Assistant professor (UD) – Therapeutic gene delivery Utrecht

We offer an assistant professor (UD) position in gene therapy within UMC Utrecht. To this end, you will work in a division overarching team that strives to accelerate clinical development of gene therapies by focusing on one of the current main obstacles in this field: efficient delivery of gene products to the right organs and cell types of interest. You will optimize viral delivery vectors and test their efficacy in vivo in mice.

We are looking for a molecular biologist with knowledge and experience in viral vector development and production for in vivo delivery and efficacy. You should have the ambition and capacity to build your own research line. The project is funded by the Governmental Sector Money and aims to build an in-house gene therapy platform within UMC Utrecht to support development of gene therapy. For this team, three new members are recruited to develop genetic therapies for early phase clinical trials (through the Innovation Center for Advanced Therapies (ICAT) and in vivo gene therapies through viral delivery (in the department of Translational Neuroscience) and non-viral delivery strategies for different gene-products (in the department of Metabolic Diseases in the Regenerative Medicine Center Utrecht (RMCU). Your role is to develop viral vector strategies, apply gene therapy in vivo (mostly in mouse models) and assess the delivery and efficacy in vivo.

We offer a fulltime position (1.0 FTE) for a period of one year with the aim to extend the position in case of a good performance. The maximum salary will be scale 11 supplemented with a holiday bonus of 8% and a year-end bonus of 8.3% per year. In addition, UMC Utrecht offers excellent secondary conditions.

The position is embedded within the the Department of Translational Neuroscience of UMC Utrecht. The project focusses on building an in-house viral vector production platform within UMC Utrecht, to support development of gene therapy. In addition to this embedding, the assistant professor will be team member of the UMCU gene-therapy delivery platform and thus closely collaborate with the other UMC Utrecht groups working on gene therapies, in particular with Innovation Center for Advanced Therapies (ICAT) and Regenerative Medicine Center Utrecht (RMCU).

• A PhD in a relevant field (Biopharmaceutical, Biotechnology, Bioengineering, Virology, Cell Biology, Molecular Biology) and affinity with applied virology including viral vector development, production  and delivery.

• Knowledge in viral vector design and delivery, in designing minimal promoters for cell specific targeting, prime editing, scRNAseq, analytical characterization, and process development with hands-on experience in viral transductions, flow cytometry, and quantitative gene expression analyses (ddPCR, qPCR, RNAseq).

• Hands-on expertise of viral vector production (RV, LV and/or AAV using HEK293 cell line or other suspension cell lines) and experience with viral risk assessments, viral safety testing and control strategies.

• Experience with delivery of gene therapy in vivo, preferably in mouse.

• The candidate should be self-motivated, accountable, inquisitive, and have excellent organization and communication skills (written and verbal).

• Possess the ability to present technical information to both technical and non-technical audiences.

• Professional proficiency in English (written and spoken) is a requirement.

• Ability to think analytically, problem-solving skills, drive to succeed.

• You enjoy working in an innovation driven, highly collaborative and fast paced environment.

• You should be able to work independently as well as collaborate with other team members with interdisciplinary background and international environment; you have essential social skills for fruitful interactions.

• You must be available fulltime.

We offer a fulltime position (1.0 FTE) for a period of one year with the aim to extend the position in case of a good performance. The maximum salary will be scale 11 supplemented with a holiday bonus of 8% and a year-end bonus of 8.3% per year. In addition, UMC Utrecht offers excellent secondary conditions.