Short Description

1. Are you inspired by the potential to use degradable synthetic implants that are transformed into living tissues by the body itself?
2. Are you fascinated by our ability to use the immune system to our advantage to induce tissue engineering in situ?
3. Are you eager to contribute to better and sustainable healthcare?
4. Are you passionate about inspiring and mentoring students and working in a high-end collaborative and interdisciplinary research environment?
5. Are you our next PhD in material-driven tissue regeneration?

Job Description

There is an increasing clinical demand for sophisticated medical implants and the scientific field of implant technology is exponentially growing. The main challenge is to harness the immune response to such an implant. In this research we use the immune response to our advantage, by using bioresorbable synthetic biomaterials that are gradually replaced by living tissue inside the body. Our research on this technology has, for example, led to the world's first clinical trials using resorbable synthetic heart valves for children with congenital cardiac malformations.

One of the key immune cells for this technology are macrophages, which are the gatekeepers for successful implant integration. One major neglected factor is how macrophages sense and respond to mechanical loads, or 'macrophage mechanobiology'. Mechanical loads, such as cyclic stretch, are omnipresent in the human body, for example induced by breathing, the pulsatile blood pressure and musculoskeletal motion. So far, the dominant influence of mechanical loads on the macrophage response to a biomaterial when implanted has been poorly investigated, leading to potentially catastrophic implant failures. The main aim of your research will be to mechanistically unravel how macrophages respond to mechanical cues, in order to ultimately enable rational design of regenerative implants.

Embedding

You will be embedded in a highly inspiring research environment, both socially and professionally, which facilitates access to high-end research facilities, as well as fosters interdisciplinary collaborations. Your project is part of the ERC-funded research program MACxercise (ERC Starting Grant), and will contribute to various complementary (inter)national research programs, such as the Materials-Driven Regeneration Research Program (NWO Gravitation). You will be an integral member of the ImmunoRegeneration team and the overarching Soft Tissue Engineering and Mechanobiology research group (headed by Prof. Carlijn Bouten) at our Department. Moreover, you will be affiliated to the Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, our interdepartmental center for research excellence.

• A master's degree (or an equivalent university degree) in Biomedical Engineering.
• Experience in (immune) cell culture and cell mechanobiology is a must. Experience in microfabrication and/or bioreactor development is strongly preferred.
• A research oriented attitude.
• Ability to work in a multidisciplinary team with researchers at various academic levels.
• Fluent in spoken and written English.

• A meaningful job in a dynamic and ambitious university with the possibility to present your work at international conferences.
• A full-time employment for four years, with an intermediate evaluation (go/no-go) after nine months.
• To develop your teaching skills, you will spend 10% of your employment on teaching tasks.
• To support you during your PhD and to prepare you for the rest of your career, you will make a Training and Supervision plan and you will have free access to a personal development program for PhD students (PROOF program).
• A gross monthly salary and benefits (such as a pension scheme, pregnancy and maternity leave, partially paid parental leave) in accordance with the Collective Labor Agreement for Dutch Universities.
• Additionally, an annual holiday allowance of 8% of the yearly salary, plus a year-end allowance of 8.3% of the annual salary.
• Should you come from abroad and comply with certain conditions, you can make use of the so-called '30% facility', which permits you not to pay tax on 30% of your salary.
• A broad package of fringe benefits, including an excellent technical infrastructure, moving expenses, and savings schemes.
• Family-friendly initiatives are in place, such as an international spouse program, and excellent on-campus children day care and sports facilities.