Postdoctoral Researcher - Preclinical Cancer Drug Development

We have developed a new class of oncology drugs that exploit the tumour microenvironment for selective activation that target the NOTCH stem-cell pathway in cancer. We are looking for an ambitious postdoctoral researcher to establish their therapeutic potential in advanced in vivo cancer models. You will determine efficacy, mechanism of action and tumour-microenvironment responses, and investigate how these drugs can improve treatment when combined with standard-of-care therapies and immunotherapy.

Postdoctoral Researcher – Preclinical Cancer Drug Development

• Our goal: We are developing a new class of tumour-selective small-molecule drugs targeting the NOTCH pathway, designed to become activated only within the tumour microenvironment. By restricting drug activity to tumours, we aim to target treatment-resistant cancer cells while limiting exposure and toxicity in healthy tissues. Our initial disease focus is triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), where we will determine efficacy as monotherapy and in rational combinations with established cancer treatments.
  
  The broader objective is to establish a tumour-specific precision-oncology platform that can subsequently be applied to other difficult-to-treat cancers.
• Your colleagues: You will join the group of Marc Vooijs in the Radiotherapy department at Maastricht University and Maastro Radiation Institute, working in a multidisciplinary environment spanning basic and translational cancer biology, including expertise in stem cell biology, tumour metabolomics and vesicle biology and primary (patient) tissue culture models. You will collaborate with scientists and clinicians and contribute to a programme designed to bridge academic discovery to preclinical drug development.
  
  This is a 3-year Dutch Cancer Society (Alpe d’Huzes/KWF-funded) project starting on 01-01-2027.

What you do

• Design, perform and analyse in vivo breast-cancer studies, using immune-competent TNBC models.
• Establish drug dose, schedule and treatment conditions for drug-combination strategies, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy.
• Quantify tumour response, tolerability and survival, and relate these to pharmacokinetics, tumour-selective drug activation and target engagement.
• Characterise treatment-induced changes in the tumour microenvironment, including tumour, vascular and immune responses, using molecular, histological and imaging approaches.
• Identify and validate pharmacodynamic and response biomarkers to support patient stratification and clinical translation.
• Communicate results through project meetings, scientific presentations and high-quality publications and contribute scientifically to subsequent translational studies and funding applications.
• Support some teaching activities related to Oncology

Are you ready to set the course for the years ahead? Then we’d love to meet you.

What you bring
We are looking for a motivated biomedical scientist who wants to use advanced cancer models to translate innovative biology into new therapeutic strategies. Do you recognise yourself in this?

• PhD in cancer biology, with a demonstrated track record of peer-reviewed publications in a relevant research area.
• Strong hands-on experience within vivo cancer models is essential, including experimental design, tumour-response assessment and tissue collection. A valid Article 9 qualification or equivalent is required.
• A strong interest in translational oncology, innovation and preclinical drug development is essential.
• Experience with the tumour immune microenvironment and/or immuno-oncology is preferred.
• Experience with molecular and
  -omics analysis of tumours is preferred, including transcriptomic, single-cell, spatial or…