Postdoctoral research position

We are looking for a highly motivated and talented translational scientist with a recent PhD degree for a postdoctoral research project on the molecular mechanisms of severe asthma and the in vitro models that best capture these. Asthma is a highly prevalent respiratory disease that often starts in childhood. However, asthma is heterogeneous, and several endotypes have been proposed for this chronic disease. The molecular mechanisms driving the individual endotypes of severe asthma have not been fully characterized, and in vitro model to develop endotype-specific therapeutic interventions or biomarkers are lacking.

The project
In this postdoctoral research project, you will chart the molecular and cellular mechanisms active in the airway wall of patients with severe asthma. You will compare these cell-type specific transcriptional phenotypes to those in experimental models of asthma, with the goal to identify endotype-specific models for asthma. The project includes extensive single-cell transcriptomic data generation from airway wall tissue of patients with asthma, and from cultured primary epithelial and immune cells from these same patient groups. In addition, the project involves integrated analyses of these datasets with state-of-the-art computational methods. The successful candidate will collaborate with 2 PhD students on the project.

Eligible candidates for this PostDoc position should have the following qualifications:
- A(n) (almost) completed PhD degree in a relevant discipline, such as computational biology or biomedical sciences.
- Background in cellular, biochemical and molecular analysis techniques
- Experience with both generation and analysis of high-dimensional single-cell transcriptomic data in a translational setting.
- Strong motivation for scientific research in an interdisciplinary and international environment.
- Excellent English presentation and writing skills.
- Track record in respiratory research is prefered.
- Good organizational and communication skills, being a team-player.

This is a full-time appointment (36 hours),starting March 2026 The position will initially be on a temporary basis for two years, with a possibility for a 2-year extension. Your salary will be a maximum of € 5.669,-. gross per month (scale 10), depending on your qualifications and relevant experience, based on a full-time appointment. Additionally, the UMCG offers an 8% holiday allowance, an 8.3% year-end bonus.The conditions of employment comply with the Collective Labour Agreement for Medical Centres (CAO-UMC).

This postdoctoral position is part of the transition project for asthma and COPD of the Ombion Centre for Animal-free Biomedical Translation (CPBT). The project is embedded in the Groningen research institute for Asthma and COPD (GRIAC), one of the leading translational research institutes in respiratory disease in Europe. The research group led by prof. Nawijn combines experimental ‘wet-lab’ work using primary cells from patients with asthma and COPD and relevant controls with advanced computational ‘dry-lab’ analyses on high-dimensional datasets generated from tissues and cultured cells of these same patient groups. The Department of Pathology and Medical Biology of the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG) aims to conduct innovative translational and applied scientific research, deliver state-of-the art education, and demonstrate clinical and scientific leadership. The department is nationally and internationally renowned in the fields of molecular diagnostics and digital pathology, and possesses high-quality infrastructure and facilities.