PhD Position: EVOLF Towards an AI Model of Cell-free Gene Expression in Synthetic Cells

Do you want to contribute to the bottom-up construction of synthetic cells? Are you excited about the application of AI tools to predict gene expression levels across a synthetic genome? Then join our team as a PhD Candidate!

Future synthetic cells will require an optimised gene expression system, capable of reliable, well-controlled expression of hundreds of genes on a synthetic genome. However, we cannot predict how much and how fast proteins are produced in vitro, as we need to learn the so-called cis-regulatory code: the relationship between DNA sequence and protein levels.

The ambition of this project is to train an AI model that predicts the cis-regulatory code for synthetic genomes (i.e. for cell-free gene expression systems) and correlates the experimental conditions within the synthetic cell (crowding, concentration of nutrients, size of liposome, etc.) with gene expression levels across a synthetic genome.

To achieve this aim, you will use VASA-seq and Ribo-Seq to generate large data sets that can be used for training machine learning and deep learning models. You will work in tight collaboration with other researchers in Nijmegen, Delft and at the Hubrecht Institute (van Oudenaarden group).

Would you like to learn more about what it is like to pursue a PhD at Radboud University? Visit the page about working as a PhD candidate.

• We will give you a temporary employment contract (1.0 FTE) of 1.5 years, after which your performance will be evaluated. If the evaluation is positive, your contract will be extended by 2.5 years (4-year contract).
• You will receive a starting salary of €2,901 gross per month based on a 38-hour working week, which will increase to €3,707 in the fourth year (salary scale P).
• You will receive an 8% holiday allowance and an 8,3% end-of-year bonus.
• We offer Dual Career Coaching. The Dual Career Coaching assists your partner via support, tools, and resources to improve their chances of independently finding employment in the Netherlands.
• You will receive extra days off. With full-time employment, you can choose between 30 or 41 days of annual leave instead of the statutory 20.

Work and science require good employment practices. This is reflected in Radboud University's primary and secondary employment conditions. You can make arrangements for the best possible work-life balance with flexible working hours, various leave arrangements and working from home. You are also able to compose part of your employment conditions yourself, for example, exchange income for extra leave days and receive a reimbursement for your sports subscription. And of course, we offer a good pension plan. You are given plenty of room and responsibility to develop your talents and realise your ambitions. Therefore, we provide various training and development schemes.

The department of Physical Organic Chemistry is an international, diverse and multidisciplinary team of chemists, physicists, biologists, engineers and AI/ML scientists at the Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University (Nijmegen, Netherlands). The EVOLF research consortium includes 31 research groups across the Netherlands that have joined forces to construct bottom-up synthetic cells.

You can apply only via the button below. Address your letter of application to Wilhelm Huck. In the application form, you will find which documents you need to include with your application.

Applications will be reviewed, and interviews scheduled during the recruitment period. Therefore, you will receive feedback and information about a possible follow-up process shortly. If a suitable candidate is found before the closing date, the vacancy will be closed, and further applications will no longer be possible. Feel free to contact the listed contact person for the latest status.

You will preferably start your employment on 1 September 2025

We can imagine you're curious about our application procedure. It describes what you can expect during the application procedure and how we handle your personal data and internal and external candidates.