IRP4—biomedical sciences and engineering, material sciences

Research topic:

Development of a novel multi-functional wound dressing

Recruiting organization:

Maastricht University

Aachen-Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials

Application deadline:

March 11th 2018

Starting time:

June 2018 or as mutually agreed (1-2 months changes to the intended starting time are possible)

Contract duration:

48 months

Trial period:

After 1 year there is a go/no-go moment and beside that, there is a probation time of two months after the start of the appointment.
Salary Your salary would be € 2.222,- gross per month in the first year up to € 2.840,- gross per month in the fourth year according to the PhD salary scale. You will receive a mobility allowance and, if applicable, a family allowance from the FibreNet program. The family status will be determined at the date of the (first) recruitment. For more details, see Section 5 of the MSCA-ITN guide.

For more information on The research topic (scientific content), contact the supervisors:

Dr. Samaneh Ghazanfari,

Prof. Stefan Jockenhövel
Over the past decades, Maastricht has changed from a quiet provincial capital to a vibrant, international student city with a renowned university medical centre, a health campus, numerous start-ups, a city centre with enormously divers shopping possibilities, beautiful hotels, countless terraces and many artists who start a studio in town after they graduate.

 

Scientific content

The goal of this project is to develop a novel wound dressing scaffold with consecutive overlapping release profiles of bio-active components to promote all phases of wound healing. Nowadays, there is no single treatment in order to fulfil all requirements of wound healing process. Thus, designing a multi-functional dressing holds considerable promises to cover this gap.

The expected results from the project are as follows:

  1. Production of cellulose aerogel fibres with proper nano-porous network morphology and characteristics
  2. Coating of aerogel fibres with different bio-active agents to promote all phases of wound healing process
  3. Fabrication of the wound dressing with fibres having different functionalities using a proper textile technique
  4. In-vitro assessment of the fabricated dressing by evaluating its adhesion properties and the release profile of different agents
  5. In-vivo assessment of the wound dressing functionality in a rat model

 

The general requirements for all FibreNet positions apply here, i.e.:

  • you may already be in a PhD program but you cannot be a PhD holder,
  • you must have less than 4 years of research experience, i.e., you should be an early-stage researcher,
  • you must not have resided or carried out your main activity in the country of the hiring organization for more than 12 months during the last 3 years immediately prior to the recruitment (short stays such as holidays and/or compulsory national service are not taken into account), and
  • you should have a high-level knowledge of the English language.

 

Furthermore, the position-related requirements are:

  • You hold a master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering, Biomedical Sciences, Material Sciences or relevant fields.
  • You are an independent candidate who is able to work in close collaboration with other researchers.
  • You have affinity with the wound healing research field and drug release studies.
  • You have a strong interest in fibre production and fabrication techniques.

 

How to apply:

Applications must be submitted in English via Academic Transfer: https://www.academictransfer.com/employer/UM/vacancy/45072/lang/en/ (Always mention the job number AT2018.27 and refer to AcademicTransfer).

 

Mandatory appendices:

  • a Curriculum Vitae,
  • a letter of motivation (maximum of one page),
  • the contact details of two referees,
  • a copy of B.Sc. and M.Sc. certificates with annexes, and
  • a language certificate (IELTS, TOEFL, PTE Academic, Cambridge Language Certificate (Proficiency CPE or Advanced CAE) if available.

 

In case no suitable candidates are found, Maastricht University reserves the right to re-open the call.