PhD student on theranostic agents for breast cancer imaging and therapy

Functieomschrijving

Applications are invited for a highly motivated and enthusiastic PhD student position to contribute to the research of the RadioPharmaceutical Chemistry (RPC) Group. You will work on a project aiming at the development of radiopharmaceuticals for targeted diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.

Functional noninvasive nuclear imaging (i.e. SPECT, PET) can provide accurate assessment of receptor status in primary and metastatic lesions and facilitate personalized treatment planning. Yyou will develop a new generation of peptide-based theranostics pointing at two major Achilles' heels of breast tumors, namely the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) and the gastrin releasing peptide receptors (GRPR). The new radioactive drugs will be capable of providing adequate information about receptor status and subsequently kill the tumor cells when targeted radionuclide therapy is found appropriate.

As a PhD student you will be part of an interdisciplinary research group working in the field of Radiopharmaceutical Sciences. You will be directly responsible for the synthesis, radiolabeling and testing of the newly developed radiopharmaceuticals. Expertise in organic synthesis, analytical techniques (NMR, MS, HPLC) and radiochemistry is essential, together with some degree of cross-training in biology and pharmacology. Skill to design, synthesize and test novel radiopharmaceuticals will be sought. Evidence of a deep understanding of previous fields of research and of independent intellectual and practical contributions to previous research projects will be considered as indicators that such attributes can be brought to bear on the present project.

Functie-eisen