PhD immune inhibitory mechanisms predict efficacy of immunotherapy in melanoma

At Amsterdam UMC, our group, led by Prof.dr. Yvette van Kooyk, studies the interplay between the immune system and cancer. In particular, we are interested how glycosylation modulates the  immune system. We study how novel glyco-immune checkpoints of tumor and stroma inhibit immune cells function in the tumor microenvironment. We study this using human in vitro models but also in samples of melanoma patients that underwent recent neoadjuvant immunotherapy with differently responder status. We perform this study in close collaboration with the group of Christian Blank at the NKI.

• You will perform immune phenotyping of anti-cancer immuneresponses in lymfoid organs and the tumor microenvironment;
• You will perform multiplex confocal microscopy in combination with histocytometry analysis to elucidate spatial distributions  of immune parameters in the dynamic tumor microenvironment;
• You will perform biomarker analysis in serum of melanoma patients;
• You will use state-of-the-art high-dimensional cytometry techniques, RNA-sequencing and will apply bioinformatics to analyze the data;
• You will perform 3D co-cultures of glycoengineered tumor-stromal-immune cells or single cell tumor biopsies;
• You will design and write scientific articles and present data on scientific conferences.

We are looking for a highly motivated and enthusiastic researcher with:

• A Master’s degree in a field related to biomedical sciences, (medical) biology, biochemistry or bioinformatics;
• Affinity for immunology and cancer;
• Interest in high-dimensional and single-cell technologies and pushing the boundaries of research through technology-driven applications;
• Excellent communications skills in English, both written and verbal;
• Team player with strong collaborative skills and proactive attitude.