PHD position: Mechanisms of energy efficient fast signaling in human neurons

The focus of the project is on elucidating neuronal mechanisms of energy efficient signaling in human cortical neurons. A critical requirement of fast neuronal computation and better cognitive function is the ability of neurons to generate and maintain fast and stable output - action potentials. Because of difficult access to living human neurons, their function in supporting cognition remains largely unexplored. Our lab has extensive experience in studying the function of human neurons from neurosurgery patients. We recently showed that fast action potential signaling in human neurons directly links to cognitive ability in the same individuals. The project will focus on human cortical neuron types that are selectively vulnerable in diseases of cognitive decline, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Frontotemporal dementia (FTD), since these neuron types show surprisingly fast signaling. In this project we will address the question of how these human-specialized neurons achieve fast synaptic and cellular signaling and how mechanisms of energy expenditure play a role, in both non-pathological and pathological conditions. The project is part of the Brainscapes consortium (https://brainscapes.nl) which offers and exciting environment for scientific interactions and collaborations.

Planned starting date for the project:
fall 2025

Your duties
During the research you will use the following approach:

• electrophysiological recordings from human and rodent neurons in acute and cultured brain tissue.
• perform immunohistochemical staining of acute, neurosurgical human brain tissue as well as post-mortem human brain tissue, and rodent brain slices
• use virus-mediated genetic tools to manipulate gene expression in organotypic cultures of human and rodent brain tissue
• apply computational modeling to understand the mechanisms of fast computation
• our lab is a part of academic environment where you will have an opportunity to participate in teaching and supervise Bachelor and Master students.

Assistant Professor in HRM and OB

As a member of the team, your role is to teach HRM/OB-related courses at the Bachelor and Master levels of our Business Administration program. We are also active in teaching at the PhD and executive level, and based on your experience and expertise, you will be invited to participate in those courses too. Next to teaching, research is an important part of our focus too. You will have fixed research time allocated until tenure is achieved. We also value your efforts to translate your research findings into real-life impact.

To achieve these goals, we have great initiatives in place that can support you. Think about a whiteboard that shows all team member’s projects and where they seek collaboration; a “Fun with Methods” meeting in which we discuss new or important research methods; a dedicated SBE Centre for Teaching and Learning that supports faculty members in course design, EdTech, and bringing Active Blended Learning to the classroom; and of course a “Socials team”! We expect our new team member to also proactively contribute to these efforts to build team success and resilience.

PhD position in Synthetic Organic Chemistry & Catalysis

Job description

The project will focus on developing organocatalytic transformations through a sophisticated integration of synthetic organic chemistry and computational chemistry. Over the past few decades, organocatalysis has rapidly advanced and become indispensable for the synthesis of pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals. Despite these achievements, the rational design of new, effective organocatalytic systems remains a significant challenge due to the lack of a robust, generalizable strategy. This project aims to gain novel insights into the molecular mechanisms of catalysis by employing innovative computational and experimental approaches. These insights will guide the rational development of powerful organocatalytic reactions, enabling the efficient construction of increasingly complex molecular architectures.

Your duties

• Planning and performing multistep synthesis.
• Computing and interpreting complex reaction profiles.
• Supervising BSc and MSc research projects.
• Attending national and international conferences.
• Writing scientific publications.

PhD: Statistical physics of chromosomes

Our theory group is a worldwide leader in studying the statistical physics of living systems, ranging from chromosomes to migrating cells and multicellular tissues. We aim to understand the emergent functional dynamics and organization of living systems in close collaboration with various experimental labs. We currently have an opening for an ERC funded 4-year PhD position.

We are looking for highly motivated applicants for a PhD student to strengthen our research team in an interactive and
collaborative environment.

ERC funded Project: Learn4DChromosome
The physical organization of bacterial chromosomes is inherently variable, with large conformational fluctuations both from cell to cell and over time. Yet, chromosomes must also be structured to facilitate processes such as transcription, replication, and segregation. In this project, you will combine data-driven theoretical methods with mechanistic models to unravel the statistical folding of chromosomes. You will use approaches grounded in equilibrium and non-equilibrium statistical physics, information theory, and soft condensed matter physics. Your work will be performed in close collaboration with several experimental groups. Finally, you will also play a role in supervising students and the tutorial classes in our teaching program.

Tandartsdocent bij Digital Dentistry

Als docent begeleid je gemotiveerde studenten die zich voorbereiden op een carrière in de tandheelkunde. Met jouw ervaring als tandarts binnen de digitale tandheelkunde vergroot je hun vakinhoudelijke kennis en draag je bij aan de ontwikkeling van de volgende generatie tandartsen. Je fungeert als vraagbaak, inspirator en rolmodel.

Daarnaast ontwikkel je nieuwe didactische vaardigheden en werk je in een dynamische academische omgeving, samen met collega’s uit diverse disciplines. Hierdoor blijf je op de hoogte van de nieuwste ontwikkelingen binnen het vakgebied en breid je jouw professionele netwerk verder uit.

Jouw taken

• Bachelor en Master-studenten Tandheelkunde begeleiden/coachen met verschillende toepassingen van digitale tandheelkunde binnen het (pre) klinische onderwijs
• studenten ondersteunen bij het ontwikkelen van hun (pre) klinische competenties door middel van verschillende digitale tandheelkundige middelen, zoals VR-simulatie en CAD-CAM
• actief participeren in de voorbereiding, uitvoering en evaluatie van het digital dentistry onderwijs