13 Postdoctoral Fellowship at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), Netherlands

A 2-year Postdoctoral Researcher position is available in a collaborative project between the Gruβmayer Lab (https://www.tudelft.nl/grussmayerlab) in the Department of Bionanoscience (TU Delft) and the Kanaar lab (https://www.erasmusmc.nl/en/research/groups/kanaar-lab) in the Department of Molecular Genetics (Erasmus MC). The project can start from October 2022 and the vacancy will remain open until a suitable candidate is found.

Imaging distributions of radiolabeled molecules using PET and SPECT scaners is key for discovering mechanisms of disease, new pharmaceuticals and diagnostic tracers. The application of radiotracers that combine a predictive biomarker with a therapeutic agent -theranostic tracers– and the demand for multi-tracer imaging are witnessing an impressive growth. The postdoc will be part of a project that aims at developing a novel small animal PET-SPECT scanner that

In this project, we combine the expertise of two different faculties within Delft University of Technology to create such a proof-of-principle hydrogen sensor: the Faculty of Aerospace has expertise on fibre optic sensing and the Faculty of Applied Sciences on optical hydrogen sensing materials. The project consists of three main parts:

(1) Measure existing hydrogen sensing materials under conditions relevant to aviation (e.g. low temperatures) and develop new materials if required. While many materials have been developed for room temperature applications, at present these materials have not been measured at low temperatures. This part will mainly be experimental and will involve the deposition of the thin film materials with a thickness of tens of nanometres (magneton sputtering) and testing/analysis of the materials under various conditions (temperature, hydrogen concentration) with optical and structural measurements (for example X-ray diffraction)

(2) Creating and testing a fibre-optic hydrogen sensing with the developed hydrogen sensing materials such as a fibre Bragg grating or a micro-mirror sensor. The fibres will be coated with the developed hydrogen sensing materials, which will have a thickness of tens of nanometres. This part of the project will be a combination of modelling the fibre optical system and experimentally realising the most optimal configuration.

(3) Constructing a proof-of-principle prototype sensor that can be used as a portable demonstrator. This part will be a combination of experiments and engineering.

With the advancement of quantum computers and the associated algorithms, different fields have started to exploit inherent quantum mechanical features such as superposition and entanglement and investigate if they can leverage them in their fields. Among different quantum applications, quantum(-enhanced) machine learning (QML) has already shown its effectiveness in different domains. This project aims to develop a quantum machine learning algorithm for detecting/predicting damage in dynamic systems and structures. To do so, the postdoctoral reasearcher will perform data encoding and make QML models to be trained/performed in simulated and real quantum computers.

Computational Scattered Light Imaging (ComSLI) is a highly promising new imaging technique that resolves nerve fiber pathways and their crossings with micrometer resolution. While other scattering techniques raster-scan the tissue with a light beam and measure the distribution of scattered light behind the sample, ComSLI uses a reverse setup: The whole tissue section is illuminated from many different angles and the normally transmitted light is measured, thus enabling much higher resolutions and requiring only standard optical components (LED light source and camera). Our lab aims at further developing ComSLI and exploiting applications beyond neuroscience. We are looking for a talented and driven candidate to join our new lab as post-doctoral fellow, guiding the further development of Computational Scattered Light Imaging and exploiting applications beyond neuroscience. Next to the science, we also offer opportunities to career development, in the areas of teaching, leadership, and developing research ideas independently.

The Delft geothermal project (or “Delft Aardwarmte Project – DAPwell”) is not only going to provide large-scale district heating and intermittent thermal energy storage for the TU Delft campus and adjacent city of Delft, it is also set to become a unique R&D infrastructure for geothermal energy in Europe thanks to its extensive geological and geophysical monitoring programme. It will be at the heart of the new “GEoscience Twin for SubSurface Energy Lab (GETSS Energy Lab)” at TU Delft, which has the aim to develop a unique “digital twin” for low-carbon geoenergy reservoirs and provide an inclusive and collaborative research environment for the Department of Geoscience and Engineering and beyond.

This position aims to address these gaps by:

(1) identifying the relevant health system indicators and thresholds for assessing health system performance in terms of its infrastructure and resources (including, for example, workforce availability, critical medical devices and equipment supply chain, drug availability, health technology management, data and informatics infrastructure). The WHO conceptual framework and related literature will be used as a starting point, further informed by key informant interviews and expert consultations (conducted together with the research team)

(2) develop a data collection method for gathering data on the above indicators (including, for example use of routine data in different contexts, surveys, key informant interviews). Importantly, the method will respect responsible data standards, and perform in resource-sparse areas.

(3) pilot collecting the data for the dataset in a number of different countries, and – if possible – over time via appropriate methods (by the postdoctoral researcher themselves, and supported by PhD candidates and MSc students as part of their final thesis projects)

(4) analyse the data for selected questions to assess and compare health system performance objectives by using techniques such as self-organizing maps to identify similar countries or patterns; or principal component analysis to identify vulnerabilities of the health care system (other or additional innovative methods welcome)

(5) develop a plan to extend the data collection to more countries and multiple points in time (leading to a longitudinal dataset). This needs to be made available in an open-source form for researchers and policymakers worldwide to be able to access for their own purposes.

In this one year position you will analyse the GC-MS results of our experimental and archaeological collection of tars and resins. The aim is to pin point biomarkers for the characterisation of ancient organic remains/adhesives and their production methods. You will work closely with our technician, who you are also expected to guide. You will lead the publication of two peer-reviewed papers and co-author several others with team members.

A Postdoctoral Researcher position is available in the Carroll Lab in the Department of Imaging Physics.  The Carroll lab works at the interface of optical physics and neuroscience, developing instrumentation for high-resolution light sheet microscopy and optogenetics.  In this project we investigate mechanisms of axon guidance and synapse formation in the larval zebrafish model. During neuron development, immature synapses undergo plasticity and weaker synapses are designated for pruning. We will use optogenetics to manipulate and direct synaptic plasticity towards specific outcomes.  Intravital fluorescence imaging experiments will focus on imaging axon growth and calcium dynamics. Subsequently, samples will be prepared for nanoscopic analysis by volume electron microscopy.  The researcher will coordinate efforts with specialists in Correlative Light and Electron Microscopy and Data Science through public-private partnerships with ThermoFisher Scientific, Delmic, Technolution, University Medical Center Groningen, and TU Delft. 

We are looking for a highly motivated postdoctoral fellow with significant physics or engineering research experience to develop a novel sequencing technique that probes the protein profile using aptamers with sub-nanometre resolution. This high-resolution method, combined with nanotechnology, will be used for analysing proteoforms, particularly, splicing isoforms and post-translational modifications. We will be able to sequence single proteins and their proteoforms and therefore create the opportunity for single-cell proteomics and screening for on-site medical diagnostics. It will lead to a revolution in biophysics, biotechnology, and healthcare. Do you want to join developoing this ground-breaking technology? Send the application package to Chirlmin Joo. 

The postdoc position is part of the ERC-Advanced Project Nanocubic, in which we target 3D super-resolution microscopy by breakthrough designs of illumination patterns that are sequentially projected into the sample volume, together with advanced image reconstruction techniques. We strive for isotropic resolution on the 100 nm scale in standard fluorescent samples and 1 nm in single-molecule imaging based techniques. The envisioned advances in microscopic imaging further open the nanoscopic world for scientific exploration. The project builds on the lab’s track-record in the field of computational imaging techniques for super-resolution microscopy.