Are you interested in unraveling the immunopathogenesis of endometriosis and whether lifestyle interventions can manage pain in endometriosis? Come join us as for this exciting PhD project.

Endometriosis is a hormone-dependent chronic inflammatory disease, affecting 6–10 % of women in reproductive age and as such it is one of the major causes of infertility and loss in quality of life. The pathophysiology of endometriosis is still poorly inderstood. Retrograde menstruation of endometrial cells outside the uterus in combination with a disbalance in the immunesystem, to clear endometriotic cells, is thought to play an important role.

Nowadays, hormonal therapy and surgery to remove endometriosis lesions are used as treatment. However, these therapies do not work for all patients, and hormonal therapy prevents patients from getting pregnant. Here, we will assess if certain lifestyle interventions, such as a specific diet targeting inflammation or/and cognitive behavioral therapy, can help to manage pain symptoms in patients with endometriosis.

In addition, we will investigate the effect on inflammatory markers measured in peripheral blood and in the local uterine immune environment using menstrual blood to further unravel the immunopathogenesis of endometriosis. Techniques that will be used are high-dimensional spectral flowcytometry, single cell technology and multiplex cytokine analysis.

Tasks

• You will be responsible for the planning, organization and the execution of the experiments.
• You will communicate the results to the supervisors, present data on international meetings, and write scientific papers.

For this project, we are looking for an ambitious PhD candidate with a Master's degree in Biomedical Sciences, Molecular Life Sciences, Technical Medicine, Biochemistry or related discipline and preferentially experience in the field of (reproductive) immunology.

We expect you to have:

• Experience in the field of (reproductive) immunology and sufficient technical skills to perform cell culture, flowcytometry and functional immune assays with for instance NK cells.
• Knowledge and an interest in bioinformatics such as unsupervised analysis techniques for multiplex data.
• An independent and well-structured working style, demanding high quality of your own work.
• Well-developed social skills directed to work in a team, excellent interpersonal and communicative skills.
• Strong motivation to succeed in scientific research.
• Excellent presentation and scientific writing skills.

Fixed-term contract: 4 years.

At Radboud university medical center, you build on your future. We are committed to providing the best care, education, and research. And we are true to our word, because we help you develop and seize opportunities and give you the room to grow. As an employer, we believe that employees should feel vital and happy at work in all stages of life. We are also committed to creating a healthy and safe working environment. Our employment conditions contribute to that. What we offer:

• Upon commencement of employment, you will start at scale 10A, step 0 (€ 3.017 based on a full-time appointment). Over a maximum period of 4 years, you will progress to scale 10A, step 3 (€3.824 based on a full-time appointment). You will also receive an 8% holiday allowance, an 8.3% end-of-year bonus, and a 47% to 72% bonus for working unsocial hours.
• 172 vacation hours per year based on a 36-hour working week. (As of 1 January 2025, you will receive 176 vacation hours).

Radboudumc

This project is a collaborative effort between the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology (Prof.dr. Annemiek Nap, Dr. Janneke Hoogstad-van Evert), Donders Centre for Cognition (Prof.dr. Joukje Oosterman), Wageningen University (Dr. Nicole de Roos) and the Laboratory of Medical Immunology (Dr. Renate van der Molen).

As a PhD candidate you will be primarily based at the Laboratory of Medical Immunology in the Reproductive Immunology research group to perform the laboratory investigation. The laboratory of Medical Immunology performs research and diagnostics for patients with immune related disorders. The main research topic is immune regulation from a translational perspective: designing new strategies for immunotherapy, and defining biomarkers to monitor immune status and treatment efficacy in patients suffering from transplant related or (auto)inflammatory disorders and reproductive disorders.

Radboudumc
Welcome to Radboud university medical center (Radboudumc), where scientific breakthroughs are born through the curiosity and passion of our collaborating researchers in a vibrant environment. We believe trust and excitement are crucial elements to achieving our goals, and we approach our research as teams and with the utmost rigor to make a significant impact on health and healthcare. Our researchers are driven by their fascination with the biological, psychological, and sociological mechanisms underlying health and healthcare. They collaborate with partners from all over the world to improve health outcomes for all. Radboudumc unites patient care, research, education, and corporate learning, which allows us to approach our mission to shape the health and healthcare of the future in an innovative and person-centered way.

Our ambition is to lead the way in the pursuit of prevention, sustainability, meaningful care. We believe that through our research, we can significantly improve the health and well-being of society. Join us on our mission to make a difference in healthcare. Become a part of our community of gifted researchers, professionals or patient partners who are dedicated to making a real impact on population health and healthcare.

Read what it is like to do a PhD at the Radboud University Medical Center.