SPACETIME (SPatial Analysis of Cancer Evolution in the Tumour Immune MicroEnvironment) is a consortium in the Horizon Europe - Mission Cancer programme that brings together top universities, research institutions, and patients’ organizations from across Europe. Together, we are dedicated to advancing fundamental knowledge on lung cancer through interdisciplinary collaboration, innovation, and excellence. The mission of the project is to understand how the patient’s immune responses co-evolve with the tumour from the initiation and premalignant stages to malignancy and invasiveness. Our ultimate vision is to provide better treatment options for patients with lung cancer.

We are looking for 3 PhD students to functionally investigate the tumour-immune interaction patterns observed in the patients and mice, with a focus on glycobiology, immunometabolism and T cell responses. In more detail:

Project 1: led by Prof. Yvette van Kooyk will investigate how sialic acid/Siglec interactions mediate immune suppression in the tumour microenvironment.

Project 2 led by dr. Jan Van den Bossche will investigate metabolic interactions within the tumor microenvironment that drive suppressive myeloid cell functions.

Project 3: led by dr. Marieke Fransen and dr. Febe van Maldegem will investigate local and systemic tumour specific T cell responses during lung cancer development.

We are seeking highly motivated and talented individuals with a strong academic background in life science. Ideal candidates will possess:

• A master's degree (or equivalent) in a relevant field (biomedical sciences, biotechnology, etc.);
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills;
• Willingness to work with animal models (Art. 9 possession and previous experience is an advantage);
• Practical laboratory experience with cell culture, molecular biology, flow cytometry or other single cell technologies is an advantage;
• Affinity with bioinformatics (e.g. programming in R, image analysis software) is an advantage;
• Excellent communication skills in English, both written and verbal;
• Ability to work in an international team and adhere with strict deadlines.

• A flying start to your career in scientific research.
• Plenty of room for personal development with a wide range of training & development of academic skills
• Working on large-scale and own research, with motivated colleagues
• The funds for this position are available for 4 years. We offer an initial contract for 12 months that can be extended (after evaluation) for another 36 months.
• Salary scale OIO: € 3.017 tot € 3.824 bruto (based on a fulltime workweek), depending on qualifications and experience.
• Additional benefits including an 8.3% end-of-year bonus and 8% holiday pay. Calculate your net salary here.
• Your pension is accrued at BeFrank. A modern and fair pension scheme
• Excellent accessibility with public transportation and reimbursement of a large portion of your travel expenses. Additionally, we have plenty of parking spaces and a good bicycle scheme.

For more information about our employment conditions, please visit our website.

Amsterdam UMC

You will be housed in the Molecular and Cellular Biology and Immunology department, dedicated to scientific research in an international setting at Amsterdam UMC. You will closely collaborate with the department of medical oncology, pulmonary diseases and pathology. We work with large collections of patient material from different clinical studies and serially bio-banked samples stored at the liquid biopsy center and the pathology department of the Cancer Center Amsterdam (CCA).

You will be part of the joint graduate school of Amsterdam UMC Cancer Center Amsterdam and Netherlands Cancer Institute, VU and UvA (OOA) dedicated to the training of more than 1000 PhD students working in the field of Oncology. Finally, you will collaborate internationally, with research groups from 14 European universities and research institutes as part of the SPACETIME consortium.