PhD student in synthetic organic​/medicinal chemistry

Join us in finding a new tracer to detect malaria parasites in the liver in an early stage of disease.

We are looking for a highly motivated and enthusiastic PhD student (promovendus f/m) to join the Tracer Center Amsterdam (TCA). The successful candidate will work on an ERC Synergy funded collaborative research project focused on the development of Positron Emission Tomography (PET) tracers for malaria parasites. The position will be placed in a highly interdisciplinary research setting that brings together scientists from a number of disciplines including molecular biology, medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, radiopharmaceutical chemistry and imaging.

As a PhD student in this project, your main task will be to design and synthesize novel ligands for a biological target that shows increased expression in parasites developing from a dormant to an active state. You will subsequently radiolabel promising compounds for in vitro and in vivo applications. You will be part of a multidisciplinary team at the TCA and will work closely together with research groups from the consortium partners at BPRC (Prof.

Cocken) and Radboud University (Prof. Bartfai).

• synthesize biologically active compounds for the target of interest;
• carry out structure‑activity relationship studies;
• radiolabel selected PET candidates;
• work closely with our collaborators;
• present at meetings, symposia and conferences;
• be involved in supervision of BSc and MSc students.

• a MSc degree in medicinal chemistry or organic chemistry;
• experience in synthetic organic chemistry;
• an interest in drug/tracer development;
• good collaboration skills;
• excellent communications skills in English, both spoken and written;
• intended start date for the project is September 1, 2026;
• You will be employed by Amsterdam UMC Research BV;
• A contract for 12 months, with the intention to extend for a total of four years. The Guideline PhD contract applies to this vacancy;
• Classification in salary scale OIO: € 3.108 to € 3.939 gross for full‑time employment (depending on experience). In addition to a good basic salary, we offer 8.3% end‑of‑year bonus. As of 1 July 2026, the salary will be increased by 3.5% in accordance with the collective labor agreement (CAO UMC).
• Holiday hours: 194.4 per year for full time and a possibility to save additional hours;
• 100% reimbursement for public transport travel costs. If you travel by foot, bicycle, or car, a mileage allowance of €0.21 per km applies (up to a maximum of 40 km one way by car);
• Pension accrual with BeFrank, a modern, comprehensible and fairly priced pension.

The Amsterdam UMC wishes our staff to reflect the diversity of society and thus welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background.

For more information about this position please contact Johanna Stéen at j.steen or Bert Windhorst dhorst. For more information about the procedure, please contact Freek van der Hoeve
, recruitmentadvisor at f.r.vanderhoeve.