PhD candidate on Neisseria gonorrhoeae antimicrobial resistance at the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, School CAPHRI - Department of Medical Microbiology

PhD candidate on Neisseria gonorrhoeae antimicrobial resistance at the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, School CAPHRI - Department of Medical Microbiology
PhD candidate on Neisseria gonorrhoeae antimicrobial resistance at the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, School CAPHRI - Department of Medical Microbiology

Published	Deadline	Location
31 May	14 Jun	Maastricht

Neisseria gonorrhoeae is one of few micro-organisms that have developed resistance to last-resort antibiotics. If you want to investigate development and transmission of this resistance, apply now!
Job description

We are recruiting a PhD student to study the development and transmission of antimicrobial resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG). This project will delve into how NG interacts with other Neisseria species at different body sites. The PhD project will combine both state-of-the-art molecular technology such as next generation sequencing, with the latest in culturing techniques to study the transmission of resistance and the microbial interaction of NG with other Neisseria species. The project is in close collaboration with researchers from the Public Health Service South-Limburg (GGD Zuid-Limburg) and the Living Lab Public health and is part of a long-standing joint line of research on sexually transmitted diseases. The collaboration with the public health service ensures a stimulating environment and complements some of the more fundamental aspects of the project with opportunities for direct application of the findings in clinical practice. Furthermore, you will have close interactions with other researchers and PhD students working on complementary projects both at MUMC, the Public Health Service South Limburg and the RIVM. The project is embedded in the research school CAPHRI, allowing you to follow courses and trainings and to present your work in a transdisciplinary setting. Finally, as part of the PhD project you will participate in all other aspects of an academic workplace, such as teaching and presenting your work at (inter)national conferences.

Specifications

• 36—40 hours per week
• €2443—€3122 per month
• Maastricht View on Google Maps

Maastricht University (UM)

Requirements

We are looking for a talented and ambitious PhD candidate with initiative, motivation and endurance. You are keen to invest in the growth of both yourself and our team. You should have:

• a MSc degree (or equivalent) in a relevant Life Science discipline: (medical) biology, microbiology, biomedical sciences;
• Strong interest in microbiology and antimicrobial resistance;
• Interest in developing innovative methods to study microbial interaction (both molecular methods as well as culture-based techniques);
• You are interested in both fundamental as well as in applied research;
• Previous experience with bacterial culturing is an advantage;
• Previous experience with statistics and modeling is an advantage.
• Excellent communication skills in English.

Conditions of employment

Fixed-term contract: 4 years.

Temporary employment for 4 years. The first year will be a probation period, after a positive assessment the position will be extended for another 3 years, which happens in the vast majority of cases.

Your salary would be € 2.443,- gross per month in the first year up to € 3.122,- gross per month in the fourth year according to the PhD-candidate salary scale. An 8% holiday and an 8.3% year-end allowance is also provided. Each year an evaluation will take place.

The terms of employment of Maastricht University are set out in the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities (CAO). Furthermore, local UM provisions also apply. For more information look at the website www.maastrichtuniversity.nl  > About UM > Working at UM .

Employer
Maastricht University

Maastricht University is renowned for its unique, innovative, problem-based learning system, which is characterized by a small-scale and student-oriented approach. Research at UM is characterized by a multidisciplinary and thematic approach, and is concentrated in research institutes and schools. Maastricht University has around 22,000 students and about 5,000 employees. Reflecting the university's strong international profile, a fair amount of both students and staff are from abroad. The university hosts 6 faculties: Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Faculty of Law, School of Business and Economics, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience.
For more information, visit www.maastrichtuniversity.nl

Department
Department of Medical Microbiology

The Department of Medical Microbiology has a strong focus on clinical diagnostics and scientific research in the fields of sexually transmitted diseases (STD), antimicrobial resistance, molecular typing and the human microbiome. You will be part of the STD group, an international group of PI’s, post-doctoral fellows, PhD students and research technicians.

Our research group has strong links with clinical departments within the Maastricht UMC+ as well as the Public Health Service South-Limburg, many (inter)national collaborations with academic and industrial partners. The lab has the largest facility for STD diagnostics in Limburg and has access to all state-of-the-art technology needed for both diagnostics and research, such as highly automated sample testing, real-time PCR as well as molecular typing and next-generation sequencing facilities.

Additional information

For questions about this position please contact:
Petra Wolffs, email [email protected]

To apply at this vacancy, press the button ‘apply now’ to see the application procedure.

Apply via postal mail
Apply via postal mail

[email protected]

Don't forget to mention AcademicTransfer and the job number: AT2022.234 in your letter.

Back to the vacancy
Application procedure

You can respond to this vacancy by sending your motivation letter and CV, stating the vacancy number AT2022.234 (in the subject), by email to:
[email protected]

Maastricht University is committed to promoting and nurturing a diverse and inclusive community. We believe that diversity in our staff and student population contributes to the quality of research and education at UM, and strive to enable this through inclusive policies and innovative projects led by teams of staff and students. We encourage you to apply for this position.