Heart rhythm disorders are initiated and continued by abnormalities in cardiac electrical activity. As the current approaches to study and treat these disorders are suboptimal, this project aims to break new ground by equipping human tissue culture models of heart rhythm disorders with multi-LED arrays to gain superb control over the electrical activity in these models by spatiotemporally controlled illumination, thereby enabling an advanced approach for investigation and treatment. Such optical modulation will be realized through optogenetics, i.e. by the activation of light-sensitive ion channels expressed in these models. This research requires the creation and application of an interactive optoelectronic platform, which is at the core of this PhD training project.

In short

—- You combine a winner’s mentality with a great team spirit and strong communication skills

—- You hold a recent Master’s degree relevant to this project, for example, but not exclusively, Biomedical Engineering or Sciences, Systems & Control, or Life Science & Technology

—- You have an outspoken interest in microelectronic engineering, system integration, optics and artificial intelligence, but also in biomedical research, including tissue culture modeling of human disease

—- You are looking for position in a multidisciplinary team to collaborate and you are willing to work at different locations in the region (LUMC Leiden and TU Delft)

We are looking for a clearly motivated, very determined and creative PhD candidate with a strong interest in microelectronic engineering, system integration, optics and artificial intelligence, but also in biomedical research, including tissue culture modeling of human disease. Experience in any of these fields would be considered an advantage, but the sheer will to make progress by digging into these subjects is equally appreciated. You should combine a winner’s mentality with a great team spirit and strong communication skills as you will collaborate closely with your team members on frontier research. Given the multidisciplinary nature of this project you should be eager to work in both departments, i.e. the Laboratory of Experimental Cardiology in Leiden and the Department of Microelectronics in Delft.

Fixed-term contract: 4 years.

You will be employed on the basis of 36 hours per week. Appointment is for a maximum of four years. Your salary will start with € 2,495 gross per month in the first year, amounting to a maximum of  € 3,196  gross per month in the fourth year based on a fulltime position (scale for PhD students in the Collective Labour Agreement for University Hospitals).

LUMC

At the Leiden University Medical Center, we continuously work on improving patient care. We invest in groundbreaking, international research and work with the latest equipment. Together with our team of doctors, medical specialists, teachers, academic researchers and supporting staff, we aim for the best quality in health care, education and international research. And we need you to realize our goals!

Laboratory of Experimental Cardiology

The Laboratory of Experimental Cardiology (dr. DA Pijnappels, dr. AA de Vries and prof. dr. K. Zeppenfeld; Department of Cardiology) focuses on the understanding and treatment of heart damage and rhythm disorders for which all necessary facilities, equipment, skills and knowledge is readily available, including the support of dedicated technical personnel. The laboratory is internationally recognized for its research on optogenetics and houses a highly motivated and dedicated team of researchers with backgrounds in biology, medicine and physics. Their research has attracted funding from the Dutch Research Council (NWO, e.g. Vidi grant) and the European Research Council (ERC, e.g. Starting grant) and resulted in many international awards. Within the Department of Microelectronics, the Electronic Components, Technology and Materials (ECTM) group offers a multi-disciplinary research environment, with a strong interaction with industry, on emerging materials, innovative microstructures and devices and novel integration concepts for health and other applications. This group (dr. RH Poelma and prof. dr. GQ Zhang) has not only an outstanding international reputation in designing and developing complex multi-LED arrays for biomedical use, but also in the integration of different systems into multifunctioning research platforms. The candidate will receive full support from skilled personnel in Delft, while maintaining continuous interaction with the team in Leiden and vice versa. The collaboration between both group was recently established and resulted in, among others, a broad impact publication in Science Translational Medicine (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30814339/).