SkinTERM ESR12: PhD candidate 'Skin tissue engineering – restoring pigmentation in skin'

Updated: over 2 years ago
Deadline: 26 Sep 2021

We have an open PhD candidate position at CUTISS AG on restoring pigmentation in skin
  • The position is part of the Innovative Training Network SkinTERM , Skin Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, an EU Horizon 2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions funded project. This network will train a new generation of entrepreneurial, multidisciplinary and intersectoral scientists able to drive this research area further towards clinical translation in Europe.

The ESR12 project will be executed in collaboration with the University of Zurich (UHZ, Switzerland, the Radboud University Medical Center (RUMC, The Netherlands) and the Helmholtz Zentrum Munich (HMGU, Germany).

Background
Current treatment methodologies for patients with skin defects (e.g. burns) suffer from donor shortage and results in disfiguring debilitating scars. To improve the quality of life of these patients, CUTISS AG developed denovoSkin™. Briefly, autologous single cells are isolated from small skin biopsy of a patient, amplified in culture, and used to bioengineer skin grafts, to finally be grafted on the same patient.
Because denovoSkin™ lacks pigmentation, as a next challenge, CUTISS AG aims to develop a robust platform for the isolation, characterization and in vitro expansion of patient-derived melanocytes that could either i) be included into a new generation of pigmented personalized bioengineered skin grafts, ii) be transplanted to patients in areas that were previously treated with denovoSkin™, or iii) be transplanted to patients harbouring pre-existing non-pigmented skin patches caused by untreatable pigmentation disorders (e.g. vitiligo).

The project
The candidate is tasked with the delivery of a robust melanocyte isolation, characterization, and expansion protocol (cell culture). Additionally, he/she must assess melanocyte efficacy to pigment skin by in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo means. He/she will additionally work in the translation of these protocols into GMP-framed activities. The ESR is expected to closely collaborate with the company's R&D and GMP teams, and potentially with external collaborators. He/she will ensure that the design and execution of the protocols comply with the requirements of ATMPs and Medical Devices production. The ESR will be responsible of conducting science to the highest ethical/scientific standards. Finally, he/she will be responsible of ordering and keeping track of the reagents/consumables needed for the project.

Methods

  • Cell culture.
  • Flow cytometry analysis and sorting.
  • Xenograft animal model.
  • Transcriptome microarray.
  • and others.


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