The Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences (SILS) of the Faculty of Science has a vacancy for a PhD candidate in B cell Immunology.

You will work in close collaboration with Sanquin. You will execute the project and be supervised at Sanquin in the Department of Immunopathology in the Division Research of Sanquin. The department comprises of 40-50 people (group leaders, postdocs, PhD-students, undergraduate students and technicians) that all work on related immunological research topics. The strong interactions between specialists in molecular and cellular immunology, big data and bioinformatics experts and specialists in protein chemistry create a working environment that supports good research and strong academic development.

The research project is embedded in the Immunoglobulin Research group, headed by dr Theo Rispens, that investigates structural and functional properties of antibodies with the aim of understanding their role in immunological processes, autoimmune disease, and their therapeutic application and the B cell Research group, headed by prof Marieke van Ham, dr Anja ten Brinke, that investigates how B cell differentiation into IgG-secreting plasma cells (PC) is regulated by antigen and specific signals from follicular Thelper cells.

Project description

IgG4 B cell responses are unique to humans. IgG4 responses are associated with certain undesired autoantibody responses and immune responses to therapeutic proteins (‘biologics’), but is also highly desired to induce tolerance during allergen-specific immunotherapy. The dual role of IgG4 in contributing to both desired and unwanted immunity and the distinctive dynamics of this response prompts the need for a detailed understanding of this unique immune response.

We offer a PhD-student/AIO project on the elucidation of human IgG4 B cell responses in an exciting project. The project involves both fundamental and translational research in a multi-disciplinary and enthusiastic team.

In this project, we will focus on the analyses of antigen-specific IgG4 B cell responses in different patient cohorts, such as patients under allergy immunotherapy and patients treated with biologics such as adalimumab, a therapeutic human monoclonal anti-TNF antibody. Our main focus is on understanding the development of the antigen-specific IgG4 repertoire and the elucidation of unique features of IgG4 B cell differentiation. The work will involve isolation, analysis and culture of antigen-specific B cells obtained from healthy donors upon vaccination and patients. Analysis will include BCR sequencing and deep phenotyping at the protein (mass spectrometry) and RNA level (bulk or single cell RNAseq).

You:

• have a master in biomedical or biopharmaceutical sciences;
• have proven interest in research in the field of cellular immunology;
• know how to/ have affinity with performing big data analyses/bioinformatics;
• have excellent communication skills and are a team player;
• have good command of the English language.

Fixed-term contract: 18 months.

You will be employed at the University of Amsterdam but your primary location will be Sanquin. The full-time employment will be on a temporary basis for a maximum period of four years (18 months plus a further 30 months after a positive performance evaluation) and should lead to a dissertation (PhD thesis). An educational plan will be drafted that includes attendance of courses and (international) meetings. Based on a full-time appointment (38 hours per week) the gross monthly salary will range from €2,325 in the first year to €2,972 in the final year, according to the Dutch salary scales for PhD candidates. This is excl. 8% holiday allowance and 8,3% end of year bonus. The Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities is applicable.

Are you curious about our extensive package of secondary employment benefits like our excellent opportunities for study and development? Then find out more about working at the Faculty of Science.

University of Amsterdam

With over 5,000 employees, 30,000 students and a budget of more than 600 million euros, the University of Amsterdam (UvA) is an intellectual hub within the Netherlands. Teaching and research at the UvA are conducted within seven faculties: Humanities, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Economics and Business, Law, Science, Medicine and Dentistry. Housed on four city campuses in or near the heart of Amsterdam, where disciplines come together and interact, the faculties have close links with thousands of researchers and hundreds of institutions at home and abroad.  

The UvA’s students and employees are independent thinkers, competent rebels who dare to question dogmas and aren’t satisfied with easy answers and standard solutions. To work at the UvA is to work in an independent, creative, innovative and international climate characterised by an open atmosphere and a genuine engagement with the city of Amsterdam and society.

Faculty of Science –  Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences

The Faculty of Science has a student body of around 6,500, as well as 1,600 members of staff working in education, research or support services. Researchers and students at the Faculty of Science are fascinated by every aspect of how the world works, be it elementary particles, the birth of the universe or the functioning of the brain.

The research of the Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences (SILS) is centred on four themes:

1. Cell & Systems Biology
2. Neurosciences
3. Microbiology and
4. Green Life Sciences.