PhD position in Smart Hydrogels for Volumetric Bioprinting of Organoids (1.0 FTE)

The current job opportunity is supported by the Dutch Research Council funded project entitled “Time Dynamics in Bioprinting: Steering Organoid Maturation and Therapeutic Stem Cell Manufacturing” (TIMESTAMP, VIDI Talent Program, Dr. R. Levato). You will join our international and multidisciplinary team at the Living Matter Engineering & Biofabrication research group, also funded by the European Research Council and the European Innovation Council.

Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting and organoid technologies hold the promise to revolutionise medicine, building lab-made tissues that mimic human organ parts, enabling new applications in regenerative medicine and pharmaceutical research, as potential alternatives to animal experimentation. Living tissues owe their function not only to their architecture, but also to maturation and morphogenesis, processes guided by patterns of biochemical and mechanical signals that evolve over time, and instruct cells in their proximity. However, control over the time dimension is absent in current bioprinted constructs and in most biomaterials for 3D tissue culture, thus precluding the precise replication of such dynamic changes occurring in the native extracellular environment.
Advances in key technologies capturing this shape-function relationship in vitro can bring the long-sought goal of real tissue engineering within reach. In TIMESTAMP, we will develop a new bioprinting technique capable to directly guide tissue maturation by tuning the cellular microenvironment over time, dynamically matching the needs of cells during their natural differentiation process. For this, we will develop novel light responsive biomaterials able to change their mechano-chemical properties on demand, and a new volumetric bioprinting technology under development in our lab. Unlike conventional, layer-by-layer additive manufacturing, this new technique uses visible light to generate complex, large-scale living tissue constructs with an unprecedented degree of fidelity and printing velocity (<10 seconds).

Bringing together expertise in bioprinting, material design, photonics, artificial intelligence, organoids and stem cell biology, this project will first test the potential and versatility of this novel technology by building vascularised organoids to produce hematopoietic stem cells needed in the clinics for treating blood cancers. Joining our biofabrication team, you will contribute to the goals of the project by focusing on the development of new photoresponsive and stimuli-responsive materials for the state-of-the-art volumetric bioprinting techniques under development in our center and for organoids 3D culture. These innovative hydrogels will permit cell-driven tissue morphogenesis, thus requiring the targeting of very diverse chemical and physical properties, as well as the ability of such materials to respond dynamically to cell-induced stimuli. Interactions and collaboration with a multidisciplinary team of clinicians, biologists, physicists, engineers, computer scientists, clinicians and veterinary doctors form an essential part of the job.

• You hold a Master’s degree in materials science, materials engineering, polymer chemistry, biomaterials, biofabrication, or a related area.
• You have proven expertise in materials synthesis, design and processing, with affinity for biology and biomedical sciences.
• Experience with hydrogels and supramolecular chemistry will be positively considered.
• You are a quick learner and you thrive in a multidisciplinary research environment.
• You are able to communicate effectively scientific ideas, foster collaboration and independent thinking.
• You are knowledgeable in your field and committed to keeping up with recent advances in literature.
• Additional experiences in photonics, 3D printing, engineering, organoid biology and tissue culture will be positively evaluated.

Proven proficiency in written and spoken English is required. Your project will focus on the generation of advanced biomaterials using 3D-(bio)printing technologies, in the multidisciplinary area of biomaterials, biofabrication and regenerative medicine. This position is hosted by the Regenerative Medicine Utrecht. You will be appointed at Utrecht University (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Clinical Sciences). You will be closely collaborating with team members from the University Medical Center Utrecht, from the Hubrecht Institute, the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, as well as with out international partners of our research group.

We offer an exciting opportunity to contribute to an ambitious and international research programme with highly motivated students and to conduct your own research project at a renowned research university, leading to impactful scientific results and outputs. You will receive appropriate training, personal supervision, and guidance for both your  research and teaching tasks, which will provide an excellent start to an academic career.

We offer:

• a position (1.0 FTE) for 1 year, with an extension to a total of three years upon successful assessment;
• a full-time gross salary between €2,770 in the first year and €3,539 in the fourth year of employment in scale P of the Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities;
• 8% holiday bonus and 8.3% end-of-year bonus;
• a pension scheme, partially paid parental leave, and flexible employment conditions based on the Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities.

In addition to the employment conditions from the CAO for Dutch Universities, Utrecht University has a number of its own arrangements. These include agreements on professional development, leave arrangements, sports and cultural schemes and you get discounts on software and other IT products. We also give you the opportunity to expand your terms of employment through the Employment Conditions Selection Model. This is how we encourage you to grow.

For more information, please visit working at Utrecht University

A better future for everyone. This ambition motivates our scientists in executing their leading research and inspiring teaching. At Utrecht University, the various disciplines collaborate intensively towards major strategic themes. Our focus is on Dynamics of Youth, Institutions for Open Societies, Life Sciences and Pathways to Sustainability. Sharing science, shaping tomorrow.

The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine has a unique position in the Netherlands. Not only is this the only institution where veterinarians are trained, researchers are also working together on innovative scientific research. Furthermore the faculty delivers expert clinical care at the University Animal Hospital. Thanks to this position, the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine is a point of contact for all veterinary matters, both nationally and increasingly internationally. The faculty employs approximately 900 veterinarians, scientists and support staff and counts 1,500 students. It is is located at the Utrecht Science Park, near the historical city centre of Utrecht.

At the Department of Clinical Sciences, you will work alongside approximately 150 veterinarians and a similar number of support staff. Approximately two-thirds of the veterinarians are specialists in various disciplines; the remaining one-third consists of interns, residents and PhD candidates. Together we are responsible for the education of veterinary students, provision of clinical services to horses and companion animals, and both clinical and more fundamental research in the areas of regenerative medicine, locomotion, genetics and reproduction.