Doctoral grant in medical microbiology

Organisation/Company University of Antwerp Research Field Biological sciences » Other Chemistry » Biochemistry Engineering » Other Medical sciences » Other Pharmacological sciences » Other Technology » Biotechnology Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Final date to receive applications 16 Mar 2026 - 22:59 (UTC) Country Belgium Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Let’s shape the future - University of Antwerp

The University of Antwerp is a dynamic, forward-thinking, European university. We offer an innovative academic education to more than 20000 students, conduct pioneering scientific research and play an important service-providing role in society. We are one of the largest, most international and most innovative employers in the region. With more than 6000 employees from 100 different countries, we are helping to build tomorrow's world every day.

Through top scientific research, we push back boundaries and set a course for the future – a future that you can help to shape.

The Faculty of Medicine and Health Science/Vaccine & Infectious Disease Institute at the University of Antwerp is seeking to fill a full-time (100%) vacancy for a Doctoral Grant in the area of Medical Microbiology under supervision of Prof. Sandra Van Puyvelde.

• You will work actively on the preparation and defence of a PhD thesis in the field of medical microbiology. You will carry out high-quality academic research providing a genomics perspective of coli disease in sub-Saharan Africa.
• You will publish scientific articles related to the research project.
• You will carry out a limited number of teaching and research support tasks.

• You hold a Master degree in Bio-engineering, Biomedical sciences, Pharmaceutical sciences, Biochemistry, Microbiology, Biology, Biotechnology or equivalent degrees or you will have obtained it by the time you start work.
• You have experience working with bacterial pathogens in a microbiological and molecular biology lab environment.
• You hold strong bioinformatics skills, including programming and scripting (R, Python and Bash) and using bacterial bioinformatics tools and databases. You are familiar working on HPC environments.
• Experience working in international environments and in sub-Saharan Africa is considered as a highly valuable asset.
• You can work both independently as well as in an international team
• You can plan and perform laboratory experiments accurately
• You have strong analytical thinking skills, an appropriate problem solving attitude, can systematically approach complex issues and is an excellent planner to meet milestone and deliverable deadlines.
• Fluency in English is required
• Foreign candidates are encouraged to apply.
• Your teaching competences are in line with the University of Antwerp’s educational vision .
• You act with attention to quality, integrity, creativity and cooperation.

• We offer a doctoral scholarship for a period of two years. Following a positive evaluation, the scholarship can be renewed once for another two-year period.
• The planned start date is 1 May 2026 or as soon as possible after that date.
• Your monthly scholarship amount is calculated according to the scholarship amounts for doctoral scholarship holders
• You will receive ecocheques, Internet-connectivity allowance and a bicycle allowance or a full reimbursement of public transport costs for commuting.
• As a doctoral researcher, you will have access to a wide and varied range of courses and an educational credit through the Antwerp Doctoral School .
• You will do most of your work at Campus Drie Eiken in Antwerp in a dynamic and stimulating working environment.
• Find out more about working at the University of Antwerp here .

• You can apply for this vacancy through the University of Antwerp’s online job application platform up to and including 16 March 2026 (by midnight Brussels time). Click on the 'Apply' button and complete the online application form. Be sure to include the following…