PhD Candidate in Molecular Hematology: targeting the mannose sugar landscape in myeloid blood cancers

28 Mar 2024
Job Information

Organisation/Company

Radboud University Medical Center (Radboudumc)

Research Field

Physics
Medical sciences

Researcher Profile

Recognised Researcher (R2)
First Stage Researcher (R1)

Country

Netherlands

Application Deadline

18 Apr 2024 - 22:00 (UTC)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Not Applicable

Hours Per Week

36.0

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Not funded by an EU programme

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description

Are you an ambitious molecular/medical biologist who wants to improve treatment of blood cancers by studying sugarcoating? Then we are looking for you!

Blood cancers arise due to increased proliferation of blood progenitor cells in the bone marrow. This increased proliferation can be caused by sugarcoating, so called glycosylation, on the surface of cancer cells. Strong preliminary data suggest that glycosylation is essential and a potential therapeutic target for the chronic blood cancer myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) (Jutzi and Marneth et al., 2022). This disease is driven by overactivation of thrombopoietin receptor MPL. Using mass spectrometry, you will generate a full picture of glycosylation on MPL.

Moreover, you will generate glycosylation gene knockouts using CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing in induced pluripotent and hematopoietic stem cells, followed by hematopoietic proliferation and differentiation, with the aim of increasing our molecular understanding of MPN pathogenesis and the development of much-needed therapies. You will work in the Laboratory of Hematology and collaborate closely with the Radboud Consortium for Glycoscience and international research groups.

You will plan and perform experiments in the lab, perform (bio-informatic) analyses, write scientific articles, present at work meetings and conferences, and supervise students. You will work closely with technicians, a post-doc, and other PhD candidates in the lab, and you attend weekly lab meetings. At the end of your PhD, you write a PhD thesis, which you will defend in an oral exam/celebration.

You will likely encounter the following techniques during your PhD:

• Culturing blood cells and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), assessing their proliferation and differentiation.
• Cloning DNA plasmids, transformation of bacteria.
• Transfections, transductions, CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing of blood cells and iPSCs
• (q)RT-PCRs.
• Flow cytometry.
• Western blotting.
• Sanger sequencing.
• Mass spectrometry and bio-informatic analyses.
• Possibly mouse work.

Requirements
Specific Requirements

You are an ambitious teamplayer and able to plan and carry out highly complex experiments independently. Moreover:

• Msc. Molecular Life Sciences, Biomedical Sciences, or similar.
• Fluency in spoken and written English.
• Open to animal experimentation.
• Experience in hematology, glycoscience, molecular techniques and/or mass spectrometry are preferred.

Additional Information
Benefits

You will be hired for four years as a PhD candidate, starting in the summer of 2024. 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 (€2,901 based on a full-time appointment). Over a maximum period of 4 years, you will progress to scale 10A, step 3 (€3,677 based on a full-time appointment). You will also receive an 8% vacation allowance, an 8.3% end-of-year bonus, and, depending on the position, an allowance of 47% to 72% for working irregular hours.
• Plenty of opportunities to develop yourself. For example, you can follow various courses via our online learning environment. A lot of attention will also be paid to your wellbeing and vitality. For instance, you can take advantage of:
  • a 40% discount on gym membership at the Radboud Sports Center .
  • the Company Support Team and a personal coach if you experience a life-changing event.
  • a financially favorable option to work less through a generation scheme if you are approaching state retirement age.
  • support with achieving a good work-life balance at every stage of your life. This includes advice and training (from ‘Millennial Dilemmas’ to ‘Your Career After 57’), activities at our own mindfulness center , and informal caregiving consultations if you have any questions about combining your work and caregiving tasks at home.
• 168 vacation hours per year based on a 36-hour working week. Want more vacation? You can buy additional vacation hours with your end-of-year bonus.
• 26 weeks of parental leave, of which 9 weeks are paid.
• Extra-favorable leave conditions. For example, our short-term caregiving leave is not 2 but 4 weeks per year and even 12 weeks per year for partner and child.
• Pension accrual with the ABP Pension Fund. Radboud university medical center pays 70% of the pension contribution.
• Discount on the supplementary packages of two collective health insurance policies and on ten other types of insurance, from home insurance to legal assistance.
• A travel allowance via our Employment Conditions Selection Model and a working-from-home allowance of €2 per day.

Selection process

Any questions? Or wondering what it is like to work at Radboudumc? Then sent an email to Dr. Anna Marneth , Assistant Professor Molecular Hematology. Use the Apply button to submit your application.

Additional comments

Any questions? Or wondering what it is like to work at Radboudumc? Then sent an email to Dr. Anna Marneth , Assistant Professor Molecular Hematology. Use the Apply button to submit your application.

Website for additional job details

https://www.academictransfer.com/339584/

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

Radboudumc

Country

Netherlands

City

Nijmegen

Postal Code

6525 GA

Street

Geert Grooteplein-Zuid 10

Geofield

Where to apply

Website

https://www.academictransfer.com/en/339584/phd-candidate-in-molecular-hematolog…

Contact

City

Nijmegen

Website

http://www.radboudumc.nl/

Street

Geert Grooteplein-Zuid 10

Postal Code

6525 GA

STATUS: EXPIRED