The vacancy is within the group of Associate Prof. Dr. Anna Salvati at the Department of Nanomedicine Drug Targeting of the Groningen Research Institute of Pharmacy (GRIP), Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Groningen. The research is aimed at the development of novel methods for nanomedicine characterization and to study their interaction with cells (e.g. uptake, intracellular trafficking and endosomal escape).
Within the Groningen Research Institute of Pharmacy, the Nanomedicine group of Prof. Salvati in the Department of Nanoomedicine and Drug Targeting is focused on understanding at a fundamental level how nanomedicines, such as the lipid nanoparticles used to deliver RNA for the vaccines against Covid19, interact with and are processed by cells. The Department’s research laboratories and Institute are well equipped in methods for nanomedicine preparation and characterization, cell culture and methods in molecular and cell biology to characterize, and quantify nanomedicine behaviour and outcomes on cells.
The University of Groningen (founded in 1614) has a long tradition of academic excellence, being one of the oldest research universities in Europe. The University is currently in or around the top 100 on several influential ranking lists. Currently approximately 34,000 students are enrolled and about 1,500 PhD students work on their theses. It has a highly international character: English is the main language in the research laboratories. The city of Groningen is a historic town and among the ten biggest cities in The Netherlands. It is a vibrant student town with a direct train connection to Schiphol Airport near Amsterdam.
Project aim
This PhD position is part of the NWA ORC project NanoMedNL recently awarded to a Dutch consortium including Prof. Salvati together with other nanomedicine researchers in GRIP and other Dutch Universities (https://www.rug.nl/research/grip/news/news/nwa-orc). NanoMedNL aims to unite and involve all nanomedicine stakeholders (researchers spanning nanomedicine and fundamental science to social science; policy-makers, regulatory bodies; industry, patients and citizens) in order to accelerate and support the development of novel nanomedicines.

Within this consortium, the PhD project in the Salvati lab will be focused on the development and standardization of novel methods for

• the characterization of nanomedicine dispersion in complex biological fluids, such as in serum and plasma in order to determine their stability upon administration and characterize the layer of molecules adsorbed on their surface (the biomolecule corona).
• the characterization of nanomedicine interaction with cells and in particular their uptake, intracellular trafficking and fate (including for instance methods to quantify endosomal escape and transfection efficacy of nanomedicines to deliver nucleic acids).

Robust methods for nanomedicine characterization and interaction with cells are essential to be able to test new formulations and improve their design and efficacy.Enthusiastic and highly motivated candidates willing to work as part of a team on these challenging questions are sought. Both candidates with a background in physical chemistry who are willing to move towards biology and nanoparticle-cell interaction studies, or vice versa students from cell and molecular biology, pharmacy, or a related discipline who are willing to learn basic principles of nanoparticle characterization and physical chemistry are sought.

QUALIFICATIONS

We are looking for enthusiastic and talented PhD candidates with

Essential qualifications

• A high honours M.Sc. degree in Chemistry, Biology, Biomedical Sciences, Pharmacy or a related field
• Very good knowledge of written and spoken English (TOEFL required)
• Enthusiasm for research in an interdisciplinary setting and international environment
• High motivation
• Good communication skills to be able to act as an excellent team player
• Capacity to think analytically and creatively

Preferred qualifications

• Previous experience in nanoparticle characterization or methods such as proteomics and/or flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy would be considered an asset, as also previous experience with in vitro cell culture systems, cell biology and/or nanomedicine research.

Please refer the Job description for details