The Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI) in Amsterdam is a Comprehensive Cancer Centre combining a hospital and research laboratories in a single independent organization. The research group of Reuven Agami at the division of Oncogenomics is interested in identifying novel cellular vulnerabilities that can be exploited for cancer therapies. For this purpose, they develop innovative genomic and functional genetic tools and use biochemical and bioinformatics tools to understand the underlying mechanisms. 
In recent years the Agami lab studied amino acid shortages and its impact on mRNA translation in cancer mainly using Ribosome Profiling and CRISPR-screens (Loayza-Puch et al., Nature 2016; Slobodin et al., Cell 2017; Sun et al., EMBO 2020). This research line has led them to uncover a surprising impact of amino acid shortages on proteins' quality.  They showed that prolonged amino acid deprivation induces cancer cells to produce defective proteins by ribosomal frameshifting (Bartok et al., Nature 2020). These defective proteins can be processed and presented at the cell surface of cancer cells and be recognized by immune cells. They now aim to uncover the mechanisms that connect this phenomenon with cancer, setup functional genetic screens to identify underlying mechanisms and develop in vitro and in vivo tools to explore how to utilize this phenomenon for cancer immunotherapy. 

Responsibilities:
The successful candidate will continue an ongoing research line in the lab to establish the link between defective protein production and cancer. He/she will perform functional genetic screenings and biochemical experiments in cell culture and mouse models to utilize this knowledge for cancer therapy. The successful applicant will also help in supervising PhD students in the lab and will be involved in writing of scientific papers, project reports and grant applications. 

The Agami lab seeks to recruit an ambitious Postdoc with a strong background in molecular biology, and a strong commitment to science, who will be involved in constructing molecular strategies for functional genetics. A strong publication record is required. General knowledge in cancer biology and functional genetics with RNAi and CRISPR tools are an advantage. Bioinformatics skills are an advantage too. We expect the candidate to be highly self-motivated, creative, and able to work in a team. Apart from being a true team player, we expect the candidate to exhibit a high degree of independence, to have a problem-solving attitude and have strong analytical and technical abilities in addition to excellent communication and presentation skills. 

You will join an international research team in a stimulating and interactive research environment. The gross salary for a fulltime appointment will range from € 3.447,- to € 4.077,- per month, depending on previous experience. The terms of employment will be in accordance with FWG 55 of the CAO Ziekenhuizen (Collective Labour Agreement for Hospitals).
In addition you will receive a fixed end-of-year bonus in December (8,33%) and in May you will receive 8,33% holiday pay. For more information in regard to the secondary conditions please contact the recruiter via: c.de.santis@nki.nl.

Netherlands Cancer Institute

The Netherlands Cancer Institute, founded in 1913, is among the top 10 comprehensive cancer centers, combining world-class fundamental, translational, and clinical research with dedicated patient care. Our initiatives to promote excellent translational research have been recognized by the European Academy of Cancer Sciences, when they designated us ‘Comprehensive Cancer Center of Excellence in Translational Research’.