PhD on high-throughput and super-resolution imaging of polymeric nanoparticles

Are you passionate about microscopy and want to make an impact in the fields of nanotechnology and nanomedicine? We are searching for a young scientist to use high-throughput and super-resolution microscopy to characterize polymeric nanoparticles. The imaging data will be used for the AI-guided design of improved nanoparticles for medicine. 

Job Description

We have an open PhD position (fully funded, four years) in on high-throughput and super-resolution imaging of polymeric nanoparticles  at Eindhoven University of Technology to be carried out in collaboration within the Albertazzi and Voets research groups. This position is funded by the Dutch Research Council Gravitation Program Interactive Polymer Materials grant, a large consortium aiming to design the next generation of polymeric materials. 

Polymeric nanoparticles have an enormous potential for a variety of biomedical application, especially as drug and gene delivery carriers. However, designing the perfect nanoparticle for a specific application is extremely challenging due to the large number of variables at stake. Indeed, the desired material has a specific combination of size, charge, encapsulation efficiency, number and affinity of targeting ligands, making the design space very difficult to navigate.

Advances in imaging allows to look at polymeric materials with new eyes. Automation and high-throughput microscopy allow to measure and characterize a large number of formulations to screen for ideal properties. Moreover, sophisticated techniques like super-resolution microscopy allow to zoom into the structure of interesting nanoparticles with unprecedented detail. You will establish this imaging methods for polymeric nanoparticles and obtain large imaging datasets. These will be used to rationally understand structure-activity relations and to train machine-learning algorithms to more efficiently navigate the design space and predict the best formulation for a specific medical application.

This position will be supervised by Lorenzo Albertazzi (Nanoscopy for Nanomedicine group, Biomedical Engineering department) and Ilja Voets (self-organizing soft matter group, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering department). The groups are also closely connected to the Institute for Complex Molecular Systems.

A meaningful job in a dynamic and ambitious university, in an interdisciplinary setting and within an international network. You will work on a beautiful, green campus within walking distance of the central train station. In addition, we offer you:

• Full-time employment for four years, with an intermediate evaluation (go/no-go) after nine months. You will spend 10% of your employment on teaching tasks.
• Salary and benefits (such as a pension scheme, paid pregnancy and maternity leave, partially paid parental leave) in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, scale P (min. € 2,901 to max. € 3,707 gross per month).
• A year-end bonus of 8.3% and annual vacation pay of 8%.
• High-quality training programs and other support to grow into a self-aware, autonomous scientific researcher. At TU/e we challenge you to take charge of your own learning process.
• An excellent technical infrastructure, on-campus children's day care and sports facilities.
• An allowance for commuting, working from home and internet costs.
• A Staff Immigration Team and a tax compensation scheme (the 30% facility) for international candidates.