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Blood is essential for oxygen transport, wound healing, and defence against pathogens. Short-lived mature blood cells are constantly replenished by hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) throughout life. For many blood-related ailments, blood transfusion is often the only therapeutic option, and stem cell transplantation the only curative treatment for severe anemias. Unfortunately, a lack of immune-matched cells often hampers these therapies.
The TRACER consortium works on studying disease mechanisms as well as the production of mature bloodcells/HSCs from gene-corrected induced pluripotent stem-cells for therapeutic purposes. The team at TU Delft will focus on development of bioreactor technology for reliable high-density, low cost stem cell production for blood transfusion and curative applications. The team will consist of two PhD students, of which the current vacancy focuses on process modeling and simulation, whereas the prospective colleague will work on experimental cultivation and process monitoring/control. Within this project, you will actively work together with all partners, particularly Dutch blood bank Sanquin and Getinge-Applikon for bioreactor/process development.
PhD Project description:
The main objective of the process simulation project is to gain detailed insights in the cultivation environment, particularly conisdering gas-to-liquid mass transfer, mixing, hydrodynamic stresses and agglomeration using computational fluid dynamics.
Key focus points:
Several reactor configurations and scales, from shakeflask to production reactor, will be considered. The obtained insights will be use to further push the limits of the cultivation to obtaining higher cell numbers per unit volume. The CFD simulations will be used to inform process monitoring and control strategies. Insights obtained from the experimental work (ideally, including metabolic/proteomic models) will be included in the simulations. Additionally, there is room to explore the combination of hybrid mechanistic/data-driven modeling in the scope of bioprocess modeling.
Research group:
The project will take place in the Process simulation & Hydrodynamics group of the section Bioprocess Engineering at the department of Biotechnology. Our main objective is to study bioprocesses from the cellular point of view; how can we study interaction between cells and their environment, how does this affect process performance and how can we use the acquired knowledge to design better bioprocesses?
We are looking for a candidate that is self-driving and that can act as the manager of their own project. A strong background in process technology and an affinity for process simulation is desired. Considering the broad, multi-disciplinary nature of the consortium, we are looking for candidates that can effectively communicate their methods and results to stakeholders of various backgrounds, including non-technical.
Doing a PhD at TU Delft requires English proficiency at a certain level to ensure that the candidate is able to communicate and interact well, participate in English-taught Doctoral Education courses, and write scientific articles and a final thesis. For more details please check the Graduate Schools Admission Requirements.
Doctoral candidates will be offered a 4-year period of employment in principle, but in the form of 2 employment contracts. An initial 1,5 year contract with an official go/no go progress assessment within 15 months. Followed by an additional contract for the remaining 2,5 years assuming everything goes well and performance requirements are met.
Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, increasing from € 2443 per month in the first year to € 3122 in the fourth year. As a PhD candidate you will be enrolled in the TU Delft Graduate School. The TU Delft Graduate School provides an inspiring research environment with an excellent team of supervisors, academic staff and a mentor. The Doctoral Education Programme is aimed at developing your transferable, discipline-related and research skills.
The TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance and sport memberships, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged. For international applicants we offer the Coming to Delft Service and Partner Career Advice to assist you with your relocation.
Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in the areas of energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society. For generations, our engineers have proven to be entrepreneurial problem-solvers, both in business and in a social context. At TU Delft we embrace diversity and aim to be as inclusive as possible (see our Code of Conduct). Together, we imagine, invent and create solutions using technology to have a positive impact on a global scale.
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With more than 1,000 employees, including 135 pioneering principal investigators, as well as a population of about 3,400 passionate students, the Faculty of Applied Sciences is an inspiring scientific ecosystem. Focusing on key enabling technologies, such as quantum- and nanotechnology, photonics, biotechnology, synthetic biology and materials for energy storage and conversion, our faculty aims to provide solutions to important problems of the 21st century. To that end, we train students in broad Bachelor's and specialist Master's programmes with a strong research component. Our scientists conduct ground-breaking fundamental and applied research in the fields of Life and Health Science & Technology, Nanoscience, Chemical Engineering, Radiation Science & Technology, and Engineering Physics. We are also training the next generation of high school teachers and science communicators.
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