About your role
You will work at the interface of preclinical research, academic leukodystrophy expertise and patient-oriented therapy development. Your work will include:
- Performing longitudinal natural-history studies in leukodystrophy mouse models.
- Conducting behavioural and neurological phenotyping and other disease-relevant assessments.
- Developing an automated EEG analysis pipeline and identifying potential EEG biomarkers.
- Evaluating selected candidate therapies in leukodystrophy models to assess proof-of-concept efficacy.
- Collaborating with researchers at InnoSer, Amsterdam UMC and other POLARIS partner organisations.
Planned secondments will broaden your expertise through hands-on training in lipid nanoparticle delivery. You will also have opportunities to engage with patients and families to better understand leukodystrophies and the priorities of affected communities.
About youWe are looking for a motivated researcher with an interest in translational neuroscience, rare diseases and preclinical therapy development. You bring:
- A Master’s degree in Life Sciences, preferably Neuroscience.
- Experience with in vivo mouse studies gained through internships, thesis work or other research projects.
- An interest in behavioural or neurological phenotyping and the responsible use of animal models in research.
- An analytical mindset and the ability to critically assess experimental results and relate preclinical findings to clinically relevant endpoints.
- Good communication skills and the ability to collaborate in an interdisciplinary and international research environment.
Experience with animal welfare principles, robust experimental design and formal certification for working with laboratory animals, such as FELASA or an equivalent qualification, is an advantage.
Because the project includes EEG analysis and the development of an automated analysis pipeline, experience with scripting and data analysis, for example in R or Python, is also an advantage. You do not need to have experience in all these areas: if you are motivated to develop these skills, we encourage you to apply.
You work accurately and reproducibly, pay attention to detail and can plan and organise complex experimental work. You will work with colleagues at InnoSer, Amsterdam UMC and other POLARIS partner organisations and should be comfortable working in an interdisciplinary and international setting.
Fluency in written and spoken English is essential.
Eligibility criteria
Important, strict eligibility criteria according to MARIE SKLODOWSKA CURIE programs apply to applicants:
You must not already hold a doctoral degree.At the time of the application deadline, you
must have a Master's degree and
must not have resided or carried out your main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the Netherlands for more than 12 months in the three years prior to the contract start date.You will participate in the network-wide training programme of POLARIS, which includes (international) training activities and planned secondments with POLARIS partner organizations throughout the EU.
Our offerA contract for 12 months, with the intention to extend for a total of 3 years;
Salary, mobility allowance and benefits according to the applicable MSCA Doctoral Network and host-organisation rules;
Embedding in the international POLARIS doctoral training network;
Access to network-wide training activities, secondments and transferable-skills development;
A challenging and translational research project at the interface of in vivo neuroscience, rare disease biology and preclinical therapy development;
A collaborative and entrepreneurial working environment;
An open and supportive team culture with opportunities for scientific and professional development.
Non-EU/EEA/Swiss applicants require a valid residence permit to live and work in the Netherlands.
