Student Assistant position - Microfluidic Engineering for Biology

20%-60%, Zurich, fixed-term

Are you a (bio-/medical) engineering or health sciences student at ETH Zurich with an interest in biological questions?
Do you want to apply and improve your fluidic and micro-engineering lab skills, and advance your programming capabilities?
Do you want to contribute to new treatment methods for cancer, and a better understanding of the immune system?

Then this paid student assistant position might be for you!

Project background

You will support the engineering efforts in several projects, ranging from personalized oncology to immune cell mechanobiology.

On the one hand, we are aiming to improve cancer treatments by predicting the right drug for each patient. For this, we use microfluidics, organoids and microscopy. By programming an automated microfluidic system, we are making the process faster and more reproducible.
On the other hand, we are trying to understand how immune cells behave under mechanical loads. For this, we are setting up an acoustofluidic system for the levitation and deformation of cells.

Job description

This position will include various different lab-based tasks including:

• Droplet microfluidics
• Acoustofluidics
• Simple micro-fabrication
• Fluorescence microscopy
• Programming for automation
• Programming for image analysis
• Cell culture

Your profile

• Registered as a student in a Swiss university
• Aptitude for technological tinkering with fluidics and microtechnologies
• Basic programming skills (Python or Matlab)
• Basic lab skills
• Basic understanding of fluidic and optical phenomena
• Basic cell biology knowledge
• Critical thinker and clear communicator
• Motivated, independent, reliable, and willing to learn new things

Bonus:

• Cell culture
• (Fluorescence) Microscopy
• Micro-fabrication
• Micro- and Acoustofluidics
• Programming for image analysis and/or device automation

Your workplace

Your workplace

We offer

The position will be part of the Laboratory for Functional Immune Repertoire Analysis of the Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences (IPW) at the D-CHAB of ETH Zurich.

The position has a workload of approximately 10-24h/week in a limited contract for 2-4 months, starting as soon as possible to run over the summer. The position will be paid according to ETH student assistant regulations.

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, ETH Zurich encourages an inclusive culture. We promote equality of opportunity, value diversity and nurture a working and learning environment in which the rights and dignity of all our staff and students are respected. Visit our

Equal Opportunities and Diversity website

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Curious? So are we.

We look forward to receiving your online application with the following documents:

• Statement of motivation
• CV
• Transcript of records

Please note that we exclusively accept applications submitted through our online application portal. Applications via email or postal services will not be considered.

Further information about the Laboratory for Functional Immune Repertoire Analysis (IPW, D-CHAB) can be found on our website . Questions regarding the position should be directed to Dr Ines Lüchtefeld, e-mail: ines.luechtefeld@biol.ethz.ch.

About ETH Zürich

ETH Zurich is one of the world’s leading universities specialising in science and technology. We are renowned for our excellent education, cutting-edge fundamental research and direct transfer of new knowledge into society. Over 30,000 people from more than 120 countries find our university to be a place that promotes independent thinking and an environment that inspires excellence. Located in the heart of Europe, yet forging connections all over the world, we work together to develop solutions for the global challenges of today and tomorrow.