Are you curious, ambitious, and excited to contribute to innovative research that could redefine how we treat osteoarthritis? We are looking for a motivated PhD candidate for a cutting-edge project at Radboudumc that aims to unravel and therapeutically target dysregulated energy metabolism in osteoarthritis (OA) joint synovium.

What makes this PhD position unique?

• You work on an innovative project that addresses the urgent unmet need of OA therapy.
• You integrate molecular immunology, energy metabolism, translational OA research, and drug repurposing.
• You have or gain expertise in gene expression profiling, pathway analysis, joint biology, reporter‑platform technologies, and therapeutic screening.
• You join an interdisciplinary research environment within Radboudumc.
• Your work directly contributes to developing personalised treatment strategies for OA.
• The project is already well underway, with data collection and experimental platforms in place, making a focused and feasible 3‑year PhD trajectory realistic.

Most osteoarthritis (OA) patients have inflammation in their affected joints. Metabolic processes strongly influence the inflammatory status of immune cells, such as macrophages which are central in the OA-associated inflammation. In this project, you will identify aberrant metabolic pathways in OA and therapeutically target them, aiming to reduce OA‑related symptoms and processes. Finally, you will stratify patients based on activation profiles to identify personalised, metabolism‑targeted treatment strategies. The availability of existing datasets and ongoing sample collection ensures that you can quickly progress into analysis and experimental validation, supporting the feasibility of the 3‑year timeframe.

Why Radboudumc?
At Radboudumc, you combine clinical relevance with cutting‑edge science in an environment where collaboration and innovation are central. You will have ample opportunities for personal development, teamwork, and presenting your work at national and international conferences. Hybrid working is possible for tasks such as data analysis and writing.

Your role
As a PhD candidate, you are at the core of the project. You will perform all wet lab analyses using advanced techniques such as cell culture, reporter analyses and RNA-sequencing. You will perform the data analysis, including bioinformatics. You translate molecular insights into clinical applications and contribute to scientific publications and presentations.