We are looking for an enthousiastic postdoc for our project 'Organoid models to study ion transport in the kidney'. In this ERC Starting project, we will develop patient-derived kidney organoid models to study the pathophysiology of Mg2+ wasting tubulopathies. Will you help us to have a significant impact on healthcare?

Renal tubulopathies are a group of hereditary disorders affecting the kidney tubule which are the cause of disease in approximately 1:20,000 individuals. Despite the use of next-generation sequencing techniques, >30% of patients remain without diagnosis. Moreover, linking variant discovery to functional measurements remains a major challenge in the interpretation of genetic analysis.

In this project we will focus specifically on patients with Mg2+ wasting tubulopathies, who suffer from seizures, arrhythmias, muscle cramps and sometimes intellectual disability and cardiomyopathy. The heterogeneity of the disease and absence of patient-specific models have seriously hampered research in the last decades. As the pathophysiology of many Mg2+ wasting tubulopathies is poorly known, patient-specific models and better insights in the functional defects in the kidney are essential for the development of therapeutics.

In this project, you will:

• develop patient-specific kidney organoids to study renal ion transport and disease mechanisms of tubulopathy patients.
• apply the latest gene editing techniques to introduce patient mutations and fluorescent functional markers.
• work in a multidisciplinary team of scientists, clinicians and patients to improve the diagnostics and therapy of patients with Mg2+ wasting tubulopathies.
• Independently design and perform scientific experiments in the area of cell biology, molecular biology and physiology.
• Generate and analysea the data in order to contribute to scientific publications and presents findings at scientific meetings.
• Perform research in a stimulating environment.
• Actively implement novel techniques in the research lines of the department.
• An active role in the supervision of young scientists.

You are a postdoc with the ambition to succeed in scientific research. Your are independent and have a well-structured working style. Furthermore:

• PhD in (Medical) Biology, Biomedical Sciences or Medicine.
• Well-developed social skills directed to work in a team.
• Experience with stem cell and organoid cultures.

Fixed-term contract: 3 years.

Working at Radboud university medical center means that you are ahead of the curve and working together on the healthcare of the future. And 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%.
• If you work irregular hours, you will receive an allowance.
• 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 department of Physiology has a long-standing tradition in transport physiology in epithelia and has built up a substantial know-how and infrastructure in the field of molecular and cellular physiology of electrolyte transport. The Molecular Physiology group consists of an enthusiastic research team of about 25 people and is, together with basic science and research-oriented clinical departments of the Radboud university medical center, housed in the Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences (RIMLS).This integrates diverse scientific expertise in molecular and medical science for the advancement of innovation in translational 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