Personalised medicine requires the correct selection of medications to appropriately address individual patient characteristics. In the case of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), novel mutations often arise as a result of target therapy (kinase inhibitors), resulting in a lack of clarity for the most impactful treatment options. A molecular understanding of the tumour response to treatment can then bring this much-needed clarity, and implementing this understanding into computational tools can provide the potential for rapid clinical response to patients.
The DELPHI project, a collaboration between UMCG, UG, Health-Ecore and Protyton, aims to advance lung cancer treatment using molecular modeling and computational analysis for personalised care. DELPHI seeks to provide targeted interventions for improved patient outcomes. Aligned with RIS3 aims, it strengthens the Northern innovation ecosystem.
The specific role of the postdoctoral researcher working in this position will be to provide in vitro biochemical, biophysical and structural data from novel mutants of the EGFR kinase domain to drive and validate algorithmic development.
Organisation
The vacancy is within the Chemical and Pharmaceutical Biology Department at the Groningen Research Institute of Pharmacy, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Groningen. The EU-funded (DELPHI) project aims at providing a molecular basis for treatment selection in clinics and is a collaboration between UG, UMCG and the local start-ups Health-Ecore and Protyon.
The University of Groningen (founded in 1614) has a long tradition of academic excellence, being one of the oldest research universities in Europe. The University is currently in or around the top 100 on several influential ranking lists. Currently, approximately 34,000 students are enrolled, and about 1,500 PhD students work on their theses. The city of Groningen is a historic town and one of the ten biggest cities in the Netherlands. It is a vibrant student town with a direct train connection to Schiphol Airport near Amsterdam.
The Groningen Research Institute of Pharmacy (GRIP) is part of the Faculty of Science and Engineering (FSE) of the University of Groningen and collaborates closely with the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG). The pharmaceutical and medical research within GRIP and the UMCG is very multidisciplinary.
We are looking for candidates who meet the following requirements
- A PhD degree in molecular biology or biochemistry.
- Familiarity with protein modeling tools and software solutions.
- Knowledge and skills in protein production, purification and biophysical analysis. Experience in structural biology (Xray and/or EM) and python scripting would be considered an advantage.
- A relevant publication record demonstrating your ability to organise research and publish international academic publications.
- Ability to communicate verbally and in written form in English.
- Ability to work in an international team and collaborate effectively with both academic and industrial partners.
- A communicative mindset.
Applicants whose first language is not English must submit evidence of competency in English, please see University of Groningen’s English Language Requirements for details.
We offer you, in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities
- A salary of € 4,060 gross per month in the first year, up to a maximum of € 5,331 gross per month (salary scale 10) based on a full-time position and dependent on qualification and work experience.
- Excellent secondary terms of employment.
- A full-time position.
- A holiday allowance of 8% gross annual income and an 8.3% end-of-year bonus.
- Participation in a pension scheme for employees.
- A personal budget of € 1,000 per year for additional training and career activities.
- A temporary appointment for a specified period of 12 months, with a possibility of extension.
The preferred starting date is September 1st or October 1st 2025.
You may apply for this position until 1 July 11:59pm / before 2 July 2025 Dutch local time (CEST) by means of the application form (click on "Apply" below on the advertisement on the university website).
Applications for the position should include the following documents:
- A motivation letter stating your motivation to apply for the position and your key qualities relevant for this position.
- An up-to-date curriculum vitae, including a publication record.
- Contact information of two academic references.
The University of Groningen strives to be a university in which students and staff are respected and feel at home, regardless of differences in background, experiences, perspectives, and identities. We believe that working on our core values of inclusion and equality are a joint responsibility and we are constructively working on creating a socially safe environment. Diversity among students and staff members enriches academic debate and contributes to the quality of our teaching and research. We therefore invite applicants from underrepresented groups in particular to apply. For more information, see also our diversity policy webpage:
https://www.rug.nl/(...)rsity-and-inclusion/
Our selection procedure follows the guidelines of the Recruitment code (NVP):
https://www.nvp-hrnetwerk.nl/nl/sollicitatiecode and European Commission's European Code of Conduct for recruitment of researchers:
https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/charter/code
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