University Medical Center Groningen – sector O&O
Unique and exciting research opportunities in Groningen, the Netherlands at the European Research Institute for the
Biology of Aging (ERIBA)
The ERIBA is a newly established institute at the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG). The central theme at the ERIBA is the molecular mechanism of (cellular) ageing. We aim to identify physiological and molecular changes that can explain the loss of cells and functional decline of cells and tissues with age. For this, we make use of state of the art technology and a variety of model organisms.
Furthermore, we heavily invest in Systems Biology to integrate our findings in the various mechanisms of ageing that have been proposed. The ERIBA is housed in a brand new building and part of the central UMCG campus in central Groningen, a small (200,000 inhabitants) but vibrant city (with over 25,000 students) in the north of the Netherlands.
We are currently looking for:
2 enthusiastic and ambitious PhD students
in the labs of Dr. Floris Foijer (Mouse models for Genomic Instability) and Dr.
Michael Chang (Telomere integrity and Genomic Instability in Yeast) Detailed job descriptions and contact information hereunder:
The new ERIBA building will open its doors in June 2012
Job description PhD vacancy 1
One PhD/AIO position is available in the Laboratory of Genomic Instability in Development and Disease, headed by Dr. Floris Foijer.
Aneuploidy, an abnormal number of chromosomes, is a key feature of cancer cells and is furthermore associated with several aging-related pathologies such as Alzheimer’s disease. In the Foijer lab, we are interested in how aneuploidy arises and even more importantly, in the consequences of aneuploidy for cells, tissues and whole organisms. To this end we have developed state of the art murine models in which we can provoke aneuploidy in tissues of choice by genetically abrogating the spindle checkpoint. These models are revealing that chromosomal instability itself can be a potent driver of malignant transformation, for instance in T-cells, provoking highly aggressive lymphomas that resemble certain pediatric malignancies. In other tissues, for instance in skin, aneuploidy appears to provoke more of an accelerated aging phenotype, emphasizing the dual role that aneuploidy plays in cell biology.
The proposed project sets out to further understand the skin phenotype observed in our conditional knockout mice. We want to address questions such as: “Why does the skin age prematurely?” and “Is aneuploid skin more or less cancer-prone then aneuploid T-cells?” “What are the molecular consequences of aneuploidy for the individual cell lineages that make up the skin?” To this aim, you will employ our existing mouse models, use in vitro approaches where possible, but also develop new state of the art mouse models. You will analyze the (molecular) phenotype in the skin using a variety of the latest technologies which all will be at your disposal at the ERIBA.
Requirements
The PhD student will be part of a young and enthusiastic research group and should have the following requirements:
Required education/skills: MSc in Molecular/Medical Biology
Experience in a wide variety of techniques (e.g. cloning, tissue culture (ES cell), FISH, immunohistochemistry, time-lapse microscopy etc.) is desirable, but not mandatory.
Certification to work with animals in the Netherlands (Artikel 9) is a plus
Should be enthusiastic, ambitious, and a team player.
Job description PhD vacancy 2
A second PhD/AIO position is available in the Laboratory of Telomeres and Genome Integrity, headed by Dr. Michael Chang. The aim of the research is to characterize mechanisms of telomere maintenance, with the ultimate goal of elucidating the role of telomeres in cancer progression and replicative ageing.
Telomeres, the physical ends of eukaryotic chromosomes, help distinguish natural chromosome ends from DNA breaks in need of repair. Dysfunctional telomeres result in DNA damage checkpoint activation and cell cycle arrest. Telomeres progressively shorten due to incomplete DNA replication and nucleolytic degradation. When telomeres are critically shortened, cells can no longer divide, reaching a state known as replicative senescence. Shortening is counteracted by telomerase, the specialized reverse transcriptase that elongates telomeres.
However, most human somatic cells do not express telomerase, so telomeres erode with each passing cell division, ultimately leading to replicative senescence. This process has been proposed to be one determinant of organismal ageing.
The project will involve combining classical genetic and molecular biological approaches with high-throughput genomic methodologies using the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model organism to study telomere length regulation.
Requirements
The PhD student will be part of a young and enthusiastic research group and should have the following requirements:
Required education/skills: MSc in Molecular/Medical Biology
Experience in molecular biology techniques (PCR, molecular cloning, etc.) is desirable, but not mandatory.
Should be enthusiastic, ambitious, and a team player.
Conditions of employment
Salary: scale PRO
Maximum starting salary in Euros a month: € 2.107,=
Employment basis: Temporary for specified period Duration of the contract: Four years
Additional conditions of employment:
The University of Groningen offers a salary of € 2.107 gross per month in the first year up to a maximum of € 2.700 gross per month in the last year. It concerns a full time appointment (36 h/week) for a period of four years to be concluded with a PhD examination. After one year, the performance of the candidate will be evaluated to decide whether there is sufficient progress to expect a successful completion of the PhD thesis within the coming three years.
Contact Information
For more information see http://www.eriba.umcg.nl or contact (1) Floris Foijer at [email protected], or (2) Michael Chang at [email protected].
A full publication list for Floris Foijer can be found here, or copy and paste the link below into your browser.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=foijer
A full publication list for Michael Chang can be found here, or copy and paste the link below into your browser.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=chang%20m%20AND%20(andrews%
20b%20OR%20brown%20g%20OR%20lingner%20OR%20rothstein%20r)
