PhD Position: Nutrition, Exercise and Biological Ageing

Are you interested in how nutrition and exercise can be used to slow biological ageing? Do you want to contribute to an ambitious national research programme that combines nutrition science, exercise physiology, omics technologies and data science to improve healthy ageing?

As a PhD candidate in the BIO-COMPaSS consortium, you will investigate how nutrition and exercise influence biological ageing and how personalised lifestyle interventions can be developed using biological age indicators, biomarkers and advanced omics technologies. You will combine data analysis with intervention research and collaborate with researchers, healthcare professionals and societal partners across the Netherlands.

Your duties and responsibilities include:

• analysing dietary intake, physical activity, biomarker and omics data in relation to biological age indicators;
• investigating how metabolomic, proteomic and other biological markers respond to nutrition and exercise interventions;
• developing data-driven approaches to support personalised nutrition and exercise advice;
• designing, obtaining ethical approval for, and conducting a personalised lifestyle intervention study;
• publishing research findings in peer-reviewed journals and presenting results at national and international conferences.

You will work here
The research is embedded within the Human Nutrition and Health chair group and the Nutritional Biology team, which is led by Prof. Kerensa Broersen. The project is part of the BIO-COMPaSS consortium, a large national research programme funded through the Netherlands Science Agenda (NWA). You will be supervised by Dr. Pol Grootswagers, Dr. Rob Wüst (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) and Prof. Renger Witkamp.

BIO-COMPaSS (BIOlogical age-driven, COMmunal, Personalised System for Sustainable health promotion) is a research consortium exploring how feedback on biological age can motivate healthier sustainable habits. It aims to identify and validate aging biomarkers, understand how psychological and social factors influence lifestyle choices, develop personalized exercise and nutrition plans, and test how to implement these in Dutch society. Supported by data science, sensors, and real-world studies, the project seeks to create a sustainable, personalized health system. The close collaboration between citizens, scientists and companies is unique. The approach offers the prospect of a future in which prevention and personal health play a central role in the healthcare system. The project is funded through the Netherlands Science Agenda (NWA) program. To learn more about the research or the organizations involved, you can visit the website https://bio-compass.nl.

You will collaborate closely with PhD candidates, postdoctoral researchers and consortium partners from a broad range of disciplines including nutrition, exercise science, data science, behavioural sciences and ageing research.

PhD: Genomic and genetic variation underlying temperature responses

Do you have a keen interest in genetics and the adaptational abilities of plants and like to involve the general public in your science? Are you skilled in applying cutting-edge genomics and phenomics tools and want to understand nature’s solutions to deal with a changing environment? Do you want to apply these skills in establishing snowdrops as a model for temperature responsiveness? We may have the perfect opportunity for you!

The Laboratory of Nematology at Wageningen University & Research is seeking a motivated and curiosity-driven PhD researcher to join the genomics team. You will be part of an interdisciplinary and collaborative team consisting of both experimentalists and bioinformaticians. Together with the Plant Stress Resilience group of Utrecht University, we recently obtained funding to investigate temperature responsiveness in Snowdrop (Galanthus spp.) and A. thaliana. In this project, we are looking for a PhD researcher to develop and apply genetic, genomic (e.g. Iso-Seq and RNAseq) and phenomics tools to model temperature dose-responsiveness in Snowdrops. A main aim will be to generate a reference transcriptome for this iconic species, as none exists yet. You will work together with a PhD researcher at Utrecht university (who will focus on A. thaliana) to develop, conduct and analyze experiments in the Netherlands Plant Eco-Phenotyping Center (NPEC). Early in the project you will set-up a citizen science project and do some field work to acquire a diversity panel of Snowdrop accessions that you will use throughout your project.

Your duties and responsibilities include:

• Conducting transcriptomic analyses (Iso-Seq, RNAseq) and disclose natural genetic variation in iconic Snowdrops
• Obtaining and analysis of phenotypic data via NPEC
• Modelling of phenotypic and transcriptomic responses to temperature dose
• Conduct a citizen science approach to collect snowdrop varieties needed for the project

You will work here
The research is embedded within the Laboratory of Nematology led by prof. Geert Smant. Your daily supervisor will be Dr. Mark Sterken, who has expertise on non-model species genetics and genomics. Work within the Wageningen team is supported by two technicians (for experimental work and bioinformatics) and within the group there are multiple PhD candidates. You will work closely together with the ‘temperature team’ of the Plant Stress Resilience group of Utrecht University, led by dr. Martijn van Zanten, where you will be hosted for the citizen science- and phenomics aspects of the project. Your research will be embedded in the Graduate school of Experimental Plant Sciences (EPS).

Docent Pharmaceutical Chemistry

Je verzorgt onderwijs aan bachelor- en masterstudenten Farmacie. Daarnaast draag je bij aan het onderwijs binnen de bacheloropleidingen Molecular and Biophysical Life Sciences en College of Pharmaceutical Sciences en de master Drug Innovation. Je begeleidt studenten in onderwijsgroepen waarin studentactiverende onderwijsvormen voorop staan, zoals case-based learning, projectonderwijs en practica. Binnen de cursussen werk je samen met collega’s in teamverband. Je begeleidt je eigen groep(en) bij het begrijpen en toepassen van de theoretische en praktische concepten van geneesmiddelwerking en -bereiding. Daarbij leg je de verbinding met de dagelijkse praktijk in de apotheek en het geneesmiddelenonderzoek.

Daarnaast ontwikkel en actualiseer je studiematerialen en opdrachten, en draag je bij aan een goede organisatie en uitvoering van onze cursussen. Samen stemmen we je inzet in de cursussen binnen de opleiding af op jouw expertise in de farmacie, de chemie of een combinatie daarvan en op je praktijkervaring. Als onderdeel van je docentaanstelling krijg je toegang tot een ruim aanbod aan professionele cursussen die je ondersteunen bij het behalen van de Basiskwalificatie Onderwijs (BKO).

De omvang van de aanstelling is bespreekbaar, van 3 tot 5 dagen per week.

Postdoc Vidi project: With greater power must come great responsibility

The School of Law of Utrecht University invites applications for a Postdoctoral Researcher (2 years) within the NWO Vidi project “With greater power must come great responsibility: attributing data protection compliance to those with real control.” This interdisciplinary project explores who really holds power in today’s web ecosystem, where website and app owners depend on powerful third-party tools, and how this should redefine responsibility under the General Data Protection Regulation, combining law, computer science, and empirical research.

Millions of websites rely on third-party tools (for consent solutions, analytics, payment and other services) that collect and process personal data behind the scenes. Website owners are legally responsible under the General Data Protection Regulation, even when they don’t control the technology, don’t understand what data is being processed and can’t realistically comply. At the same time, these tools operate within complex chains of dependency, influence, and manipulation: from technical infrastructures and information asymmetries to interface design choices that steer decisions. Responsibility is formally assigned to those who embed the tools but power is often exercised elsewhere.

The postdoc is expected to carry out the following tasks:

• Design and conduct empirical studies (e.g., interviews, focus groups, or mixed-method approaches) to understand decision-making around third-party tool embedding;
• Study documentation of third-party tools (e.g., privacy policies, interfaces, terms of service);
• Analysis of third-party website building platforms for UI/UX assessment;
• Contributing to technical investigations (e.g., implementation of third-party tracking tools or network traffic analysis) is welcome.

Thus, the postdoc will primarily lead the HCI and empirical components of the project, working closely with legal and computer science collaborators.

Your work will be central to the project’s empirical contribution, including identifying and characterizing power asymmetries in the integration and use of third-party tools into websites, generating empirical evidence on how control is exercised, constrained, or obscured in practice; uncovering mechanisms such as information asymmetry, dependency, and interface design (e.g., dark patterns); translating findings into practical insights and tools to support more effective and realistic GDPR compliance.

Coördinator BHV (0,6 - 1 FTE)

Je speelt een sleutelrol in het veilig en soepel laten functioneren van onze campus. Als Coördinator BHV ben jij degene die overzicht houdt, richting geeft en zorgt dat onze BHV‑structuur staat als een huis. Je ontwikkelt, implementeert en actualiseert BHV‑beleid en ‑procedures, adviseert over veiligheid en noodprocedures en zorgt dat de planning van bezetting en opleidingen altijd klopt. Ook houd je de volledige administratie van certificaten tot registraties strak op orde. Samen met BHV’ers en ploegleiders zorg je ervoor dat iedereen op de EUR veilig kan studeren, werken en verblijven.

Jouw werkzaamheden bestaan o.a. uit;

• Bijdragen leveren aan Bedrijfsnoodplan;
• Zorgen voor goed onderhouden en complete BHV‑middelen (zoals kasten, hesjes en materialen);
• Signaleren van knelpunten in de BHV‑aanpak en doen van verbetervoorstellen;
• Verzorgen van duidelijke en praktische communicatie richting medewerkers en BHV’ers;
• Beheren van contracten voor BHV‑opleidingen en BHV‑materialen;
• Afstemmen bij incidenten met de afdeling Integrale Veiligheid.