PhD position on Drug Resistance in Advanced in Vitro Cultures of Epithelial Tissues (1.0 FTE)

Utrecht University is a friendly and ambitious university at the heart of an ancient city. We love to welcome new scientists to our city – a thriving cultural hub that is consistently rated as one of the world’s happiest cities. We are renowned for our innovative interdisciplinary research and our emphasis on inspirational research and excellent education. We are equally well-known for our informal atmosphere and the can-do mentality of our people. This lively and inspiring academic environment attracts professors, researchers and PhD candidates from all over the globe, making both the University and the Faculty of Science a vibrant international and wonderfully diverse community.

At the Faculty of Science , there are six departments to make a fundamental connection with: Biology, Chemistry, Information and Computing Sciences, Mathematics, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Physics. Each of these is made up of distinct institutes that work together to focus on answering some of humanity’s most pressing problems. More fundamental still are the individual research groups – the building blocks of our ambitious scientific projects. Find out more about the Faculty of Science .

This position is one of many PhD and postdoc positions available as part of the gravitational programme IMAGINE! (Innovative Microscopy And Guidance of cells In their Native Environment). IMAGINE! is an interdisciplinary programme combining cell, organoid, and tissue biology, as well as chemical and optical cell manipulation and analysis to study cell behaviour in development and cancer, and targeted drug delivery. Participating institutes are based throughout the Netherlands in Utrecht, Amsterdam, Delft, Rotterdam, Nijmegen, and Eindhoven. For more information on the individual positions, please visit the website of IMAGINE!

This position is embedded in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Utrecht University. The Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences consists of five research divisions, which are organized within the Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences (UIPS). UIPS focuses on processes around discovery, development, and use of drugs and medical nutrition using molecular and technological principles from the Natural and Life Sciences. The department of Pharmaceutical Sciences coordinates the teaching of the Bachelor’s programmes in Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, as well as the Master’s programme Pharmacy. Furthermore, the department is responsible for the Master’s programme and PhD course Drug Innovation that are offered through the Graduate School of Life Sciences . Within this graduate school you have the opportunity to become part of a PhD network and are free to follow courses to improve your knowledge and skills. 

You will be working in the Experimental Pharmacology group within the Pharmacology division, led by Prof. dr. Roos Masereeuw. In this project you will closely collaborate with the assistant professors Dr. Manoe Janssen and Dr. Silvia Mihăilă. Research in this group is focused on understanding the pathways that can be pharmacologically triggered to enhance repair and regeneration processes after organ injury, aiming at elucidating novel bio-inspired therapeutic strategies.