This PhD project is part of the EU-funded Marie-Curie Innovative Training Network ‘Polymers in the Liver: Metabolism and Regulation - PoLiMeR’ (polimer-itn.eu). Metabolic diseases are a burden on the European population and health care system. A Systems Medicine approach, based on computational models fed with individual patient data, has the potential to provide the basis for a personalised diagnosis and treatment strategy. The PoLiMeR consortium has identified the inherited, liver-related diseases of glycogen and lipid metabolism as the ideal starting point for innovative research training in personalised ‘Systems Medicine’. Our mission is to train our PhD students to become dedicated Systems-Medicine experts, who can seamlessly collaborate between computational and wet-lab environments, and between clinical, academic, and industrial environments. This training will enable them to become the future leaders in the field and eventually make the difference for the patients.

The aim of your PhD project is to develop novel analytical methods for lipid profiling, and thereby you will focus on detailed analysis of modified lipids and to identify structural isomers. This will be achieved using hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) or normal phase liquid chromatography (NPLC)-based separation coupled to a reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC)-mass spectrometry analysis, and using advanced MS/MS and ion mobility MS protocols. The methods developed will be miniaturised to allow the analysis of biomass-limited samples, such as patient-derived hepatocytes or organ-on-a-chip samples. To achieve your goals, you will collaborate with several other PhD students in this ITN program.

• Master/Engineering degree in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Biology or Biomedical Engineering preferably with majors in Analytical Chemistry and Mass Spectrometry;
• Interest in the field of metabolomics and lipid biochemistry, pharmacology, microfluidics, chemometrics and systems medicine is desired;
• Good to excellent proficiency in English is required (as proven by IELTS: ≥ 6.5 or TOEFL: internet based 90, or equivalent);
• Ability to work independently in a multidisciplinary environment;
• Meeting the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Early Stage Researcher eligibility criteria is required. In particular, at the time of appointment candidates must have had less than four years full-time equivalent research experience and must not have already obtained a PhD. Additionally, they must not have resided in The Netherlands for more than 12 months in the three years immediately before the appointment;
• Planned start date 1st July 2019 (or earlier).

Fixed-term contract: 4 years.

We offer a position for initially one year. After a positive evaluation of the progress of the thesis, personal capabilities and compatibility the appointment will be extended by a further three years. Salary range from €2,266 to €2,897 gross per month (pay scale P in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities). Mobility and family allowances as applicable according to Marie Skłodowska-Curie PhD fellowship scheme for early career researchers.

Leiden University offers an attractive benefits package with additional holiday (8%) and end-of-year bonuses (8.3 %), training and career development and sabbatical leave. Our individual choices model gives you some freedom to assemble your own set of terms and conditions. For international spouses we have set up a dual career program. Candidates from outside the Netherlands may be eligible for a substantial tax break. More at https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/working-at/job-application-procedure-and-employment-conditions.  

All our PhD students are embedded in the Leiden University Graduate School of Science. Our graduate school offers several PhD training courses at three levels: professional courses, skills training and personal effectiveness. In addition, advanced courses to deepen scientific knowledge are offered by the research school. The PhD candidate will benefit from a personal career development plan with targeted training measures and participation in a range of network activities with other Logic Lab consortium partners.

Diversity
Leiden University is strongly committed to diversity within its community and especially welcomes applications from members of underrepresented groups.

Universiteit Leiden

Leiden is a typical university city, hosting the oldest university in the Netherlands (1575). The University permeates the local surroundings; University premises are scattered throughout the city, and the students who live and study in Leiden give the city its relaxed yet vibrant atmosphere.

Leiden University is one of Europe's foremost research universities. This prominent position gives our graduates a leading edge in applying for academic posts and for functions outside academia. More at https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/working-at.

https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/werken-bij

Faculty of Science

The Faculty of Science is a world-class faculty where staff and students work together in a dynamic international environment. It is a faculty where personal and academic development are top priorities. Our people are committed to expand fundamental knowledge by curiosity and to look beyond the borders of their own discipline; their aim is to benefit science, and to make a contribution to addressing the major societal challenges of the future.
The research carried out at the Faculty of Science is very diverse, ranging from mathematics, information science, astronomy, physics, chemistry and bio-pharmaceutical sciences to biology and environmental sciences. The research activities are organized in eight institutes. These institutes offer eight bachelor’s and twelve master’s programs. The faculty has grown strongly in recent years and now has more than 1,300 staff and almost 4,000 students. We are located at the heart of Leiden’s Bio Science Park, one of Europe’s biggest science parks, where university and business life come together.

The Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research (LACDR) is a leading institute dedicated to world-class research and education in drug discovery and development. LACDR comprises a diverse and international team of approximately 160 researchers and is ideally located at the Leiden Bio Science Park, the largest life science cluster in The Netherlands.

Within the LACDR there is a growing focus on using (translational) metabolomics and patient derived organ-on-a-chip systems in the areas of drug research, translational disease research, systems pharmacology, computational modeling and biostatistics, and integration with epidemiological studies, genetics and clinical studies. You will work closely with the Leiden Centre for Data Science.

The Analytical Biosciences and Metabolomics Group (www.analyticalbiosciences.nl) at the Division of Systems Biomedicine and Pharmacology at the LACDR has a world-leading reputation in the field of metabolomics, and has a track record in developing novel analytical and microfluidic methods.

https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/science