POSTDOCTORAL POSITION IN ENDOTHELIAL CELL MECHANOTRANSDUCTION

(ref. BAP-2019-623)

A position is available for a strongly motivated postdoc in the Centre for Molecular and Vascular Biology in the Cardiovascular Sciences department at KU Leuven, Belgium. The main focus of the lab is on vascular biology, with a focus on vascular remodelling, arterial-venous differentiation, angiogenesis and vascular regression. Project Understanding the heterogeneous nature of endothelial cells (ECs) is of utmost importance for the design of vascular bed-specific repair and tissue engineering strategies. EC heterogeneity is driven by both intrinsic genetic and extrinsic mechanical signals. Though several groups are studying EC heterogeneity, little is known about tissue specific difference in mechanotransduction. Only by combining signals, will we be able to fully unravel the regulation of EC heterogeneity and establish conditions that can fully recover organ-specific EC signatures.

Responsibilities

• You will have your own dedicated research project studying mechanotransduction in different tissue specific environments. You will work with biomedical engineers and experts on endothelial cell heterogeneity.
• You will be responsible for administration and execution of the project.  You are expected to have strong molecular biology skills.  More specifically, skills in analysing and comparing large dataset of gene expression is required for this project.
• The project involves mostly in vitro cell culture work, but may also involve some validation in animal models. 
• You will be expected to present the work at conferences, lab meeting, and departmental meetings.

Profile

• The candidate must have a PhD in a relevant discipline (Molecular Biology, Genetics, Bioinformatics). 
• Candidates must have experience in gene expression analysis on sequencing data sets.  Experience in vascular biology and/or mechanotransduction is a benefit.
• Strong interest in pursuing a career in research.
• A good publication record, with at least one paper in a higher-impact journal.
• The candidate must be a highly motivated, enthusiastic and efficient researcher.

Offer

The current position is for 2 year, and you will be expected to apply for fellowships during the first year.  The position can be extended, based on satisfactory progress.

Interested?

For more information please contact Prof. dr. Elizabeth Jones, tel.: +3216347558, mail: liz.jones@kuleuven.be. Applications should be sent by email and include a CV, motivation letter, and references' contact information relevant to your research or training.

You can apply for this job no later than November 30, 2019 via the online application tool

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