MSCA-DN PhD position in translational in vivo neuroscience (Leiden, NL)

The POLARIS training network

POLARIS is a European Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network focused on accelerating therapy development for leukodystrophies: rare genetic disorders affecting the brain white matter. The network aims to strengthen the full translational pathway from disease mechanism and model development to preclinical therapy testing, clinical readiness and patient-informed treatment priorities.

To achieve this, POLARIS brings together expertise in leukodystrophy biology, advanced disease models, therapeutic innovation, biomarker development, clinical translation, patient engagement, and ethical, regulatory and health-economic aspects of therapy development. The network will train a cohort of doctoral candidates in an international and interdisciplinary environment, combining academic research, industry-based preclinical development, secondments, network-wide training and transferable-skills development.

The PhD

For this position, the recruiting organisation is InnoSer in Leiden, the Netherlands. You will be employed by InnoSer and embedded in the POLARIS consortium, with academic supervision and disease-specific expertise provided by Dr Rogier Min at the Amsterdam Leukodystrophy Center (ALC), Amsterdam UMC.

The position is primarily based at InnoSer in Leiden, with regular academic interaction with the Amsterdam Leukodystrophy Center in Amsterdam. This includes approximately one day per week at Amsterdam UMC.

The academic embedding will be at the Amsterdam Leukodystrophy Center, with the anticipated PhD defence at the Faculty of Medicine, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

This PhD project focuses on characterising leukodystrophy mouse models and evaluating promising proof-of-concept interventions. You will conduct longitudinal studies in mouse models, with a particular focus on megalencephalic leukoencephalopathy with subcortical cysts (MLC).

The project combines behavioural and neurological phenotyping with the development of an automated EEG analysis pipeline. You will use these approaches to define robust disease phenotypes, assess disease progression and identify EEG biomarkers that can support future preclinical therapy studies.

You will also test selected candidate therapies emerging from other POLARIS work packages. By aligning preclinical readouts with clinically relevant endpoints, your work will contribute to the translational value of leukodystrophy models.

You will work at the interface of preclinical research, academic leukodystrophy expertise and patient-oriented therapy development. Your work will include:

• Performing longitudinal natural-history studies in leukodystrophy mouse models.
• Conducting behavioural and neurological phenotyping and other disease-relevant assessments.
• Developing an automated EEG analysis pipeline and identifying potential EEG biomarkers.
• Evaluating selected candidate therapies in leukodystrophy models to assess proof-of-concept efficacy.
• Collaborating with researchers at InnoSer, Amsterdam UMC and other POLARIS partner organisations. 

Planned secondments will broaden your expertise through hands-on training in lipid nanoparticle delivery. You will also have opportunities to engage with patients and families to better understand leukodystrophies and the priorities of affected communities.

We are looking for a motivated researcher with an interest in translational neuroscience, rare diseases and preclinical therapy development. You bring:

• A Master’s degree in Life Sciences, preferably Neuroscience.
• Experience with in vivo mouse studies gained through internships, thesis work or other research projects.
• An interest in behavioural or neurological phenotyping and the responsible use of animal models in research.
• An analytical mindset and the ability to critically assess experimental results and relate preclinical findings to clinically relevant endpoints.
• Good communication skills and the ability to collaborate in an interdisciplinary and international research environment. 

Experience with animal welfare principles, robust experimental design and formal certification for working with laboratory animals, such as FELASA or an equivalent qualification, is an advantage.

Because the project includes EEG analysis and the development of an automated analysis pipeline, experience with scripting and data analysis, for example in R or Python, is also an advantage. You do not need to have experience in all these areas: if you are motivated to develop these skills, we encourage you to apply.

You work accurately and reproducibly, pay attention to detail and can plan and organise complex experimental work. You will work with colleagues at InnoSer, Amsterdam UMC and other POLARIS partner organisations and should be comfortable working in an interdisciplinary and international setting.

Fluency in written and spoken English is essential.

Eligibility criteria 

Important, strict eligibility criteria according to MARIE SKLODOWSKA CURIE programs apply to applicants: 

1. You must not already hold a doctoral degree.
2. At the time of the application deadline, you must have a Master's degree and must not have resided or carried out your main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the Netherlands for more than 12 months in the three years prior to the contract start date.
3. You will participate in the network-wide training programme of POLARIS, which includes (international) training activities and planned secondments with POLARIS partner organizations throughout the EU.