The Laboratory of Computational Biology at the University of Leuven (Belgium) and the Quantitative Biology group at the University of Utrecht and Hubrecht Institute (Netherlands) are seeking a highly motivated PhD student interested in single-cell biology and computational modelling.
Your goal will be to develop new single-cell assays and/or computational strategies to model genomic regulatory programs, using a variety of single-cell epigenomics and transcriptomics data sets. In total, you will spend two years in Leuven at the Aerts lab, focusing on droplet microfluidics and dynamic gene regulatory networks, and two years at the van Oudenaarden lab, focusing on novel single-cell sequencing technologies. During your stay in Leuven you will also collaborate with the Thienpont lab of functional epigenomics. Depending on your interest, you can combine wet-lab and dry-lab experiments, or focus entirely on computational and machine-learning challenges. You can work on a range of model systems, including Drosophila, zebrafish, mouse, ES cells, and human gastruloids and organoids.
Profile
- MSc degree in Physics, Computer Science, Bioinformatics, Engineering, or Life Sciences.
- Experience with programming is required.
- Experience with machine-learning is a plus.
- Experience with wet-lab experiments is a plus.
- You like to work in a team, you are passionate about science.
We offer
- A fully funded 4 year PhD fellowship
- Two stimulating international research environments at KU Leuven and Utrecht University
- Depending on your interest, you can start in Leuven or in Utrecht, you can switch either on a yearly or two-yearly basis between the labs.
- You will receive a double PhD degree from the Leuven and Utrecht Universities
- Both our labs have access to state-of-the-art single-cell genomics and computational infrastructure
- You can learn new state of the art and pioneering techniques and computational methods
Starting date: October 2021
How to apply?
Please complete the online application procedure and include a detailed CV, a motivation letter describing previous research experience and the names and contact information of 2 references.
For more information: contact a.vanoudenaarden@hubrecht.eu, stein.aerts@kuleuven.be, and bernard.thienpont@kuleuven.be
Visit our websites: www.aertslab.org and https://www.hubrecht.eu/research-groups/van-oudenaarden-group/