Are you a dedicated and ambitious researcher who wants to conduct translational immunological research using state-of-the-art technologies? In addition, do you have a keen interest in human immunology, mucosal immunity, aging, vaccinology and/or high dimensional cellular analysis? Then you might be the interested in the following postdoc position at Leiden University Centre for Infectious Diseases.
The role:
Respiratory tract infections cause substantial disease and mortality in the elderly. How local immunity to causative pathogens is build and maintained remains an open question with important implications for novel (mucosal) vaccines. In this project, you will analyse nasal samples that are collected longitudinally from patients with infections such as flu, RSV and pneumococcus as well as from cohorts of healthy individuals of varying ages. By applying single-cell approaches as RNA/TCR-Seq and spectral cytometry you will identify and characterize antigen-specific T cells to such infections and see how they are recruited and maintained in mucosa versus blood. You will link this to recurrence of infection, while the effect of advanced age and frailty will also be dissected.
In short
· You will use unique clinical samples to study mucosal immunity during respiratory infections, such as influenza, in elderly patients
· You have experience in immunology and high-dimensional data analysis
· You will work in an innovative academic environment
Requirements:
You hold a (bio)medical or biochemical academic degree and a PhD in immunology. Furthermore, you have hands-on experience with multi-parameter single cell analysis, such as with multi-parameter flow cytometry, mass cytometry or scRNA-Seq, and experience in data analysis (in R). We are looking for an enthusiastic and ambitious colleague who is proactive and determined. You work well within an interdisciplinary team, and you have excellent communication skills and the ability to coordinate with colleagues (clinicians/bio-informaticians). Experience in human immunology, in particular related to antigen-specific T cells or mucosal immunology would be an advantage. Do you recognize yourself in this description? If so, then why not apply?