The Laboratory for Cell Stress & Immunity, at KU Leuven, Belgium seeks a highly motivated PhD student.

Broad Research Topic:
Next-generation immunotherapy strategies for kidney cancer: a multi-omics & translational immunology-driven approach

Description:
This position is available at KU Leuven within the context of a research project at the interface of translational research and clinical setting. Our project brings together a translational immunology research group led by Prof. Abhishek D. Garg, further working together with the groups of Prof. Dr. Benoit Beuselinck (clinician/oncologist specializing in kidney cancers) and Prof. Stefan Naulaerts (specializing in computational oncology). This project's aims are located at the interface of the immunobiology of kidney cancer, multi-omics bioinformatics, and translational immunotherapy. With this project we ambitiously aim to go significantly beyond the current state-of-the-art, by proposing innovative and interdisciplinary research theme, integrating methodology from various fields of kidney cancer biology, T cell immunology & immunotherapy; and cover multiple levels from integrated omics to translational immunotherapy.

The current PhD position is immediately available for a highly motivated candidate within the research group of Prof. Abhishek D. Garg. Don't wait for the deadline to apply since the incoming applications will be continuously considered. The recruited PhD student will perform translational & multi-omics research focused on discovery of next-generation immunotherapy for kidney cancer through different state-of-the-art approaches integrating multi-omics and translational immunology.

You must hold a MD or MSc/Masters' degree in medicine, biotechnology, biosciences, biomedicine, bioinformatics, or equivalent related fields from a recognized university.
You must have demonstrated following skills: cell culture, basic animal handling, basic in vitro experiments, basic analytical analyses, basic laboratory skills, basic data analyses & statistics.
You must have solid knowledge of immunology, oncology, and/or cancer biology.
Practical knowledge and skills in immuno-oncology or bioinformatics would be a plus (but not a necessity).
You should be a team player with good oral and written (English) communication skills.

Key Responsibilities (include but are not limited to):

Performing experiments dealing with immunology, omics-related basic bioinformatics, and in vivo tumor immunology & immunotherapy.
Delivering presentations (oral or poster) inconsortium/institutional seminars and national/international symposiums or conferences.
Eager to carry out visitations (if required) to other laboratories (within Belgium or abroad) for learning new techniques.
Eager to co-supervise the thesis projects of master's students.

At least a 4-year contract (although we do encourage the candidate to apply for a personal PhD fellowship to be part of this program for a longer period).
Access to state-of-the-art infrastructures and active collaborations with well-known Belgian or international laboratories.
A stimulating, international research environment in a world-class academic laboratory and the opportunity to interact with several highly collaborative, world-class investigators part of this program.
Possibility to interface with and influence kidney cancer patient management thereby creating high value via socio-economic impact. This is uniquely possible due to our interfacing and collaboration with an oncologist working at University Hospital Leuven/UZ Leuven.

For more information please contact Prof. Abhishek D. Garg, mail: abhishek.garg@kuleuven.be
You can apply for this job no later than 04/11/2025 via the online application tool

KU Leuven – startersjobs & PhD

Latest Jobs

PhD position on Cancer Immunology & Immunotherapy