Inbedding 

Dit project is onderdeel van het Consortium programma TRACER ( treating hereditary anemias through stem cell research) binnen het door ZonMW gefinancierde translationele onderzoeksprogramma ‘Pluripotent Stem cells for Inherited Diseases and Embryonic Research’ (PSIDER). Hieronder een korte samenvatting van het Tracer programma (in het Engels):The production or function of blood cells is impaired in a plethora of diseases presenting early in life such as congenital anemias that persist over lifetime. Blood transfusion is often the only therapeutic option, and stem cell transplantation the only curative treatment for severe anemias. Unfortunately, a lack of immune-matched cells often hampers these therapies. The multidisciplinary TRACER team aims to employ iPSCs to: 1) study disease mechanisms, 2) generate engraftable hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), and 3) develop curative therapies. The TRACER project focuses on two different hereditary anemias: Sickle Cell Diseaseand Diamond Blackfan Anemia. We will focus on mechanisms involved in these hereditary anemias, and on the production of mature blood cells and HSCs from gene-corrected iPSCs. Such an advanced stem cell technology project requires in-depth study of the ethical, legal and societal impact of these new technologies on patients, clinicians, policymakers, regulatory bodies, pharmaceutical enterprises and the general public, to ensure that the benefits will reach the patients.

Tasks
As a PhD candidate on this multidisciplinary scientific project, your tasks are to:

• Conduct a literature review and automated text analysis of traditional and social media articles and posts about iPSCs for biobanking, research, and as gene-edited products for stem cell transplantation of patients.
• Conduct focus groups and obtain expert opinions of different stakeholder groups in the Netherlands on the use, culturing, processing and editing of iPSCs for their personal lives or respective work fields.
• Administer a survey and vignette study of different scenarios about development and application of iPSC-derived products in combination with gene-editing technology among a representative sample of the general public in the Netherlands.
• Organize meetings with the User Committee and other stakeholders (fluency in Dutch – spoken and in writing - is necessary).
• Organize dissemination and outreach activities with stakeholders and interested parties.

The research team

This project is a collaboration between the department of Donor Studies at Sanquin Research and the department of Cell Biology at Erasmus MC. The PhD candidate will be enrolled in the Graduate School of Social Sciencesof Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam with which the department of Donor Studies has a longstanding collaboration. The department of Donor Studies is an internationally recognized center for high-quality blood donor research. Staff at the department consists of about 15 researchers, including 5 PhD students. The Erasmus MC Department of Cell Biology has ~100 researchers, including ~25 PhD students.

Stakeholders (among others )

OSCAR Nederland: https://www.oscarnederland.nl/; https://www.oscarnederland.nl/website-expertise-netwerk-sikkelcelziekte-thalassemie-binnenkort-online/

• iXL sickle cell awareness: https://www.i-x-l.com/
• Sikkelcelfonds: https://hetsikkelcelfonds.nl/
• Stichting zeldzame bloedziekten – DBA: https://bloedziekten.nl/dba/
• Sanquin: https://www.sanquin.nl/over-bloed/bloedziektes/sikkelcelziekte
• Cyberpoli: https://www.cyberpoli.nl/sikkelcel/

• You are highly motivated and have received excellent training in the social, behavioral or biomedical sciences, evidenced by an MSc degree, preferably in a Research Master program.
• You have outstanding organizational skills, and have the flexibility to work at different locations.
• You have excellent communication skills and are fluent in Dutch for data collection with different stakeholder groups and the ability to work in a multi-disciplinary team.
• You have experience and affinity with qualitative research methods, i.e., focus group discussions, scenario development, and some experience with survey research.
• Excellence in written and spoken English is required. The dissertation will consist of a series of journal articles in English.

Fixed-term contract: 4 years.

Salary and employment conditions in accordance with CAO (collective employment agreement) Sanquin;

A temporary appointment for a period of 4 years;

• A 36-hour-week.
• Reimbursement of travel expenses.
• Working hours will be determined on the basis of mutual agreement.
• 8,33% end-of-year bonus and 8,33% holiday allowance.
• 201 vacation hours annually on the basis of full-time employment.
• Pension plan with Pensioenfonds Zorg & Welzijn (PFZW)