PhD student extracellular vesicles in cancer

PhD student on extracellular vesicles in cancer

Deadline 15 Mar ’26 Published 11 Feb ’26 Vacancy

Welcome to Maastricht University! Are you aware that hypoxia is a common feature of human solid cancers that contributes to therapy resistance and metastasis development? In part, this is caused by communication via extracellular vesicles. In this position you will perform research at the cutting edge of an important and newly identified subpopulation of extracellular vesicles. The work will stretch from basal and mechanistic understanding of how these EV function and contribute to cancer progression to in vivo efficacy determination.

PhD student on extracellular vesicles in cancer PhD student to unravel mechanisms of action and therapeutic potential of hypoxic extracellular vesicles in cancer.

• Our goal
  :
  Identify the mechanism why these specific EV appear to be targeted to specific recipient cells and exploit this knowledge for potential therapeutic interventions.
• Your colleagues
  : A collaborative team at the dept. of Radiotherapy. Furthermore, as part of a Flemish‑Dutch consortium, you will benefit from expertise and collaboration with Uhasselt and KULeuven.

The dept. of Radiotherapy is a basic and translational research laboratory embedded within the GROW research institute of the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences at Maastricht University. The radiotherapy lab is shared with the group “Precision Medicine” and collectively accommodates 8 permanent scientists, 6 technicians, more than 10 PhD students and Post‑Docs and is fully equipped for cell culture, molecular and cellular biology (flow cytometry, hypoxia, gene expression, proteomics and microscopy) and working with animals (optical imager, an advanced small animal irradiator with cone beam CT & gantry, MRI 7 Tesla and micro‑PET).

The dept of radiotherapy has set up the necessary infrastructure for controlled exposures to hypoxia and hypoxia/reoxygenation, including development of novel equipment that allows rapid and controlled changes in oxygenation. Access to expertise, equipment and resources within the much larger GROW research institute and other facilities in the University are also readily available, including the genome centre, advanced microscopy, and the animal facility.

To strengthen our research activities we are looking for a Phd‑student to unravel the mechanism of action of hypoxia‑specific extracellular vesicles with the aim to assess its therapeutic potential.

The project is part of an international consortium. An additional PhD‑student will be recruited (KULeuven/UHasselt) that will focus on EV secreted by non‑cancerous pathologies and setting up a platform to detect hypoxic EV in complex fluids such as plasma. The both of you will benefit from each others expertise and input.

The proposed work in this vacancy will be executed at the lab of the dept. of Radiotherapy (UM, group Prof. K. Rouschop/dr. T. Keulers). A large number of techniques and collaborations with experts in the field of extracellular vesicles will be at your disposal.

In this position you will perform research at the cutting edge of an important and newly identified subpopulation of extracellular vesicles. The work performed will stretch from basal and mechanistic understanding of how these EV function and contribute to cancer progression. The work will therefore stretch from “wet‑lab” experiments to in vivo application.

We’re not looking for check boxes; we’re interested in who you are and what you bring. Do you recognize yourself in this?

• Creative and ambitious – You are hard‑working, creative and persistent.
• Strong academic foundation – You have (or will have before start) a MSc degree in Bio‑medical, bio‑pharmaceutical sciences or another relevant programme.
• Art 9 certification to work with animals or willingness to obtain art 9 certification.
• Collaborative mindset – You communicate clearly and contribute effectively within a research team.
• Fluent in English – You have strong spoken and written English skills (C1 level).

At Maastricht University, you’ll work in an international, open, and engaged environment. We offer:

• A…