PhD position on tissue engineering of cartilage and mechanical evaluation of the generated tissue

A vacant four-years PhD position is available. This PhD project will be done in Erasmus Medical Center (Rotterdam, NL) in collaboration with Delft University of Technology (Delft, NL) and is a part of a larger Dutch project on regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. The aim of the project is to generate cartilage from bone marrow derived stem cells in culture and evaluate them with molecular assays (Rotterdam) and mechanical assays (Delft). The culture protocol can be varied with oxygen level, tonicity, and active molecules.

One important aspect of the project is preventing terminal differentiation of the stem cells that become chondrocytes and thus keep the chondrocytes/cartilage in an appropriate (hyaline) phenotype. In many cases, stem cells differentiate to terminal chondrocytes and subsequently mineralize the cartilage tissue that later will be remodeled into bone. The culture protocol should aim to prevent this. The other aspect is development of a protocol for quantitative evaluation of the quality of the generated cartilage based on mechanical tests.

Candidate's profile

An MSc degree in biomedical/biological engineering, biomedical sciences, mechanical engineering, or a closely related field, with outstanding results.
A strong background in molecular biology, tissue engineering, and/or mechanical characterization of biomaterials is desired.
Combination of academic attitude and engineering skills.
Excellent writing and presentation skills in English.

Contact

Please send your application including your Curriculum Vitae, list of three references, and a cover letter stating your motivation to Prof. Harrie Weinans (h.weinans@erasmusmc.nl) with a CC to Dr. Amir Zadpoor (azadpoor@gmail.com).