Joint PhD candidate in the laboratories of Sarah Weckhuysen and Kristel Sleegers
Joint PhD candidate in the laboratories of Sarah Weckhuysen and Kristel Sleegers
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Job Description
The Weckhuysen team and the Sleegers team at the VIBUAntwerp Center for Molecular Neurology Belgium are seeking a highly motivated PhD student as part of a joint project focused on biomarker discovery in neurological disorders. The Weckhuysen and Sleegers labs perform leadingedge research discovering risk genes and analyzing molecular mechanisms in intractable epilepsy and Alzheimers disease respectively using nextgeneration genetics technologies.
About the project
Earlyonset epilepsy and Alzheimers disease (AD) are both frequent and debilitating conditions that profoundly impact patients lives. Earlyonset epilepsy can be treatmentresistant and is often accompanied by developmental and neuropsychiatric problems. AD leads to a progressive decline in memory thinking and reasoning skills; it is the most common cause of dementia. For both epilepsy and AD molecular diagnosis can be challenging due to the inaccessibility of the brain in most individuals. As such there is an urgent need to identify reliable biomarkers from noninvasive sources to enable more accurate or earlier diagnosis.
This collaborative PhD project cohosted by the Weckhuysen and Sleegers labs focuses on discovering biomarkers in epilepsy and AD using innovative laboratory and computational approaches. Samples from individuals with epilepsy AD and unaffected controls (including blood/serum cerebrospinal fluid and where possible brain tissue) will be analyzed. In this project three complementary strategies will be explored. (1) We will analyze cellfree DNA (cfDNA) fragmented DNA released from dying cells. This cfDNA can contain mutations or chemical modifications (methylation) associated with specific disease mechanisms. (2) We will analyze extracellular RNA (exRNA) which provides an extra kinetic layer that can indicate a specific pathology. And (3) we will isolate and analyze extracellular vesicles (EVs) membranous particles secreted from cells that can contain protein RNA or DNA. The contents of these EVs can be investigated for celltype specific biomarkers.
Your profile
We seek a highly motivated enthusiastic and creative individual to join our team. The candidate should be interested in bioinformatics biostatistics and genetics.
Essential
- Masters Degree in biochemistry biomedical sciences bioinformatics (bio)statistics bioengineering computer science related disciplines or equivalent through experience
- Proficient in verbal and written English.
- Ability to summarize data extracted from literature and to define research objectives.
- Passionate for science critical thinking selfmotivated flexible and enjoys working in a team
Desirable but not required
- Handson laboratory experience with techniques such as nextgeneration sequencing RTqPCR and nucleic acid extractions
- Programming experience preferably in Python or R and experience in the Linux environment
- Experience with largescale data analysis such as genomics or transcriptomics data
- Experience with a workflow management system such as Snakemake or Nextflow
- A willingness to learn and apply machine learning approaches
We offer
- A doctoral scholarship for a period of one year with the possibility of renewal for a further threeyear period after positive evaluations. During the doctoral scholarship you will be encouraged to obtain a personal fellowship (e.g. national funding organization FWO). Please check the eligibility criteria before applying for this position.
- A versatile and challenging job in a vibrant worldclass research environment operating at an international level
- Stateoftheart research facilities
- A dedicated training program to broaden your expertise and enhance your skill set
Starting date: as soon as possible but can be discussed
Join us how to apply
Submit your application through the VIB online application tool. Be sure to include:
- a detailed CV incl. a list of previous experience
- a letter of motivation explaining why you are interested in our work and aspire this PhD position
- the names and contact details of 3 references
For more information please contact:
For more information about our research center:
Employment Type
Full Time
