We have an exciting and challenging vacancy for a PhD student who will conduct scientific research on the influence of external exposures such as pesticides on the development of Parkinson's disease. A wonderful project at the intersection between exposome, epidemiology and clinical neurology. Will you become our new collegue?

Parkinson's disease is a disabling brain disorder that currently affects over 50,000 people in the Netherlands. This number is expected to double in the next 20 years. To curb the rapid growth in the number of people with Parkinson's, there is an urgent need to identify risk factors for Parkinson's disease that can serve as targets for large-scale preventive interventions.

Current evidence suggests that exposure to toxic substances in our environment plays an important role in the development of Parkinson's disease. Concerns have been raised about pesticides in particular. However, there are still some important gaps in our knowledge. For example, exposure to external exposures such as pesticides has not been determined at the individual level in previous research, but at the group level. Also, in previous studies, Parkinson's disease was diagnosed based on error-prone methods, the number of participants was relatively small, and confounding factors were not adequately identified. Because of these shortcomings in previous research, the causal relationship between exposure to external exposures such as pesticides and the development of Parkinson's disease is not (yet) certain.

The aim of this PhD project is to gain new insight into the role of external exposures such as pesticides as a possible cause of Parkinson's disease, by investigating exposure to (a mix of) pesticides in the environment and the risk of Parkinson's disease at an individual level. This will be done in two complementary ways:

• Longitudinal observational research by linking existing data sources with nationwide coverage for the entire Dutch population, and
• The design and conduct of a high-quality case-control study using measurements in the home environment, body materials and historical questionnaires.

The new knowledge from this project should lead to a broad public debate on the influence of external exposures such as pesticides on the development of Parkinson's disease, with the ultimate goal of making our living environment healthier and preventing new cases of Parkinson's disease.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Designs and conducts scientific research on the role of external exposures such as pesticides in the development of Parkinson's disease.
• Generates and analyzes data to contribute to scientific publications and presents findings at scientific meetings.
• Works in a multidisciplinary team of researchers to conduct collaborative research aimed at unraveling the role of pesticides in the development of Parkinson's disease.
• Works with research groups in the Netherlands and abroad.
• Concludes the project with a scientific dissertation.

To fill this position of PhD candidate, it is essential that you are both driven and capable of through scientific research. You are result-oriented, take initiative and propose feasible solutions.Furthermore:

• Completed relevant Master's degree in the field of (bio)medical sciences.
• Affinity with scientific research.
• Experience with epidemiological research is an advantage.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.
• Can adapt to changes in responsibilities, workload and changes within work processes.
• Excellent independent, accurate and structured work and also has good communication skills and is able to function within a team.
• Flexible and able to switch between different projects.
• Skilled in computer and measurement work.
• Has a high degree of integrity and the ability to maintain confidentiality regarding privacy guidelines, patient matters and other sensitive information.

Fixed-term contract: until 1 januari 2025 with a possible extension.

Working at Radboud university medical center means that you are ahead of the curve and working together on the healthcare of the future. And there is more. Our secondary terms of employment are impressive. These are fully tailored to you thanks to our Employment Conditions Selection Model. At Radboud university medical center, you will be given trust, and you will take the responsibility to handle everything together. We provide annual courses, both professional and personal.

• In addition to your monthly salary and an annual vacation allowance of 8%, you will receive an end-of-year bonus of 8.3%.
• If you work irregular hours, you will receive an allowance.
• As a full-time employee (36 hours per week), you are entitled to approximately 168 vacation hours (over 23 days) per year.
• Radboud university medical center pays 70% of the pension premium. You pay the rest of the premium with your gross salary.
• You get a discount on health insurance as well: you can take advantage of two group health insurance plans. UMC Zorgverzekering and CZ collectief.

In addition to our terms of employment, we also offer employees various other attractive facilities, such as childcare and sports facilities. Want to learn more? Take a look at the Cao UMC.

Radboudumc

You will work and become part of the dynamic, multidisciplinary research team of our Center of Expertise for Parkinson's & Movement Disorders at Radboudumc. Here you will have a lot of interaction with the large group of other PhD students working on solutions for people with Parkinson's. You will also become part of the Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences at Utrecht University, where you will work with enthusiastic epidemiologists who focus on the relationship between the exposome and the development of chronic diseases.

Research Institutes
At the moment there are more than 1,300 PhD candidates at our medical hospital. This number includes PhD candidates on our pay roll as well as external candidates (those employed somewhere else but researching on our premises).

• Radboud Institute for Health Sciences: ± 700
• Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences: ± 400
• Donders Center for Medical Neurosciences: ± 200

Read what it is like to do a PhD at the Radboud University Medical Center.

Radboudumc
Radboud university medical center is a university medical center for patient care, scientific research, and education in Nijmegen. Radboud university medical center strives to be at the forefront of shaping the healthcare of the future. We do this in a person-centered and innovative way, and in close collaboration with our network. We want to have a significant impact on healthcare. We want to improve with each passing day, continuously working towards better healthcare, research, and education. And gaining a better understanding of how diseases arise and how we can prevent, treat, and cure them, day in and day out. This way, every patient always receives the best healthcare, now and in the future. Because that is why we do what we do.

Read more about our strategy and what working at Radboud university medical