The LUMC department of Human Genetics offers a NWO-funded PhD position to study how organisms deal with obstructions to ongoing DNA replication. Do you have a master’s degree in a relevant field and an interest to conduct research? Then this position might be for you. 

This proposal aims to identify the enzymes and genetic determinants that define mutagenesis at difficult-to-replicate DNA sequences, that affect and stabilize stalled DNA replication, that prevent it from collapse and chromosomal break formation, and that prevent excessive loss of DNA. As a PhD student in this project, you will primarily use C. elegans as a model system, but the research team, headed by Prof M. Tijsterman, also uses mouse and human cell culture systems. The proposed research is a logical follow-up on a highly successful research line (e.g. Koole et al., Nat. commun 2014; Lemmens et al., Nat commun 2015), which is genetically oriented but also implements state-of-the-art molecular biology techniques (such as CRISPR/Cas9) and genomic approaches (NGS). You will work in a highly motivated and multidisciplinary team of researchers studying genome stability in health and disease, in particular cancer.

You hold a master’s degree or equivalent in Biomedical Sciences, Molecular Biology or a related field. A flexible work approach and excellent written and oral communication skills (in English) are essential, as well as the ability to work effectively within an international team. Above all, you are enthusiastic, ambitious and result driven.

Fixed-term contract: four years.

You will be employed on the basis of 36 hours per week. Appointment is for a maximum of four years, to be completed with a doctoral thesis. Your salary will start with € 2,279 gross per month in the first year, amounting to a maximum of  € 2,919  gross per month in the fourth year based on a fulltime position (scale for PhD students in the Collective Labour Agreement for University Hospitals).

The terms of employment offered by the LUMC are excellent. For example, you will receive 8% holiday pay, a year-end bonus, and a pension arrangement with the National Civil Pension Fund. Also, as an employee of one of the University Hospitals in the Netherlands, you can benefit from our collective health insurance policy. 

Moreover, the LUMC offers excellent facilities in terms of education, child-care centers, and career advice. In addition, you may enjoy various leave arrangements and other extras. You can read more about these facilities elsewhere on this site.

LUMC

At the Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC), we are continually seeking to improve the quality of healthcare. The LUMC aims for excellence in patient care, research, teaching, training and continuing education.

http://www.lumc.nl/

Human genetics

The Department of Human Genetics is a broadly oriented research department with focus on the (epi)genomic contribution to inherited and acquired diseases. The Department consists of twenty self-contained research groups that perform research in four different themes. The PhD project fits within the LUMC profile area ‘Cancer Pathogenesis and Therapy’.