Are you inspired by the potential to use degradable synthetic implants that are transformed into living tissues by the body itself? Are you eager to contribute to better and sustainable healthcare through innovative tissue engineering approaches? Are you passionate about working in a high-end collaborative and interdisciplinary research environment focused on clinical translation? Then you might be our next postdoctoral researcher in the Clinical Translation Platform for materials-driven tissue regeneration!

About MDR

The Research Center for Materials-Driven Regeneration (MDR) is a partnership between Eindhoven University of Technology, Maastricht University and Utrecht University, University Medical Center Utrecht and the Hubrecht Institute. This consortium was brought together to advance tissue and organ regeneration approaches using instructive biomaterials. The MDR Research Center was awarded an 18.8 M€ grant in May 2017 by the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science of The Netherlands in the framework of the Gravitation program.

In this 10-year program the interdisciplinary team of researchers within the MDR consortium aims to focus on the research and development of new, intelligent materials that stimulate the regeneration of damaged or diseased tissues and organs. Three research flagships are defined according to hierarchical levels of increasing length scale and structural complexity. In order to strengthen our research center, we are recruiting highly motivated and talented people that would like to contribute in the interesting yet complex multidisciplinary area of Materials-Driven Regeneration.

About the position

As a postdoctoral researcher, you will contribute towards the careful, efficient, and ethical translation of our fundamental research findings into clinical applications. You will play a pivotal role in advancing our understanding of the mechanisms underlying tissue regeneration and implant integration in vivo, with a main focus on cardiovascular regeneration. Using these insights - gathered through analysis, reusing, and mining of our existing data - you will propose optimizations for materials for cardiovascular in situ tissue engineering that are one step closer to clinical application. As such, your research will also involve the comparison of current in vitro culture models and in vivo preclinical models, to assess their predictive power for future clinical outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Conduct high-quality research in the field of materials-driven regeneration and its clinical translation.
• Investigate and understand the variability in tissue outcomes and its impact on clinical translation.
• Use advanced data collection and mining techniques to compares study outcomes.
• Collaborate with the interdisciplinary teams at TU/e, University Medical Center Utrecht, and Maastricht University and contribute to the overall goals of the Clinical Translation Platform.
• Publish research findings in peer-reviewed journals and present at international conferences.
• Mentor and inspire (PhD) students within the research group.
• Provide input on ethical, legal, and regulatory aspects of clinical translation.

Embedding:
You will be embedded in the Soft Tissue Engineering and Mechanobiology (STEM) group at the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). From this main locatiom, you will also actively engage with your peers at University Medical Center Utrecht and Maastricht University to collectively support the MDR Clinical Translation Platform.

• A PhD degree in Regenerative Medicine, Biomedical Sciences, Biomedical Engineering, Materials Science, or a comparable discipline.
• Experience with translational research (including preclinical models) is essential.
• Affinity with data collection and mining, data analysis, and data gathering with readouts in, e.g., histology, molecular cell biology, immunohistochemistry, and biomaterial properties is preferred.
• Strong research-oriented attitude with the ability to work both independently and in a multidisciplinary team.
• Fluent in spoken and written English.

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 two years.
• Salary in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, scale 10 (min. €3,877 max. €5,090).
• A year-end bonus of 8.3% and annual vacation pay of 8%.
• High-quality training programs on general skills, didactics and topics related to research and valorization.
• An excellent technical infrastructure, on-campus children's day care and sports facilities.
• Partially paid parental leave and an allowance for commuting, working from home and internet costs.
• A TU/e Postdoc Association that helps you to build a stronger and broader academic and personal network, and offers tailored support, training and workshops.
• A Staff Immigration Team is available for international candidates, as are a tax compensation scheme (the 30% facility) and a compensation for moving expenses.