The advertised subproject will be carried out by a PhD candidate (“Early-stage Researcher”) at the University of Twente. The recruited researcher will work for four years in the group of Applied Stem Cell Technologies, in the team of Dr. Andries van der Meer, which has a focus on the interdisciplinary development and application of microfluidic organs-on-chips.

She/he will develop and apply a novel organ-on-a-chip system, containing perfused co-cultures of retinal cells, as well as integrated sensors. The main working tasks of the advertised subproject are:

1. To set up controlled, parallelized, microfluidically perfused, co-cultures of endothelial cells and retinal pigment epithelial cells in a retina-on-chip system;
2. to control oxygen levels in the systems and to integrate optical oxygen sensing;
3. to analyse barrier properties of the co-cultures in conditions of normoxia and hypoxia for applications in retinal disease modelling

Secondments are planned as follows:

• TU Graz (sensor integration) for 3 months;
• Boehringer Ingelheim (disease modelling) for 3 months.

This subproject is fully funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie European Training Network „EUROoC“ (H2020-MSCA-ITN-2018). The monthly salary consists of a living allowance, mobility allowance and family allowance (if applicable). Please visit the EC MSCA webpage for more information. The recruited researcher will have the opportunity to work as part of an international, interdisciplinary team of 15 PhD students, based at universities and industrial firms throughout Europe. She/he will gain a unique skill-set comprising microfabrication, biomaterial science and stem cell differentiation, as well as an overview of different organ-on-a-chip technologies and their implementation at industrial level. She/he is expected to finish the project with a PhD thesis and to disseminate the results through patents (if applicable), publications in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at international conferences.

Background information:

Marie Skłodowska-Curie European Training Networks (ETNs) are joint research and training projects funded by the European Union. Funding is provided for PhD students from both inside and outside Europe to carry out individual project work in a European country other than their own.

The European training network “EUROoC” is made up of 11 core and 10 associate partners from academia, industry and regulatory agencies, coordinated by Fraunhofer IGB. The network will recruit a total of 15 PhD students for project work lasting for 36 months.

Organ-on-a-Chip (OoC) technology is advancing at breath taking pace due to its potential impact in drug development and personalised treatments of disease. New researchers entering this field must be equipped with a multidisciplinary background ranging from biology to microfluidic chip engineering. EUROoC offers the first complete and coherent European training program on OoC by gathering multidisciplinary participants (biologists, physicists, chemists, engineers) in a multi-sectoral network composed of six companies, three regulation entities and twelve academic institutions.

EUROoC will qualify the next generation of interdisciplinary scientists for all aspects of OoC development and utilisation, including understanding of commercialisation pathways and regulatory aspects. EUROoC furthermore comprises a collection of innovative research projects addressing the development of advanced OoC systems with higher physiological significance going beyond current in vitro testing.

Qualifications / experience

• Early-stage researcher: a researcher without a PhD, who is in the first four years (full-time equivalent research experience) of her/his research career, measured from the date when she/he obtained the degree, which would formally entitle her/him to embark on a doctorate.
• M.Sc. degree in the field of biomedical engineering or related fields.
• Basic knowledge of microfabrication, microfluidics, 3D cell models, cell culture.
• Practical experience in fabrication and operation of microfluidic chip systems is a strong plus.
• Basic knowledge of data analysis and Microsoft Office.
• Experience with CAD software and programming is a plus.
• Well-structured and autonomous working style, good organizational and communication skills.
• Fluency in written and spoken English is a must.

Mobility:

The applicant must not have resided or carried out her/his main activity (work, studies etc.) in the Netherlands for more than 12 months in the past three years.

INFORMATION AND APPLICATION

Please upload your CV, a half-page summary of master/diploma thesis, a letter of motivation (up to 2 pages) which states your research experience and interests, and names and contact information of at least two academic referees who could write a letter of recommendation by using the application button below. 

For questions, please contact: Dr. Andries van der Meer: andries.vandermeer@utwente.nl. Assessment of applications starts 17th of February 2019.

Interviews are planned for March/ April 2019.

The assignment will be for four years, with a go/no go assessment at six and twelve months.   

The gross monthly salary starts with € 2.325,- in the first year and increases to € 2.972,- in the fourth year of your employment. Additionally, the University of Twente provides excellent facilities for professional and personal development, a holiday allowance (amount to 8%) and an end of year bonus of 8,3%.

The University of Twente. We stand for life sciences and technology. High tech and human touch. Education and research that matter. New technology which leads change, innovation and progress in society. The The University of Twente. We stand for life sciences and technology. High tech and human touch. Education and research that matter. New technology which leads change, innovation and progress in society. The University of Twente is the only campus university of the Netherlands; divided over five faculties we provide more than fifty educational programmes. We have a strong focus on personal development and talented researchers are given scope for carrying out groundbreaking research. We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability status. Because of our diversity values we do particularly support women to apply. Within the TNW Faculty (Faculty of Science & Technology) of the University of Twente some 700 staff members and 2000 students are involved in training and research on the interface of chemical technology, applied physics and biomedical technology. Fields of application include sustainable energy, process technology and materials science, nanotechnology and technical medicine. Research, which enjoys a high profile both at home and internationally, has been accommodated in the multidisciplinary research institutes: Mesa+ Institute, TechMed Centra and Digital Society Institute. The faculty works together intensively with industrial partners and researchers in the Netherlands and abroad and conducts extensive research for external commissioning parties and funders.