Are you our next PhD in plasma medicine? Are you eager to work in a multidisciplinary environment?

We seek to hire a PhD to computationally investigate interaction of non-thermal plasmas with biomolecules. The candidate will focus on investigation of fundamental physical and chemical processes which occur due to application of non-thermal plasmas to biological targets.

Research Summary
In physics, 'plasma' is a special excited gas, sometimes named 'the fourth state of matter', which is generated by supplying sufficient energy to the gas. Non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasmas (also called low temperature or cold, from now on CAP) are specific types of plasmas which are typically generated by applying electromagnetic fields to matter, and they are therefore not in thermodynamic equilibrium. In many cases, average electron energy (0.1-10 eV) is significantly higher than the energy of heavy particles. This allows CAP sources to produce a chemically rich environment very close to room temperature; a condition which enables the delivery of reactive species in a non-destructive and beneficial way to different surfaces, even to extremely heat sensitive ones, such as organic tissues. This is where, the new field of 'plasma medicine' emerges which investigates the application of CAPs to biological targets for sterilization, wound healing, blood coagulation, drug delivery, cancer treatment, contamination control, food preservation, etc.

The current state of knowledge about the biological effect of CAPs indicates that significant biological plasma effects are caused by plasma-induced changes to the liquid environment of cells. Furthermore, reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS, RNS/RONS) generated in or transferred into liquid phases play a dominant role in biological plasma effects. Therefore, in this project you will employ atomistic simulations (Molecular dynamics, density functional theory) and methods from statistical mechanics to understand the effect of CAPs on liquids.

The research will be carried out at the Elementary Processes in Gas Discharges (EPG) group at the Applied Physics and Science Education Department of the Eindhoven University of Technology (The Netherlands) and is in collaboration with Institute for Complex Molecular Systems (ICMS).

Besides research you will also contribute to education within the department of Applied Physics. Apart from supervising BSc and MSc students in their research projects, other assistance in education, e.g., in bachelor courses, is usually limited to around 5% of your contract time.

Interactions
In this project you will interact with members of ICMS Immuno-engineering Program at TU/e. Besides, you have the opportunity to participate with national and international schools, workshops and conferences.

We are looking for a candidate that meets the following requirements:

• a solid background including master's degree in a relevant field (physics, chemistry, mathematics),
• a research-oriented attitude,
• a strong interest in method development and implementation (Python, C++),
• being enthusiastic about collaboration with experimentalists,
• good communication skills, and proficiency in English,
• experience with the use of standard quantum chemistry software, as well as molecular dynamics packages is of advantage.
• experience with plasma modelling is of advantage.

• A meaningful job in a dynamic and ambitious university with the possibility to present your work at international conferences.
• A full-time employment for four years, with an intermediate evaluation (go/no-go) after nine months.
• To develop your teaching skills, you will spend 10% of your employment on teaching tasks.
• To support you during your PhD and to prepare you for the rest of your career, you will make a Training and Supervision plan and you will have free access to a personal development program for PhD students (PROOF program).
• A gross monthly salary and benefits (such as a pension scheme, pregnancy and maternity leave, partially paid parental leave) in accordance with the Collective Labor Agreement for Dutch Universities.
• Additionally, an annual holiday allowance of 8% of the yearly salary, plus a year-end allowance of 8.3% of the annual salary.
• Should you come from abroad and comply with certain conditions, you can make use of the so-called '30% facility', which permits you not to pay tax on 30% of your salary.
• A broad package of fringe benefits, including an excellent technical infrastructure, moving expenses, and savings schemes.
• Family-friendly initiatives are in place, such as an international spouse program, and excellent on-campus children day care and sports facilities.