The estimated starting date will be 1st of April 2026. The aim of the PHONIC project is to synergize photopharmacology with medical imaging to reveal the location of disease and subsequently follow therapy activation and effect. PHONIC is a collaborative between the University Medical Center Groningen and the Szymanski lab of the Groningen Research Institute of Pharmacy (GRIP), Faculty of Science and Engineering.
You will have the following main responsibilities and tasks:
- Performing photoacoustic imaging experiments on PHONIC contrast agents using dedicated photoacoustic imaging systems.
- Developing and optimizing tissue-mimicking phantoms and experimental workflows to characterize PA spectra, depth performance, sensitivity, and drug activation readouts.
- Working with patient-derived organoids and other biological models to evaluate the feasibility of image-guided photopharmacology.
- Contributing to clinical translation efforts, including safety evaluation, imaging protocol development, and translational study preparation.
- Integrating data with the appointed chemistry PhD student and co-supervisors to align the design of photopharmacological agents with imaging performance.
- Quantitative image analysis and data modeling.
- Writing of original research articles and reviews about the topic.
- MSc degree in Technical Medicine, Engineering, Physics or a related field;
- Experience in the field of photoacoustic or ultrasound imaging will be seen as a strong asset;
- Hands-on affinity with experimental laboratory work, imaging hardware, or phantom/biological model development;
- Experience with MATLAB of Python for data analysis;
- Interest in and willingness to expand the expertise towards biomedical 3D-organoid models.
- High motivation to work on translational research at the interface of technology and clinical application.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities, creativity, and independence.
- Being able to work with excellent organisational skills in a multidisciplinary environment, have good communicative skills and be proficient in the English language.
