About your role
The main purpose of this PhD project is to uncover how tumor, stromal and neuronal cells communicate to drive aggressive growth and therapy resistance in gastrointestinal cancers, and to identify molecular circuits that can be targeted therapeutically. To achieve this, you will combine advanced experimental models with state‑of‑the‑art single‑cell and spatial technologies.
Activities include:
- establishment and characterization of organoid‑based co-cultures (tumor, CAFs, immune and neuronal cells);
- gene expression and pathway analysis (bulk and single‑cell datasets);
- single‑cell and single‑nucleus sequencing, and proteomic analyses;
- spatial profiling of patient tissues and experimental models;
- gene editing (e.g. CRISPR/Cas9) to perturb candidate pathways;
- integration of multi‑omics data with clinical and functional readouts.
You will report on your findings in regular work meetings, conferences, and scientific publications in reputable journals. You will supervise undergraduate students.
About youApplicants bring the following:
- a master’s degree in biomedical sciences, biology, (bio)chemistry or a related discipline;
- affinity with both oncology and neuroscience (or a strong interest in developing this);
- skills in basic wet‑lab and molecular biology techniques;
- experience in cell culture, preferably including organoids;
- experience with bioinformatics and proficiency in R (or strong motivation to learn);
- good command of English, both spoken and written.
We are looking for the following personality traits:
- an ambitious researcher committed to driving their project forward;
- someone who works diligently and with high accuracy;
- a team player who enjoys collaborating in an interdisciplinary environment;
- a creative and independent thinker who takes initiative.
Our offer- A flying start to your career in scientific research.
- Plenty of room for your drive to shape tomorrow's healthcare.
- Working on large-scale and in-house research, with motivated colleagues from all over the world.
- You will be employed by Amsterdam UMC Research BV.
- A contract for 12 months, with the intention to extend for a total of 4 years. The Guideline PhD contract applies to this vacancy.
- Classification in salary scale OIO/21: € 3.108 to € 3.939 gross for full-time employment (depending on experience). In addition to a good basic salary, we offer 8.3% end-of-year bonus. Calculate your net salary here. As of 1 July 2026, the salary will be increased by 3.5% in accordance with the collective labor agreement (CAO UMC).
- Holiday hours: 194.4 per year for full time and a possibility to save additional hours.
- Pension accrual with BeFrank, a modern, comprehensible and fairly priced pension.
- For >7 km each way, 100% reimbursement for public transport travel costs and, for private transport, €0.18 per km up to a maximum of 40 km each way.
- Do you prefer walking or cycling? Take advantage of our good bike scheme. Moreover, you will receive a reimbursement of €0.18 per km.
Watch this video with more information about joining Amsterdam UMC Research BV.
