InnoCAR-T is a Marie Curie European Doctorate (DC) training network funded by the European Commission within the Horizon Europe research and innovation action. The InnoCAR-T program aims to develop innovative Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T cell therapy solutions for Point-of-Care localized manufacturing. Hereto, InnoCAR-T exploits state-of-the-art industrial manufacturing and gene-editing technology combined with academic CAR-T concepts and datasets. The InnoCAR-T network comprises 3 academic research institutes/universities and 2 companies and provides intersectoral training for a set of 10 Doctoral candidates, which will qualify them for a career in academia and/or industry.
InnoCAR-T activities start on January 1, 2023. InnoCAR-T partners are located in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Spain and are recruiting 10 highly motivated PhD candidates interested in carrying out breakthrough research on the rapidly expanding and high impact field of CAR-T cancer immunotherapy. Doctoral Candidates (DC) will crucially gain intersectoral experience in their individual research projects, with an academic and an industrial part.
The 10 DC research projects within the InnoCAR-T training network provide an integrated and interconnected research program that is focused on developing the next-generation of CAR-T cell therapeutics that will be produced on-site by academic hospitals. Specifically, we aim to develop innovative manufacturing solutions for Point-of-Care CAR-T production. Secondly, we aim to characterize resistance mechanisms to CAR-T therapy in B cell lymphoma and develop (multiplexed) gene-engineered and/or nanoparticle-modified CAR-T formulations to selectively overcome the immunosuppressive tumor micro-environment.
JOB DESCRIPTION: The InnoCAR-T research program focuses on offering a cutting-edge multidisciplinary training program that will enable outstanding young scientists to generate breakthrough ideas and assume leading positions in academia and industry. This training program includes an array of disciplines, ranging from biomedical sciences (e.g. immunology, antibody engineering, gene-editing) and physical sciences (e.g. chemistry, material science), to development of manufacturing solutions (engineering). The 10 students will start between January 2023 and December 2023. Each position will be for 36 months and is performed in one of the following projects/partner labs:
- University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG), Groningen, Netherlands
- University of Gent, Gent, Belgium
- The Fundació Clínic per a la Recerca Biomèdica (FCRB), Barcelona, Spain
- Scinus Cell Expansion NL BV, Bilthoven, The Netherlands
- Integra therapeutics, Barcelona, Spain
InnoCAR-T students will gain substantial interdisciplinary and intersectoral experience with secondments in other labs of the network and will benefit from innovative summer/winter schools covering all PhD training aspects: Scientific education, Project Management, Communication skills, Career Development, etc.
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: As a mobile and early-stage researcher you have to fulfill the following conditions: A Doctoral candidate is defined as a student being in the first four years of his/her research career at the time of the recruitment and a student who does not have a doctoral degree. The research career starts after the degree that enables a student to proceed with a PhD (usually, the Master degree) has been obtained.
MOBILITY RULE: At the time of the recruitment by the host laboratory, young researchers must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of their host laboratory for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately before the recruitment date.
InnoCAR-T is a Doctoral Network (DN) designed to provide training and carry out breakthrough research on the rapidly expanding and high-impact field of Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T cell immunotherapy in a carefully integrated academic and inter-sectoral programme. In brief, the programme will develop innovative CAR-T concepts, including state-of-the-art gene editing and nanotech-based drug delivery to deliver next-generation CAR-T immunotherapeutics. Importantly, InnoCAR-T implements these innovations in tailored manufacturing solutions for local academic production to enable rapid clinical translation. Hereby, we further aim to deliver a set of early-stage researchers uniquely qualified for a career in academia and/or industry.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
How to apply:
Send your complete application as a single PDF file (5 MB max.)
- a cover letter, stating your research motivation and interests; including relevant background.
- CV (with list of publications or poster presentations)
- 2 letters of recommendation
REQUIREMENTS: YEARS OF RESEARCH EXPERIENCE: 1 - 4 years REQUIRED EDUCATION LEVEL: Biological sciences/ Chemistry: Master Degree or equivalent REQUIRED LANGUAGES: English - Excellent CONTACT: Please send your application to the e-mail address in the individual job offers.
APPLICATION DEADLINE:
- DC1: Scalable and integrated manufacturing of lentiviral particles
- DC2: Rapid and stable GMP-grade manufacturing of gene-editing nucleases
- DC3: Innovative transfection tools for efficient and versatile ex vivo CAR-T modification
- DC4: Ex vivo CAR-T modulation with tailored nanoparticle formulations
- DC5: Development of multiplex editing systems for CAR-T cells
- DC6: Establishing key immunosuppressive mechanisms associating with resistance or relapse upon CAR-T therapy in DBLCL patients
- DC7: Development of gene-edited CAR-T to resist immunosuppression
- DC8: Development of multiplex-modified knock-out and knock-in CAR-T cells to resist immunosuppression
- DC9: Development of nanoparticle/CAR-T fusions for tumour-localized release of immunostimulatory drugs
- DC10: Tumor-localized CAR-T production of immunomodulators and bispecific checkpoint inhibitors