1 PhD Research position in Development of digital ELISA for respiratory tract infection causative pathogens in Belgium | KU Leuven

For the Division of Mechatronics, Biostatistics and Sensors (MeBioS) we are looking for a PhD student to work in the field of bionanotechnology and more specifically on development of digital ELISA assays for detection of viruses and bacteria causing respiratory tract infections

Development of digital ELISA for respiratory tract infection causative pathogens

The MeBioS division of the Biosystems Department at KU Leuven investigates the interaction between biological systems and physical processes. The focus of the fundamental research in MeBioS is on the supradisciplinary field of bionanotechnology, i.e. the technology of biological systems at the nanometer scale. The MeBioS-Biosensor group within the division was founded in 2005 and is headed by prof. Jeroen Lammertyn. The group currently counts 6 postdocs and 18 PhD students. Its fundamental research activities focus on the development of novel bio-molecular detection concepts and miniaturized analysis systems. The applications span a broad range of sectors including food (e.g. pathogen detection and allergenicity screening) and medical diagnostics (e.g. cancer, diabetes, infectious diseases and neurodegenerative diseases). The MeBioS-Biosensor group closely follows the emerging field of biosensing and is active in the following domains (1) Bio-assay development (e.g. aptamers, biofunctionalized nanomaterials), (2) Optical sensors (e.g. fiber optic SPR sensors) and (3) Microfluidics (e.g. lab-on-a-chip technology).

Profile

A PhD candidate should fulfill the following requirements:

• Candidates must be, at the time of recruitment, in the first four years (full-time equivalent research experience) of their research careers and have not been awarded a doctoral degree
• Mobility rule: at the time of recruitment, researchers must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc) in Belgium for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the reference date
• Candidate must have a Master degree cum laude (> 70%) in Bioscience Engineering, Biomedical Sciences, Biosciences or equivalent
• Previous experience in development of antibody-based bioassays, ELISA work and/or microfabrication technologies will be considered as a strong asset
• Candidates are highly motivated to do research in dynamic environment and as part of this unique EU training program
• Candidates are communicative, creative, eager to learn and able to work independently as well as part of the team
• Strong and proven knowledge of the English language is a must
• Willingness to travel
• Candidates must be available for starting between June 1 and September 1, 2016

Offer

A PhD candidate will be offered an unique opportunity to pursue the research in extremely dynamic and international MeBioS-Biosensor group at European renowned KU Leuven university as well as to become part of the world-class European training program on new diagnostics for infectious diseases. A PhD candidate will be enrolled in local training of the Arenberg Doctoral School at KU Leuven University as well as network-wide training within this European project through summer schools, workshops, conferences and secondments. Majority of his/her PhD research will be performed in the MeBioS-Biosensor group, KU Leuven, Willem de Croylaan 42, Heverlee (Leuven), supervised by prof. Jeroen Lammertyn. As part of the project training program and PhD, ESR will spend few months at the CSIC (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Scientificas, Barcelona, Spain with prof. Anderu Llobera) and at KTH (Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan, Stockholm, Sweden with prof. Wouter van der Wijngaart).

The offered fellowship will cover tuition fees, monthly salary, mobility, travel and career development allowances in line with the H2020-MSCA-ITN-2015.