PhD Position Modelling- Cell Engineering Upscaled Cultivated Meat NL, CD

PhD Position Modelling-inspired Cell Engineering for Upscaled Cultivated Meat

Are you ready to combine innovative computational approaches with cutting‑edge genetic tools to engineer the next generation of cell lines for cost‑effective, scalable, delicious cruelty‑free meat?

"Cultivated meat", the production of genuine meat products from in vitro culture of animal cells, is an emerging biotechnology within cellular agriculture that could revolutionise food production. Higher eukaryotic cells in their unmodified state have severe limitations with respect to in vitro culture, presenting major challenges for scalability. These include slow proliferation rates, sensitivity to shear stress and a marked preference for adherent growth.

Cell engineering offers a potential solution to develop more scalable cell lines, but is held back by a limited understanding of the conditions that cells experience in large‑scale cultures. This PhD position will develop computational tools—such as compartment models and CFD simulations—to model large‑scale animal cell culture in bioreactors, and use these models to design and develop scale‑down systems that mimic the heterogeneous environment cells experience at large scale.

The successful candidate will then engineer bovine satellite cell lines with improved phenotypes related to shear stress resistance, metabolite gradient tolerance and metabolic efficiency, demonstrating their performance first in scale‑down systems and later in large bioreactors.

The research is funded as part of the Cellular Agriculture Netherlands Open Calls Programme and will involve collaboration with industry partners and external experts.

• MSc degree in a relevant field such as cell biology, biotechnology or a related biological science (essential).
• Prior lab experience in molecular biology, cloning and genetic manipulation (essential).
• Prior experience or strong interest in computational modelling or other dry‑lab techniques (highly desirable).
• Prior experience with mammalian cell culture (desirable, but not essential).
• Strong interest in cellular agriculture/cultivated meat (essential).
• Strong collaboration, communication and writing skills.

Doctoral candidates will be offered a 4‑year period of employment composed of two contracts: an initial 1½‑year contract with a progress assessment after 15 months, followed by an additional 2½‑year contract if performance requirements are met.

Salary and benefits follow the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, ranging from €3,059 to €3,881 gross per month from year one to year four, based on a full‑time contract (38 hours). Additional benefits include 8 % holiday allowance, an end‑of‑year bonus of 8.3 % and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged. The PhD candidate will be enrolled in the TU Delft Graduate School and will receive a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance and access to university resources.

For more information about this vacancy or our research group, please contact Dr. Joshua Flack at J.E.Flack. The PhD position is envisaged to start at the end of 2026 or January 2027.