Are you a postdoctoral researcher looking for new opportunities? VIB, Ghent, Belgium is recruiting for several Postdoctoral Fellowship positions. Apply now to be considered.
1. Postdoctoral Fellowship Position
Summary of Postdoc Project
The Laboratory for the Research of Neurodegenerative Diseases headed by Prof. Bart De Strooper is a vibrant environment where key issues related to Alzheimer’s disease are tackled (PMID 26871627). We are currently looking for a motivated postdoctoral scientist to join our multidisciplinary project on neuroinflammation and microglia-neuron interactions to follow up on our recent findings regarding the role of programmed cell death in Alzheimer’s Disease and how this links to Tau pathology (PMID 37708272).
In this project, we will assess how the non-coding RNA MEG3 induces necroptosis mechanism and the generation of granulo-vacuolar bodies in neurons. The candidate will use human iPS cells both in vitro and in vivo using xenografted mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease (see Balusu et al., Science 2023) to gain further insight into this defining axis of pathology in Alzheimer’s disease, which has also high relevance for the development of drugs for this devastating disease.
Application Deadline: Open Until Filled
2. Postdoctoral Fellowship Position
Summary of Postdoc Project
The Vanderhaeghen Lab (https://pvdhlab.org ; @VanderhaeghenP2) at the VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research (http://cbd.sites.vib.be), is seeking a creative postdoctoral scientist to study the human-specific mechanisms of development and function of cortical neurons.
Join us to undertake a highly interdisciplinary project focusing on one exciting question: « What makes our brain human ? » (Vanderhaeghen and Polleux, Nat. Rev. Neurosci. 2023). We combine cutting-edge approaches such as pluripotent stem cell models of human corticogenesis, human-mouse brain xenotransplantation, mouse transgenesis, in vivo mouse brain imaging, ex vivo human brain analyses.
Application Deadline: Open Until Filled
3. Postdoctoral Fellowship Position
Summary of Postdoc Project
The VIB-UAntwerp Center of Molecular Neurology is recruiting a postdoctoral research scientist (full-time, 100%) in the frame of the PostDoc Challenge program of the University of Antwerp. The envisaged project presents a methodological challenge to establish neuroimmune organoid models for application in the context of various neurodegenerative diseases.
Over the last decade, organoids emerged as an attractive middle ground between 2D cell cultures, which do not fully recapitulate the 3D environment and animal models, which pose technical and ethical limits. In particular, cerebral organoids are emerging as the next step in patient-derived in vitro models for both neurodevelopmental as well as neurodegenerative diseases. However, cerebral organoids have mostly been based on neuronal cells alone, while evidence increases that the role of non-neuronal types (microglia, astrocytes, endothelial cells) is critical in these conditions. Integration of these cell types will more closely mimic the in vivo cellular environment in health and disease and constitutes the major challenge of this project.
Application Deadline: Open Until Filled
4. Postdoctoral Fellowship Position
Summary of Postdoc Project
An ERC Starting grant-funded postdoc position is available in the group of Prof. Inge De Clercq at the VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology (PSB) and Ghent University, Belgium. You will study inter-organelle (between mitochondria, chloroplasts, and the ER) communication during the plant’s interaction with pathogens. Your project is embedded within the ERC-STG grant, entitled “COSI: Understanding organelle communication through COntact SItes in plant stress responses”, which studies the direct association between organelles through stress-induced contact sites by implementing state-of-the-art cell biology and proteomics approaches.
With this exciting project, we seek to provide new mechanistic and functional insight into how stress signals are perceived and transduced between intracellular organelles and how they are translated into appropriate defence responses.
You will design and implement tools to detect the dynamic (or reversible) association between organelles and use these tools to monitor contact site dynamics during various (biotic and/or abiotic) stress conditions using confocal microscopy and super-resolution microscopy. In addition, you will be involved in the characterization of the dynamic proteome at these stress-induced contact sites. You will also be involved in guiding a Ph.D. project focusing on this topic.
Application Deadline: Open Until Filled
5. Postdoctoral Fellowship Position
Summary of Postdoc Project
The lab of Jeroen Raes (VIB, KU Leuven) is home to a vibrant, dynamic and international group of researchers in the field of gut microbial ecology and its clinical applications. Beyond our expertise in bioinformatics and metagenomic analysis we offer hands-on clinical experience through cohort studies.
Furthermore, the lab also hosts state-of-the-art facilities dedicated to the cultivation and analysis of colon bacteria in order to study their physiology, function and interactions. We are also a member of VIB.AI, the newly founded center for artificial intelligence applications in the life sciences and have access to its state-of-the-art high-throughput computing facilities.
Application Deadline: Open Until Filled
6. Postdoctoral Fellowship Position
Summary of Postdoc Project
Are you interested in unraveling a central, yet understudied mechanism in eukaryotic cells? Join our multidisciplinary and international team to perform ground-breaking research aimed at understanding how cells control gene activity and protein expression.
We are looking for a highly motivated and talented postdoctoral scientist with a PhD in biological engineering, molecular biology, genetics and/or microbiology (or equivalent). You will join a young and motivated international team of scientists working on regulatory genomics, within the framework of the European Research Council (ERC)-funded Synergy Grant EPIC. This exciting project aims to understand how cells control gene activity and protein expression, which is crucial to understanding how cells function.
Application Deadline: Open Until Filled
7. Postdoctoral Fellowship Position
Summary of Postdoc Project
Two postdoc positions are available at the Laboratory of Computational Protein Design in Brussels (https://vorobievalab.sites.vib.be/en) and are funded by an ERC grant. The focus of the group is the de novo design of membrane proteins and nanopores for applications such as single-molecule sensing. In that context, this ERC project aims to (i) develop a new experimental platform for high-throughput characterization of the biophysical properties of natural and synthetic protein nanopores and (ii) leverage the generated data for the development of better computational design methods based on the Rosetta software and the latest generative deep learning software for protein design.
Application Deadline: Open Until Filled
8. Postdoctoral Fellowship Position
Summary of Postdoc Project
The VIB Center for Inflammation Research is part of the VIB Life Sciences institute and is connected to Ghent University. Our center focuses on the mechanisms driving infection and inflammation. The Sophie Janssens lab is looking for a motivated postdoctoral researcher to join our UPR team and study IRE1 signaling in dendritic cells in vivo. Activation of the UPR and IRE1 is typically observed in secretory cells and linked to an adaptive response aimed at restoring protein homeostasis in the ER. The Janssens team noticed that in dendritic cells in vivo activation of the UPR does not seem to be associated with a typical XBP1-driven gene signature (Osorio et al, Nat Imm, 2014 and Tavernier et al., Nat Cell Biol, 2017), but rather with RIDD, and appears closely linked with apoptotic cell engulfment and homeostatic dendritic cell maturation (manuscript in revision).
Application Deadline: Open Until Filled
9. Postdoctoral Fellowship Position
Summary of Postdoc Project
We’re offering two postdoctoral positions funded by an ERC project aimed at revolutionizing therapeutic delivery into the brain via the blood-CSF barrier. Our pioneering research harnesses the power of single-domain antibodies, also known as nanobodies or VHHs, as a Trojan horse for targeted brain delivery. Our goal is to explore the vast potential of VHHs in effectively transporting diverse cargos -ranging from proteins to nucleic acids and nanoparticles- across the blood-CSF barrier, offering promising solutions for a myriad of neurological disorders. We previously identified a promising candidate that requires further optimization and validation and in addition, we aim to discover novel VHHs capable of crossing the blood-CSF barrier and delivering therapeutic cargoes to the brain.
Application Deadline: Open Until Filled
