PhD in Global Talent Interdependence and Europe’s Strategic Innovation Ambitions

At the same time, geopolitical tensions, migration restrictions, and national security considerations may constrain the international mobility of researchers, potentially reshaping global knowledge networks and innovation outcomes.

This PhD project examines how Europe’s strategic innovation ambitions depend on the mobility of global talent, with a particular focus on STEM PhD recipients as key actors in science- and technology-based innovation. The project bridges economic geography and innovation studies to understand how doctoral training, international mobility, and institutional contexts shape where knowledge is created and where it is ultimately translated into technological and economic value.

The project combines large-scale longitudinal data on PhD recipients with complementary sources such as publication and patent data, and aims to enrich these with other sources on individual paths and preferences. The PhD candidate will have the opportunity to develop unique datasets and apply quantitative and mixed-method approaches to address policy-relevant questions at the intersection of innovation, migration, and geography.

Main responsibilities include:

• Designing the research project focusing on topics related to global talent interdependencies and innovation;
• Collecting, processing and analysing large-scale data (e.g. publication, patent, and career data);
• Writing and publishing research papers in fulfilment of the PhD requirements;
• Presenting your research at (inter)national conferences, workshops, and seminars;
• Completing a dissertation within four years;
• Contributing to the teaching activities of the department.

The successful candidate will be based at the Economic Geography Section of the Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, with close collaboration with the Innovation Studies Section at the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development. Both groups are leading internationally in their respective disciplines and provide an exciting and collaborative environment, with room to learn and develop professionally at the frontier of academic research.

You will work under the supervision of Dr Burcu Özgün, Dr Giovanna Capponi, and Professor Carolina Castaldi.

Research Support Officer for the Erasmus Behavioural Lab (EBL)

As Research Support Officer for the EBL, you will be expected to conduct the following tasks:

• Research coordination: file research requests and needs from all researchers and coordinate them for the best use of participant time and lab space.
• Research support: when applicable, and in close cooperation with the researchers, assist research experiment set-up and active participation in the activities of the research process, for example, data collection.
• Research planning and oversight: Room bookings, participant recruitment and allocation to studies
• Contact point: Be a contact for researchers wishing to make use of the lab facilities, able to answer questions related to participant recruitment and research planning, and potentially provide short workshops to new PhD candidates and faculty wishing to use the Erasmus Behavioural Lab
• Training research assistants for data collection, including recruitment, training and coordination, and creating institutional knowledge resources on related activities.
• Maintaining the subject pools and ensuring they are up to date, with sufficient active participants
• Quality control:
  
  • Ensuring the enforcement of lab regulations, such as IRB approval, timely and professional debriefing, and silence and tranquility in the lab
  • Taking responsibility (in person and in training research assistants) such that the data collection effort runs smoothly, consistently, professionally and ethically
  • Controlling quality in the registration of participants, troubleshooting, answering participant questions, and ensuring consistency in briefing and debriefing procedures.

PhD-student medical oncology

In dit promotietraject richt je je op het ontwikkelen van biomarkers voor het voorspellen van therapierespons en het zoeken naar nieuwe leads voor het behandelen van resistente tumoren. Je werkt met grote datasets en vertaalt uitkomsten naar functionele modellen in het lab. Concreet ga je:

• Bioinformatische analyses uitvoeren op whole genome sequencing-, RNA-sequencing- en proteomicsdata.
• Immunohistochemische kleuringen uitvoeren op materiaal uit het PLCRC-cohort.
• Moleculaire data koppelen aan klinische uitkomsten van patiënten.
• Samenwerken met externe partners, zoals de Hartwig Medical Foundation.
• Data vertalen naar organoïdmodellen om functionele effecten van moleculaire veranderingen te onderzoeken.

Met jouw werk draag je bij aan meer gerichte, gepersonaliseerde behandelingen en de ontwikkeling van nieuwe geneesmiddelen voor kanker.

Postdoc Computational Cryo-EM Method Development

Job description

We seek a highly-motivated postdoctoral researcher to develop to develop advanced computational methods for cryogenic electron tomography (cryo-ET) that enable the visualization of molecular complexes directly within cells. A central focus of the project will be the development of improved image simulation frameworks. These simulations will not only serve as benchmarking tools for method development, but will play a key role in a tightly integrated experimental-computational workflow. In close collaboration with experimental researchers, the candidate will use simulation-driven insights to guide the design and optimisation of molecular probes that enable the specific identification of target complexes within densely packed cellular tomograms. In parallel, the candidate will develop and implement novel computational strategies that combine physics-based modeling, optimization techniques, and machine learning approaches to improve cryo-ET image processing workflows. This includes key challenges such as tilt series alignment and 3D template matching, as well as broader contributions to cryo-ET data analysis, including particle detection and the quantitative interpretation of tomograms. The position involves close interaction with experimentalists, and the candidate will actively support ongoing projects by developing and applying image processing pipelines, assisting in data interpretation, and ensuring that methodological advances translate into facilitating biological discovery.

Your home base will be the Jakobi Lab (https://cryoem.tudelft.nl) at TU Delft | Kavli Institute of Nanoscience. We are a multidisciplinary and internationally diverse team of scientists with backgrounds ranging from (bio)chemistry and physics to bioinformatics and cell biology. Our drive is to push boundaries in our aim to visualise molecular processes in their native context and at the highest possible resolution. As part of the Department of Bionanoscience and the Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, we enjoy access to state-of-the-art infrastructure for biochemistry, molecular imaging, cryoEM/ET and high-performance computing. We are also committed to world-class education, and you will have the opportunity to contribute by mentoring undergraduate and graduate students. We foster a friendly, collaborative, and non-hierarchical environment where ideas and expertise are openly shared in pursuit of ambitious scientific goals. You will receive strong support and training to further your personal and professional development.

Job requirements
We seek an outstanding computational scientist, bioinformatician, physicist, or interdisciplinary researcher with a strong affinity for developing methods at the interface of computation, physics, and structural biology. The ideal candidate has a genuine interest in advancing fundamental methodology for cryogenic electron tomography and enjoys working closely with experimental researchers to translate computational advances into practical biological insights. We are looking for a candidate with intellectual creativity, strong problem-solving skills, and the ability to communicate and collaborate effectively across disciplines.

Required qualifications:

• You hold a PhD in computational science, physics, applied mathematics, bioinformatics, structural biology, or a related field.
• You have strong computational and programming skills (e.g. Python, Julia, C++), including experience with scientific computing and machine learning libraries and high-performance computing.
• You have experience with image analysis or computational imaging, ideally in the context of electron microscopy, tomography, or related modalities.
• You have demonstrated experience in developing algorithms or computational methods, for example in image simulation, optimization, or data analysis workflows.
• You have an interest in, or experience with, machine learning approaches for scientific data analysis.
• You have a strong interest in interdisciplinary research and enjoy collaborating with experimental scientists.
• You communicate clearly and effectively in English, as you will work in an international research environment.

Ideally, you also have:

• Experience with cryo-EM or cryo-ET data analysis, including areas such as tilt series alignment, 2D/3D template matching, or subtomogram averaging.
• Experience with physics-based modeling or simulation of imaging processes.
• Familiarity with scientific software development
• A track record of peer-reviewed publications demonstrating methodological or computational contributions.

TU Delft (Delft University of Technology)
Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in the areas of energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society. For generations, our engineers have proven to be entrepreneurial problem-solvers, both in business and in a social context.

At TU Delft we embrace diversity as one of our core values and we actively engage to be a university where you feel at home and can flourish. We value different perspectives and qualities. We believe this makes our work more innovative, the TU Delft community more vibrant and the world more just. Together, we imagine, invent and create solutions using technology to have a positive impact on a global scale. That is why we invite you to apply. Your application will receive fair consideration.

Challenge. Change. Impact!

Faculty Applied Sciences
With more than 1,100 employees, including 150 pioneering principal investigators, as well as a population of about 3,600 passionate students, the Faculty of Applied Sciences is an inspiring scientific ecosystem. Focusing on key enabling technologies, such as quantum- and nanotechnology, photonics, biotechnology, synthetic biology and materials for energy storage and conversion, our faculty aims to provide solutions to important problems of the 21st century. To that end, we educate innovative students in broad Bachelor's and specialist Master's programmes with a strong research component. Our scientists conduct ground-breaking fundamental and applied research in the fields of Life and Health Science & Technology, Nanoscience, Chemical Engineering, Radiation Science & Technology, and Engineering Physics. We are also training the next generation of high school teachers.

Click here to go to the website of the Faculty of Applied Sciences.

Startend Programmacoördinator Exacte en Natuurwetenschappen

Het domein Exacte en Natuurwetenschappen zoekt Programmacoördinatoren voor een periode van 1 jaar die op korte termijn kunnen starten.

NWO is dé nationale wetenschapsfinancier en vervult als verbinder een brugfunctie tussen onderzoek en samenleving. Als Programmacoördinator (m/v/x) heb je een belangrijke rol in het beoordelingsproces waarmee NWO de beste onderzoeksvoorstellen selecteert om te financieren. Je onderhoudt contacten met het wetenschappelijke veld en andere partijen, organiseert bijeenkomsten en draagt bij aan beleidsontwikkeling. Kortom, een divers takenpakket. Geen dag is hetzelfde.

Dit ga je doen

• Je gaat samen met je collega’s de financieringsinstrumenten zó inrichten dat die onderzoekers uitdagen om tot vernieuwende onderzoeksvoorstellen te komen;
• Je bent secretaris in het proces van de beoordeling van die onderzoeksvoorstellen:
  
  • je zoekt experts die de voorstellen beoordelen;
  • je zoekt commissieleden met verschillende expertises en diversiteit die de voorstellen onderling prioriteren;
  • je organiseert commissievergaderingen en interviewdagen om te komen tot een advies voor toekenning van de beste voorstellen;
  • je bent aanwezig bij commissievergaderingen en interviews met kandidaten, waarbij je ervoor zorgt dat het beoordelingsproces vlekkeloos verloopt;
  • je maakt verslagen van commissievergaderingen en werkt aan het opstellen van motiveringen voor besluiten die helder en met de juiste onderbouwing vertellen waarom een onderzoeker wel of niet door is of subsidie ontvangt;
• Je bent op de hoogte van de ontwikkeling, uitvoering en evaluatie van wetenschapsbeleid, zoals open science, erkennen en waarderen of diversiteit;
• Je begeleidt lopende onderzoeksprojecten door in contact te staan met onderzoekers en het bijwonen van projectbijeenkomsten;
• Je stimuleert kennisoverdracht van de resultaten van onderzoek om uiteindelijk impact te bereiken;
• Je draagt bij aan activiteiten om partijen te verbinden en samenwerking te stimuleren, bijvoorbeeld door het organiseren van congressen, bijeenkomsten of workshops.