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For an innovative research project at KU Leuven-VIB, Belgium, we are looking for a motivated PhD researcher to contribute to fundamental insights into the role and evolution of somatic mosaicism in unexplained inflammatory and immunological disorders.
Start Date: 2025 (depending on your training schedule)
Duration: 4 years
Funding: FWO
Project: Somatic mosaicism in hematoinflammation. SMID study UZ Leuven (S67807)
Supervision: Prof. Dr. Rik Schrijvers (internal medicine, allergy, and clinical immunology UZL, promoter), Prof. Jonas Demeulemeester (KU Leuven-VIB, integrative cancer genomics lab), Dr. Albrecht Betrains (internal medicine UZL), Prof. Dr. Marielle Beckers (hematology UZL).
Somatic mosaicism has recently been linked to disease entities such as VEXAS, where somatic mutations cause immune-mediated inflammation combined with hematological manifestations. We suspect that somatic mosaicism plays a significant role in other (primary) immune deficiencies or unexplained diseases, such as Schnitzler syndrome. However, the mechanisms, as well as the temporal and spatial aspects of hematoinflammatory disorders remain poorly understood. This project combines a solid clinical foundation with cutting-edge sequencing technologies and functional testing to investigate the molecular origin of these processes. We aim to understand the interactions between genetic changes and inflammatory mechanisms, with the ultimate goal of clarifying unexplained diseases and developing new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.
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What are we looking for?
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Interested?
Send your motivation letter, CV, and reference contacts via this website.
For more information, you can contact Prof. Rik Schrijvers (rik.schrijvers@uzleuven.be) or Prof. Jonas Demeulemeester (jonas.demeulemeester@kuleuven.be) or Dr. Willem Roosens, mail:
willem.roosens@uzleuven.be.
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