As a postdoc in our group, you will play a pivotal role in conducting and coordinating genetic analyses. Your primary responsibility will be to establish an analytical framework for studying and identifying novel genetic predispositions related to rheumatic diseases. This framework will be instrumental in optimizing disease stratification among individuals with rheumatic complaints. Our goal is to deepen our understanding of the underlying causes of rheumatic diseases by systematically integrating genetic studies within our translational research team.

You will be tasked with gaining and maintaining a comprehensive understanding of genetic studies in rheumatology and related fields. This involves staying updated through literature surveys, attending conferences, engaging in discussions with team members, and participating in internal lab meetings.

Your responsibilities will include conducting, analyzing, and interpreting genetic analyses for various projects. This will involve developing genetic risk scores to differentiate between diseases or disease subsets, continuing ongoing work within our LUMC-led GWAS consortium focusing on the remission of Rheumatoid arthritis, supporting and guiding the etiological hypothesis of other projects by demonstrating genetic associations with findings, and investigating genetic interactions with phenotypes.

Additionally, you will take a leading role in writing manuscripts based on your analyses and findings. You will have the opportunity to present your results at both national and international scientific meetings, as well as consortium meetings.

Furthermore, you will play a role in co-supervising junior scientists, including data scientists, MSc/BSc students, and PhD students within the team. This position offers a unique opportunity to contribute significantly to the field of rheumatology through cutting-edge genetic research and collaboration within a dynamic research environment.

·         A PhD in genetic epidemiology or a related field, with experience conducting genetic association studies and downstream analyses.

·         Recommended (but not required) experience in areas such as RNAseq, omic analyses, functional genetics, or clinical epidemiology.

·         Strong motivation and dedication to expanding skills within a clinical setting.

·         Understanding of the opportunities and challenges of working in international collaborations under European grants, with fixed deliverables and milestones.

·         Effective project and time management abilities, with a collaborative approach to teamwork.

·         Ambitious and capable of taking responsibility for research projects, while aligning well with colleagues. Organized, independent, proactive, and resilient in the face of setbacks.

·         Excellent analytical, communication, and writing skills, with a clear and concise style.

·         Fluency in English, both written and spoken

Fixed-term contract: duration project.

As a postdoctoral researcher your salary will at minimum be € 3,359 and € 5,292 at most (scale 10, CLA UMC). These figures are based on full-time employment.

LUMC

At the Leiden University Medical Center, we continuously work on improving patient care. We invest in groundbreaking, international research and work with the latest equipment. Together with our team of doctors, medical specialists, teachers, academic researchers and supporting staff, we aim for the best quality in health care, education and international research. And we need you to realize our goals!

rheumatology data science lab led by Dr. Rachel Knevel

You will be part of the rheumatology data science lab led by Dr. Rachel Knevel. The lab is part of the Rheumatology department, an EULAR Center of Excellence, led by prof Tom Huizinga. Here, in addition to clinical care, research focusses on the pathogenesis of various autoimmune diseases. The rheumatology department consists of approximately 100 enthusiastic postdocs, PhD students, research analysts, physicians and support staff.

Within the international consortia, we closely work together with the genetics groups of Heather Cordell from Newcastle university, UK. The rheumatology data science lab is in close connection with the Leiden Center of Computational Biology, a group of data scientists based at both the Leiden University Medical Center (dept. of Biomedical Data Sciences; Prof. Ewout Steyerberg) and Delft