PhD Candidate Epigenomics of Vaccination Response

Your research will focus on understanding why some individuals, particularly older adults, do not achieve optimal protection after vaccination. To answer this question, you will analyse large-scale genomics data from two unique longitudinal cohorts of vaccinated individuals whose immune systems have been thoroughly profiled. You will apply advanced statistical analyses in R and ensure your work is reproducible. In addition, you will analyse (single-cell) data from cell experiments to gain deeper insight into the immuno-epigenetic processes that underlie vaccine response. You will collaborate within a multidisciplinary team of researchers from three Dutch institutes (LUMC, UMCG, RIVM). You will present your work at scientific conferences and write multiple articles for submission to leading academic journals.

Your core tasks include:

• Analysing epigenomic and other large-scale datasets using advanced methods.
• Interpreting (single-cell) data from cell experiments to uncover immuno-epigenetic mechanisms.
• Developing and applying reproducible analysis workflows in R.
• Writing scientific articles for publication in leading journals.
• Presenting your research findings at national and international conferences.

You are analytical, creative, and well-organised. You get energy from working in a multidisciplinary team and are eager to share knowledge and ideas. In addition, you communicate fluently in English, both verbally and in writing.

You also have:

• A Master’s degree in biomedical sciences, life sciences, bioinformatics, computational biology, data science, computer science, or a related field.
• Hands-on experience with analysing large-scale (omics) datasets.
• Experience applying data analysis to answer biological research questions.
• Proficiency in programming languages and tools relevant to bioinformatics or data science, in particular R.

You will be employed on the basis of 36 hours per week. Employment will be for the duration of four years. Your salary is based on your education and experience and is a maximum of € 3.939,- gross per month (scale Pro in the Collective Labour Agreement for University Hospital. 

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

You will join the Department of Biomedical Data Sciences. One of the department’s main goals is to identify molecular profiles and biological processes that help us better understand complex diseases and ageing. To achieve this, we use state-of-the-art genomic technologies and advanced analytical methods in human biobanks and cellular model systems. You will work in a scientifically stimulating environment that nurtures your academic development and curiosity. Your supervisors will be Professor Bas Heijmans, whose research group has an outstanding international track record in epigenomics, and dr. Erik van Zwet, an expert in statistics and machine learning.