PhD position: Rationally engineered hydrogels to control osteogenesis via mechanoregulation (P2603)

Universität Basel; Basel; Vor Ort; CHF 60.000 - 70.000; Vollzeit

Benefits dieser Stelle

Fully funded PhD position

SNF-based salary guidelines

Core facilities access

Collaborative environment

Zusammenfassung

University of Basel offers a fully funded PhD position within the Swiss Nanoscience Institute to investigate environmentally instructive hydrogels that mimic jawbone mechanics and guide dental pulp stem cell responses. You will engineer hydrogel architectures, perform cell culture and analyses, and develop computational perspectives to predict cell responses.

The role provides access to state-of-the-art core facilities and close supervision, with opportunities for cross-faculty collaboration and

Qualifikationen

• Experience in mammalian cell culture and analysis.
• Experience with hydrogels and rheometry.
• Strong data analysis and graphical skills.
• Fluency in English and good communication skills.

Aufgaben

• Perform interdisciplinary research on hydrogel design for osteogenesis.
• Characterise cell behaviour under mechanobiological cues.
• Collaborate with core facilities and supervisors to advance project milestones.

Kenntnisse

Cell culture

Microscopy

qRT-PCR

Data analysis

Ausbildung

PhD in a relevant field

Tools

Rheometry

Atomic Force Microscopy

GraphPad

MATLAB

Jobbeschreibung

We aim to pursue a new interdisciplinary approach, combining the synthesis of multi-functional culture-matrices with cell-instructive viscoelastic properties, in-depth cell characterisation, and computational modelling to investigate the relationship between matrix properties and osteogenesis. This will contribute to deciphering the importance of mechanical stimulation of the cellular microenvironment, and advance understanding of osteoinductive scaffold development in bone tissue engineering. Our three objectives are a) to rationally engineer hydrogels tuned to the specific mechanical requirements for osteogenesis b) to dissect how targeted manipulation of the hydrogel affects mechanoregulation in human dental pulp stem cells, and c) to propose a computational model to elucidate and predict the cell response.

A key innovation in this PhD project is to engineer environmentally (cell)-instructive hydrogels with controlled architecture (pore size, network interconnectivity) and mechanical properties (viscoelasticity) to recapitulate the mechanical micro-environment of the jawbone. Mechanosensitive complexes within the hydrogel form stimuli-responsive cross-links that adjust hydrogel viscoelasticity as a function of cytoskeletal tension, guiding cell growth.

Your position

We aim to pursue a new interdisciplinary approach, combining the synthesis of multi-functional culture-matrices with cell-instructive viscoelastic properties, in-depth cell characterisation, and computational modelling to investigate the relationship between matrix properties and osteogenesis. This will contribute to deciphering the importance of mechanical stimulation of the cellular microenvironment, and advance understanding of osteoinductive scaffold development in bone tissue engineering. Our three objectives are a) to rationally engineer hydrogels tuned to the specific mechanical requirements for osteogenesis b) to dissect how targeted manipulation of the hydrogel affects mechanoregulation in human dental pulp stem cells, and c) to propose a computational model to elucidate and predict the cell response.

Your profile

• Mammalian cell culture and analysis (Microscopy, qRT-PCR)
• Hydrogel formulations and characterisation (Rheometry, Atomic Force Microscopy)
• Data analysis and graphical representation (GraphPad, MATLAB, R or similar)
• Fluency in English and good communication skills

We offer you

• Fully paid PhD position, affiliated with the Swiss Nanoscience Institute, University of Basel, with a salary based on the guidelines from the Swiss National Science Foundation.
• Close guidance from supervisor and co-supervisor as well as technical and administrative support.
• Possibilities for collaborative work within the Medical Faculty and the Faculty of Science.
• Access to state-of-the art core facilities for FACS, Confocal Microscopy and the Nano Imaging Lab for electron microscopy.