PhD student: unravelling Siglec-dependent immune suppression

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. For this, we are using human in vitro models of pancreas tumor and stromal cells and study their modulatory effects on Siglec 7 and Siglec 9 expressing immune cells. We perform this study in close collaboration with the group of Alessandra Cambi from RadboudUMC.

• You will perform immune phenotyping of the tumor microenvironment of Pancreatic cancer;
• 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 use state-of-the-art high-dimensional cytometry techniques, RNA-sequencing and will apply bioinformatics to analyze the data;
• You will generate glycoengineered tumor and stromal cells and perform 3D co-cultures of them toghether with 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 and interest in molecular cell biology;
• Affinity with 3D tumour organoid, and cellular co-cultures;
• Interest in pushing the boundaries of research through technology-driven applications;
• Excellent communication skills in English, both written and verbal;
• Team player with strong collaborative skills and a proactive attitude.