Junior/Senior Research Technician to Support the Holstege Lab

Duration: 1-year fulltime contract with the possibility of extension

Start date : as soon as possible

The VIB-KU Leuven Center for Neuroscience is part of the VIB Life Sciences Institute and is embedded within the University of Leuven, which ranks among the world’s top 50 universities. At our Center, researchers study the cellular mechanisms of health and disease in the central nervous system.

The Holstege lab , with locations in both in Amsterdam and Leuven, aims to unravel protective mechanisms against neurodegeneration by investigating cognitive healthy centenarians: those who live to extreme ages without dementia. To this extent the 100-Plus study was founded, where centenarians undergo longitudinal cognitive assessment, donate bodily fluids for genetic analyses and biomarker discovery and roughly one third donates their brain.

The Leuven team focuses on processing these brain samples to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying resilience against neurodegeneration. We will contrast the brain samples collected from these centenarians against an age continuum of healthy donors and individuals affected by various forms of neurodegeneration, totaling to over 2,000 human brain samples. We will use an array of -omics techniques, e.g. long read DNA sequencing, single nuclei transcriptomics & ATACseq and multi-modal proteomics, in close collaboration with the team in Amsterdam and the various core facilities at VIB and KU Leuven.

About the role

We are looking for a research technician for the Leuven lab with excellent organizational, management and communication skills, who will support the team in daily research.

The successful candidate:

• has knowledge in general wet lab practice (e.g. tissue processing, DNA/RNA processing, molecular biology, preparing sequencing libraries, etc) and willingness to learn new techniques and protocols;
• will be responsible for aspects of lab organization such as sample management, welcoming and training new lab members, orderings and overseeing biosafety and biobank requirements;
• is pro-active and has the potential to independently oversee experimental execution and planning.

As a young lab, we are committed to ensure that every person in the lab receives the training and mentoring she/he needs, is successful, and feels valued.

Your profile

The successful candidate:

• possesses a (professional) bachelor’s degree in biotechnology or master’s degree in biomedical or biological sciences, or an appropriate related field;
• is skilled in general lab practice and following standard protocols;
• is excited to work with human tissues;
• has basic knowledge in at least one of these fields: molecular and cellular biology / neuroscience;
• must be meticulous, detail-oriented and self-motivated, and able to interact well with other members of a diverse research team;
• has very good organizational and time management skills;
• has very good verbal and written English communication skills.

Our offer

• 1-year contract with the possibility of extension; starting date as soon as possible.
• Access to top state-of-the-art infrastructure
• Learn innovative techniques and tools related to brain aging, from proteomics to single-cell sequencing
• Good technical and career training
• Salary commensurate with experience and qualifications, and extra benefits
• A stimulating international research environment

How to apply

Interested candidates should submit their candidacy through the VIB online application tool only (). Applications via email will not be accepted.

A complete application file (English) should contain the following documents:

• your cover/motivation letter stating career goals, experience, and how these relate to the current position
• your CV
• contact information of 2 references

For further information and questions, please send an email to dr. Annerieke Sierksma (Voir email sur jobs.vib.be).

• Find out more about the Holstege lab: Holstege Lab - Home and the 100-Plus study
• Discover the Center by visiting the website or looking around during a virtual tour
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