PhD Candidate Towards a tiered risk assessment strategy to evaluate the safety of herbal supplements

PhD Candidate: Towards a tiered risk assessment strategy to evaluate the safety of herbal supplements

Herbal food supplements are widely used and often perceived as inherently safe because they are ‘natural’. Yet these products can contain complex mixtures of bioactive compounds, and their composition may vary depending on the plant material, extraction method and production process. Contamination, adulteration and differences between batches add further uncertainty. Because these products are generally not tested before entering the market, potential adverse effects may only become apparent once they are already widely used.

That is why a robust and structured strategy is needed to better evaluate the safety of herbal supplements and reduce potential risks to human health. In this collaborative project, you will investigate the hepatotoxicity, nephrotoxicity, genotoxicity and endocrine-disrupting potential of diverse herbal extracts using human-relevant in vitro models and complementary bioassays. You will also examine how liver metabolism influences their toxicity. For selected extracts, you will use chemical analyses such as LC-MS/MS and GC-MS to help identify the compounds responsible for the observed effects. The complementary PhD project at Utrecht University will investigate other potential adverse health effects, including neurotoxicity, cardiotoxicity and effects on the blood-brain barrier.

This position is part of a four-year research programme commissioned by the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA). The project is a collaborative effort with Utrecht University to investigate and evaluate the potential toxicity of herbal supplements using a range of in vitro approaches. Together, the two projects will contribute to an integrated strategy for the early detection and prioritisation of potential hazards associated with herbal food supplements.

Your colleagues
You will work in the Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology at Maastricht University and be embedded in NUTRIM School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism. Here, you will join a multidisciplinary environment where biologists, chemists and toxicologists investigate how chemical exposures and oxidative stress alter cellular processes. The department gives you access to expertise and facilities in cell-based toxicology, molecular biology and chemical analysis.

The project will be led at Maastricht University by Dr Misha Vrolijk, who will provide daily supervision.

What you do

• You develop and apply a next-generation strategy for assessing the safety of complex herbal preparations. Your main activities are:Review scientific literature, nutrivigilance data, risk assessments and available in silico information to select relevant botanicals, endpoints and assays.
• Develop and validate an effect-based test battery for hepatotoxicity, nephrotoxicity, genotoxicity and endocrine activity using well-characterised reference botanicals.
• Use human-relevant in vitro models and complementary bioassays to screen complete herbal preparations, including products whose exact composition is not fully known.
• Contribute to mechanistic experiments and targeted chemical analyses, including LC-MS/MS and GC-MS, to identify compounds associated with observed biological activity.
• Integrate toxicological, chemical-analytical, in silico and nutrivigilance data to relate in vitro potency to plausible human exposure.
• Publish your findings in peer-reviewed journals, present them at scientific meetings and contribute to project reporting.

Are you ready to set the course for the years ahead? Then we’d love to meet you.

What you bring
We’re not looking for checkboxes; we’re interested in who you are and what you bring. Do you recognize yourself in this?

You are a curious, open-minded and proactive researcher with strong analytical skills and perseverance to develop and troubleshoot laboratory methods. You are able to work both independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team, and you collaborate effectively within a network that includes Maastricht University, Utrecht University, the NVWA, and external scientific partners.

Furthermore, you bring:

• A successfully completed Master of Science (MSc) in Biomedical Sciences, Molecular Life Sciences, Toxicology, Chemistry, Food Safety or any related field.
• Theoretical knowledge and experience and affinity with the field of toxicology, food safety, and/or risk assessment through academic training (courses, thesis, or research project) in your previous education.
• Hands-on experience and strong analytical capacity in mammalian cell culture, relevant molecular or biochemical assays (PCR, bioassays), and standard chemical analytical techniques such as HPLC and mass spectrometry.
• Practical experience with one or more of the following is an advantage: 2D/3D cell models, genotoxicity testing, reporter-gene assays, oxidative stress or mitochondrial assays, S9 metabolism studies, or analytical chemistry/mass spectrometry.
• Strong communication skills in English (fluent at C1 level), including scientific English writing and presenting and who has the ambition to share research outside of regular scholarly activities (such as writing publications).

PhD Candidate Mechanical Circulatory Support

PhD Candidate Mechanical Circulatory Support

• Our goal: To improve outcomes for patients with cardiogenic shock and complex cardiothoracic disease by integrating cutting-edge experimental research with high-impact clinical analysis.
• Your colleagues: A multidisciplinary team of cardiothoracic surgeons, intensivists, cardiologists, biomedical engineers, and data scientists within a state-of-the-art MCS lab and high-volume tertiary referral center.

Cardiogenic shock and advanced heart failure remain among the most urgent challenges in cardiovascular medicine. Mechanical Circulatory Support (MCS) technologies offer life-saving potential, yet optimal patient selection, timing, and device strategies require deeper mechanistic and clinical insight. Our program combines experimental cardiovascular research with robust clinical cohort analysis to refine and personalize circulatory support strategies.

As a PhD candidate, you play a strategically important role in connecting experimental MCS research with clinical outcomes in patients undergoing cardiothoracic surgery and/or treated for cardiogenic shock. You design and conduct laboratory-based studies, while also setting up and analyzing prospective and retrospective clinical cohorts. By investigating hemodynamics, organ perfusion, and device–heart interactions, you contribute directly to improving bedside decision-making.

You translate experimental findings into clinically relevant hypotheses and protocols. You analyze clinical, physiological, and imaging datasets with rigor and reproducibility. You publish your results in peer-reviewed journals, present at international congresses, and actively contribute to multidisciplinary clinical–scientific discussions.

Are you ready to help shape the next generation of circulatory support strategies? We would love to meet you.

What you bring
We’re not looking for checkboxes; we’re interested in who you are and what you bring. Do you recognize yourself in this?

You thrive in a multidisciplinary environment and communicate effectively with clinicians, engineers, and researchers. You are a clear and persuasive communicator, able to present results with clarity, write scientific manuscripts, and contribute to academic discussions and grant proposals.

Furthermore, you bring:

• A Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering, Medicine, Biomedical Sciences, Human Biology, or a closely related field.
• Strong interest in cardiovascular physiology and disease, including cardiogenic shock, cardiothoracic surgery, and mechanical circulatory support systems, combined with a translational mindset to connect experimental research with clinical applications.
• Experience with pre-clinical and/or clinical studies.
• Ability to design and conduct laboratory-based experimental research within a cardiovascular or biomedical context.
• Strong analytical and quantitative skills, with experience in analyzing clinical, physiological, and/or experimental datasets (including prospective and retrospective cohort studies).
• Proven ability to communicate scientific findings through peer-reviewed publications and presentations at international conferences, plus proficiency in Dutch at C1 level or higher due to patient interaction and clinical research involvement.

Adviseur Onderhoud & Compliance

Adviseur Onderhoud & Compliance

• Ons doel: We zorgen voor een veilige, duurzame en toekomstbestendige vastgoedportefeuille waarin studenten, onderzoekers en medewerkers optimaal kunnen studeren, werken en innoveren. Door onderhoud, compliance en investeringen integraal te organiseren, maken we onderbouwde keuzes die bijdragen aan de continuïteit en kwaliteit van onze gebouwen.
• Jouw collega's: Je maakt deel uit van het team Beheer & Onderhoud binnen de afdeling Vastgoed. Het team bestaat uit technisch specialisten, projectmanagers en een informatiemanager. Je werkt daarnaast nauw samen met interne stakeholders, leveranciers, adviseurs en andere collega's binnen de vastgoedorganisatie.

In deze functie ben je de inhoudelijke specialist die ervoor zorgt dat onderhoud, compliance en technische kwaliteit van onze gebouwen toekomstbestendig zijn. Je brengt risico's in beeld, organiseert planmatig en groot onderhoud, vertaalt wet- en regelgeving naar de praktijk en adviseert het Hoofd Beheer & Onderhoud over de juiste keuzes. Daarbij ben jij de verbindende schakel tussen techniek, leveranciers en de interne organisatie.

Je bent geen uitvoerend onderhoudsspecialist, maar een adviseur en regisseur die overzicht houdt, prioriteiten stelt en mensen in beweging krijgt. Je haalt actief informatie op, weegt belangen af en zorgt ervoor dat onderhoudsprojecten, contracten en compliancevraagstukken op een effectieve manier worden georganiseerd en uitgevoerd.

Wat jij doet

• Je volgt ontwikkelingen in wet- en regelgeving en vertaalt deze naar beleid, processen en concrete acties binnen de vastgoedportefeuille.
• Je beheert en ontwikkelt het compliance dashboard verder en zorgt ervoor dat relevante risico's inzichtelijk zijn.
• Je ontwikkelt, beheert en actualiseert het meerjarenonderhoudsplan (MJOP) en vertaalt dit naar concrete onderhouds- en investeringsvoorstellen.
• Je organiseert en coördineert groot vervangingsonderhoud en bewaakt voortgang, kwaliteit, risico's en samenhang tussen projecten.
• Je analyseert onderhoudsdata, inspectieresultaten en risico's en vertaalt deze naar onderbouwde adviezen en prioriteiten.
• Je bent contractbeheerder van diverse onderhoudscontracten en stuurt leveranciers op kwaliteit, prestaties en afspraken.
• Je levert een inhoudelijke bijdrage aan aanbestedingen en contractvernieuwingen van onderhoudsdiensten.
• Je adviseert over onderhoudsstrategieën, lifecycle management, technische risico's en vervangingsinvesteringen.
• Je draagt bij aan de verdere ontwikkeling van assetmanagement en datagedreven vastgoedbeheer binnen de Universiteit Maastricht.

Ben jij klaar om koers te zetten voor de komende jaren? Dan ontmoeten we je graag.

Wat jij meebrengt
Je bent een analytische en organisatorisch sterke professional die techniek weet te verbinden met beleid, processen en samenwerking. Je krijgt energie van het organiseren van complexe vraagstukken, het creëren van overzicht en het realiseren van verbeteringen. Daarbij ben je een stevige gesprekspartner voor zowel technische specialisten als leveranciers en interne stakeholders.

Daarnaast beschik je over:

• een afgeronde hbo- of wo-opleiding, bijvoorbeeld Technische Bedrijfskunde, Werktuigbouwkunde, Installatietechniek, Built Environment, Bouwkunde of een vergelijkbare technische richting;
• ervaring met technisch vastgoedbeheer, onderhoudsmanagement, assetmanagement of maintenance binnen een complexe organisatie;
• kennis van onderhoudscontracten, leveranciersmanagement en aanbestedingstrajecten;
• affiniteit met wet- en regelgeving, compliance, gebouwveiligheid en risicobeheersing;
• ervaring met meerjarenonderhoudsplannen, lifecycle management en planmatig onderhoud;
• het vermogen om data en technische informatie te vertalen naar heldere adviezen en besluitvorming;

Postdoc Position Data Science and Artificial Intelligence in Cardiac Electrophysiology

Postdoc Position Data Science and Artificial Intelligence in Cardiac Electrophysiology

• Our goal: the development of multimodal prediction models to detect and predict atrial fibrillation (AF) and other clinically relevant cardiac rhythm patterns, predict disease progression and treatment response, and support personalised AF management.
• Your colleagues: The Department of Physiology at Maastricht University is a key academic partner in AF-B-STEP, contributing expertise in AF burden quantification, AI-based rhythm analysis, and digital biomarkers. The department has a strong data science environment, with an additional team of three to four data scientists working across related cardiovascular research projects. As part of the Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) project AF-B-STEP (Quantifying Atrial Fibrillation Burden to inform Screening, Treatment, and hEalth Policy, https://afbstep.eu/) , we aim to establish atrial fibrillation (AF) burden as a novel biomarker for precision medicine. AF-B-STEP brings together leading academic institutions, medical device manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies and wearable technology developers to integrate and analyse one of the world's largest collections of AF burden data, comprising more than 400,000 individuals and 200,000 patient-years of linked clinical outcome data.

For this project, the Department of Physiology at the Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht (CARIM) has a vacancy for a postdoctoral researcher in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence. In this position you will develop advanced computational methods for the analysis of large-scale multimodal cardiovascular data, including electrocardiograms, cardiac device recordings, wearable sensor data, clinical trial data, electronic health records and patient-reported outcomes.

What you do
Research activities will include AI-assisted signal analysis, transformer-based analysis of structured and unstructured clinical data, automated data harmonisation, clustering of AF burden phenotypes, and the development of multimodal prediction models to identify clinically relevant disease patterns, predict disease progression and treatment response, and support personalised AF management.

The postdoctoral researcher will develop, implement and validate state-of-the-art machine learning methods, ranging from deep learning and transformer architectures to unsupervised learning and representation learning approaches. You will work in close collaboration with clinicians, AI researchers, statisticians, and industrial partners in a highly interdisciplinary consortium, translating large-scale cardiovascular data into clinically applicable tools for precision medicine.

Are you ready to set the course for the years ahead? Then we’d love to meet you.

What you bring
We’re not looking for checkboxes; we’re interested in who you are and what you bring. Do you recognize yourself in this?

• You have completed a PhD in data science and/or artificial intelligence.
• You have gained knowledge of various machine learning techniques, particularly artificial neural networks and deep learning and would like to further develop this knowledge.
• In previous roles you have worked with the application of data science and artificial intelligence in the context of biomedical signals.
• You enjoy the process of conceiving and writing papers (in English) and have the ambition to produce high quality research outcomes.
• Familiarity with concepts from the field of computational cardiac electrophysiology and cardiac measurement modalities is considered an advantage.

Adviseur Marketing en Studentrecruitment Nederland

Adviseur Marketing & Studentrecruitment Nederland

• Ons doel: We willen aankomende studenten op het juiste moment bereiken met informatie en campagnes die aansluiten bij hun behoeften en gedrag. Zo versterken we de positie van Maastricht University op de Nederlandse studentenmarkt en helpen we studiekiezers een weloverwogen keuze te maken.
• Jouw collega's: Je werkt binnen het centrale team Marketing & Studentrecruitment (M&S), dat uit ongeveer tien collega's bestaat. Samen met (online) specialisten en collega's van de faculteiten ontwikkel en realiseer je marketing- en wervingsactiviteiten.

Als Adviseur Marketing & Studentrecruitment Nederland richt je je op de werving van aankomende studenten binnen Nederland. Je combineert advies en coördinatie met een praktische aanpak: je onderzoekt wat de doelgroep beweegt, vertaalt inzichten naar plannen en concepten en organiseert samen met collega's de uitvoering. Daarbij weet je verschillende belangen en expertise bij elkaar te brengen en collega's mee te nemen in een onderbouwde aanpak voor studentenwerving.

Wat jij doet

• Je ontwikkelt samen met collega's marketing- en studentenrecruitmentplannen op basis van onderzoek naar de doelgroep en ontwikkelingen binnen het Nederlandse onderwijs.
• Je vertaalt inzichten over behoeften, gedrag en mediagebruik van aankomende studenten naar passende campagnes, content, video's en andere wervingsmiddelen.
• Je adviseert faculteiten en andere collega's over de aanpak van studentenwerving en creëert draagvlak voor keuzes en prioriteiten.
• Je coördineert de uitvoering van activiteiten en werkt daarbij nauw samen met faculteiten en interne en externe specialisten.
• Je plant, monitort en evalueert marketing- en wervingsactiviteiten en gebruikt resultaten om de aanpak gericht te verbeteren. Je maakt daarbij o.a. gebruik van een CRM systeem.
• Je vertegenwoordigt Marketing & Studentenrecruitment in projecten, aanbestedingen en de samenwerking met externe partijen.
• Je vertegenwoordigt Maastricht University tijdens online en fysieke voorlichtings- en wervingsactiviteiten en verzorgt waar nodig presentaties.
• Je pakt naast advies- en coördinatiewerk ook praktische werkzaamheden op die nodig zijn om campagnes en activiteiten succesvol uit te voeren.

Ben jij klaar om koers te zetten voor de komende jaren? Dan ontmoeten we je graag.

Wat jij meebrengt

• Je hebt een relevante hbo- of wo-opleiding afgerond en beschikt over relevante werkervaring binnen marketing, communicatie en/of studentenwerving. Ervaring binnen het hoger onderwijs is een plus.
• Je kent actuele ontwikkelingen binnen marketing en online communicatie en begrijpt hoe je verschillende doelgroepen bereikt en activeert.
• Je werkt analytisch en kunt onderzoeksgegevens en resultaten vertalen naar concrete adviezen, concepten en verbeteringen.
• Je beweegt gemakkelijk binnen een complexe organisatie, brengt verschillende belangen bij elkaar en weet collega's met inhoudelijke argumenten mee te nemen in je advies.
• Je communiceert uitstekend in het Nederlands en Engels, mondeling en schriftelijk, en bent bereid om voor bijvoorbeeld voorlichtingsactiviteiten incidenteel in de avond of het weekend te werken.