Doctoral Candidate position HORIZON-MSCA-Doctoral Network SPACE-MEL (101311007)

Descrizione

Doctoral Candidate position HORIZON-MSCA-Doctoral Network SPACE-MEL (101311007) Sintesi in italiano (traduzione automatica): È disponibile una posizione di dottorato presso il Dipartimento di Oncologia, Laboratorio di Metabolismo dei Lipidi e Cancro, all'interno dell'Istituto KU Leuven per la Single Cell Omics. Il progetto, della durata di 36 mesi, si concentra sullo sviluppo di approcci innovativi di multi-omics spaziali per indagare l'eterogeneità tumorale nel melanoma. Il candidato selezionato svilupperà un flusso di lavoro integrato che combina transcriptomica spaziale, proteomica e lipidomica. Sono richiesti una laurea magistrale in biologia, biomedicina, biotecnologie o scienze naturali, e interesse per la ricerca sul metabolismo dei lipidi e l'oncologia. È preferibile avere esperienza pratica in lipidomica spaziale e strumenti di analisi dei dati. La posizione offre una borsa di studio mensile di circa €3.120,64. One PhD position is available at the Department of Oncology, Laboratory of Lipid Metabolism and Cancer, within the KU Leuven Institute for Single Cell Omics, at KU Leuven. The project has a duration of 36-months . PhD project at KU Leuven: Development of novel integrative spa-tial multi-omics approaches KU Leuven is offering a PhD position focused on the development of innovative integrative spatial multi-omics approaches to investigate tumour heterogeneity in melanoma. The successful candidate will develop and optimize a comprehensive workflow that integrates spatial transcriptomics, proteomics, and lipidomics. The project combines expertise in lipid metabolism and lipidomics with cutting-edge spatial omics technologies, including Mass Spectrometry Imaging (MSI), Raman microscopy, MILAN, Xenium, Visium, and COMET. The research has two closely linked objectives: 1. Development of an integrated spatial multi-omics workflow for simultaneous transcriptome, proteome, and lipidome profiling. 2. Application of the workflow to melanoma samples to generate novel diagnostic and therapeutic insights into tumour heterogeneity and disease progression. This interdisciplinary project offers a unique opportunity to work at the interface of molecular biology, advanced imaging, omics technologies, and cancer research, contributing to the development of next-generation approaches for precision oncology. Supervisor : Prof. Dr. Johannes Swinnen Prof. Swinnen is the Head of the Laboratory of Lipid Metabolism and Cancer and leads the KU Leuven Lipidomics Core Facility, Lipometrix. KU Leuven provides a strong interdisciplinary research environment through the Leuven Institute for Single Cell Omics (LISCO), which brings together researchers from more than 65 groups across KU Leuven, University Hospitals Leuven and VIB, offering access to advanced single-cell, spatial omics, pathology, lipidomics and computational biology expertise. Co-supervisors : Dr. Maria Mantas, Aspect Analytics, Belgium (Industry) Dr. Volodimir Olexiouk, BioLizard NV, Belgium (Industry) Secondments : 4 months at Aspect Analytics, Belgium (supervisor: Dr. Maria Mantas) 3 months at BioLizard NV, Belgium (supervisor: Dr. Volodimir Olexiouk) Eligibility criteria: According to the EU rules for the EU-Doctoral Network projects, the recruited researchers must comply with the following conditions: are - at the date of recruitment - doctoral candidates (DCs) (i.e not already in possession of a doctoral degree at the date of the recruitment). Researchers who have successfully defended their PhD thesis but not yet received their degree are not considered eligible; DCs can be of any nationality; DCs must comply with the following mobility rule: they must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the recruiting beneficiary for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before their recruitment date. Research Field/Requirements: MSc degree in biology, biomedicine, biotechnology or natural sciences, analytical chemistry, biochemistry or comparable; Interest in research on lipid metabolism, spatial omics and melanoma/oncology; Hands-on expertise in (spatial) lipidomics, spatial multi-omics and data analysis tools is a plus; Good command of spoken and written English; Ambitious, hard-working and accurate. The DC will receive a 36-month scholarship to cover her/his living costs. The gross amount of the doctoral scholarship is based on a living allowance that is dependent on a country correction coefficient which takes into account the cost of living in the country of the recruiting institution. For Belgium, the gross amount of the doctoral scholarship (tax-free) will be approximately €3.120,64 per month if the DC is single with no dependent family members. It will be higher if the DC has a registered partner without income and/or dependent child(ren); it will be lower if the DC has a registered partner with income. The cost of all training a Annuncio in inglese. Fonte: Euraxess (Commissione europea).