Postdoctoral Position in Protein Engineering for Cancer Therapeutics and Biosensor Development

Job description

We are seeking a talented postdoctoral researcher to engineer pore-forming toxins (PFTs) for targeted cancer therapeutics and biosensor development.

You will work on developing and optimizing pore-forming toxins (PFTs) for selective cancer cell targeting. This will involve expressing and purifying PFTs, as well as performing (computational) protein engineering and directed evolution to create PFTs that target cancer cells with high selectivity.

Since PFTs can also function as biosensing elements (as biological nanopores) you will also utilize these PFTs in artificial lipid bilayers for sensing applications and collaborate on the development of a microfluidic platform.

There will be room for you to contribute to shaping the specific approaches taken in this project, allowing you to tailor aspects to your own research interests, where feasible.

You will have access to state-of-the-art facilities and will work in a highly collaborative and supportive research environment, with many opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration.

Your profile

• a PhD degree in Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Cell Biology or a related field;
• experience in directed evolution and cell culture;
• experience in AI-driven protein design is an advantage;
• good communication skills and a good command of English

Our offer

• A full-time position for 1 year
• The salary and associated conditions are in accordance with the collective labour agreement for Dutch universities (CAO-NU).
• You will receive a gross monthly salary ranging from € 4.060 to € 5.331,-
• There are excellent benefits including a holiday allowance of 8% of the gross annual salary, an end-of-year bonus of 8.3%, and a solid pension scheme.
• A minimum of 232 leave hours in case of full-time employment based on a formal workweek of 38 hours. A full-time employment in practice means 40 hours a week, therefore resulting in 96 extra leave hours on an annual basis.
• Free access to sports facilities on campus.
• A family-friendly institution that offers parental leave (both paid and unpaid).
• Excellent career support and courses for your professional and personal development.

Information and application

Are you interested in this position?

Please send your application via the 'Apply now' button below before 15-January-2024 and include:

• A cover letter explaining your specific interest and outlining your prior experience on the research topic
• A Curriculum Vitae,
• A list of publications
• Contact details of two references.

Job interviews will be held at the end of January 2025.

About the department

At BIOS Lab on a chip group we aim to bridge physics, biology, and chemistry with the power of Lab on a chip technology. As such we are an interdisciplinary group, part of the MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology and Technical Medical Centre.

About the organisation

The faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EEMCS) uses mathematics, electronics and computer technology to contribute to the development of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). With ICT present in almost every device and product we use nowadays, we embrace our role as contributors to a broad range of societal activities and as pioneers of tomorrow's digital society. As part of a people-first tech university that aims to shape society, individuals and connections, our faculty works together intensively with industrial partners and researchers in the Netherlands and abroad, and conducts extensive research for external commissioning parties and funders. Our research has a high profile both in the Netherlands and internationally. It has been accommodated in three multidisciplinary UT research institutes: Mesa+ Institute, TechMed Centre and Digital Society Institute.