations with a multidisciplinary team of clinicians, physicists, chemists, biologists, and engineers form an essential part of the job. You will be co-supervising PhD students, and closely work with colleagues from Utrecht University. We offer an exciting opportunity to contribute to an ambitious and international research program within a highly motivated team and to conduct your work at a renowned research university. Teaching opportunities are available, if desired. You will receive training, personal supervision, and guidance for your research, career development and acquisition of personal funding, and which will provide an excellent basis to an independent academic career.

• You hold a PhD degree in synthetic biology, biotechnology, biomedical science,  biomedical engineering, or in a related area.
• Expertise in synthetic biology and stem cells engineering.
• Experiences in either pancreas biology, iPSCs, optogenetics, organoids, bioprinting, diabetes research, hydrogels for 3D culture, and vascularization will be positively evaluated.
• Ability to work in a multidisciplinary research environment and to contribute to team efforts and projects.
• Ability to communicate effectively scientific ideas, foster collaboration and independent thinking.
• Proven proficiency in written and spoken English.

The salary will be scaled between €2.986,00 and €4.707,00 gross per month based on full-time employment.

The maximum salary for this position (36 hours) is € 4.707,00 gross per month based on full-time employment.

In addition, we offer an annual benefit of 8.3%, holiday allowance, travel expenses and career opportunities. The terms of employment are in accordance with the Cao University Medical Centers (UMC).

Regenerative Medicine Center Utrecht (RMCU)

This position is hosted at Regenerative Medicine Center Utrecht (RMCU) and you will be appointed at the Department of Orthopaedics of UMC Utrecht. Located within the Hubrecht Institute building at the Utrecht Science Park, the RMCU brings together scientists, engineers, clinicians, students, ethicists and staff work together closely to translate scientific and technological discoveries into patient benefit. The Department of Orthopaedics at the UMC Utrecht is a global leader in the development of novel regenerative technologies, such as 3D (bio)printing, the application of biomaterials and controlled release systems, and novel imaging modalities. The department initiated the Utrecht Biofabrication Facility, a leading European knowledge center that aims at expediting emerging bioprinting technologies in areas of regenerative medicine, 3D in vitro cell culture models and therapeutic treatments. In this research line, the Biofabrication facility has pioneered several technologies to process living cells into spatially organized 3D constructs, and is investigating their applications in regenerative medicine and for the fabrication of advanced in vitro models. The department is also a firmly involved in the Utrecht Advanced in vitro models Hub (U-AIM) and the Innovation Center for Advanced Therapies (ICAT), taking key steps towards the establishment of the next generation animal-free biomedical research and translation of regenerative medicine treatments.