PhD position in cancer research

• Application Deadline: April 1 2026
• Nijmegen
• Hybrid

Job Description

Job description

The IMMUNO-PROT consortium is offering five fully funded PhD positions across the Netherlands for talented biomedical researchers who would like to push scientific boundaries in molecular and immune radiation oncology.

IMMUNO-PROT is a national multidisciplinary research consortium funded by the Dutch Cancer Society (KWF) and coordinated by the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG) uniting the three national proton therapy centers (UMCG PTC HollandPTC Maastro/ZonPTC) with Radboudumcs onco-radiation immunology expertise.

This project aims to establish the scientific foundation required to optimize proton therapy-immunotherapy combination strategies for head-and-neck cancer. By elucidating the mechanisms that drive radiation-induced immunogenic responses we seek to inform and accelerate future clinical translation. Our central hypothesis is that proton therapy enhances the efficacy of immunotherapy by eliciting distinct tumour-directed immune responses while preserving systemic immune competence.

The consortium includes five full time 4-year long PhD positions across the Netherlands offering training cutting-edge research and interdisciplinary collaboration in molecular radiation and immune oncology. Below an overview of the work-packages (WPs) and the PhD project topics.

Available PhD positions

WP1: Proton therapy-induced cell-intrinsic inflammatory signalling
PhD1: This PhD project will dissect the molecular mechanisms involving DNA repair cell cycle control and inflammatory signalling triggered by proton therapy. We will identify underlying mechanisms and aim to reveal vulnerabilities that are therapeutically actionable to potentiate proton therapy (UMCG Groningen The Netherlands).
PhD2: This PhD project aims to identify actionable mediators of proton-induced secreted inflammatory responses including soluble factors and extracellular vesicles that can enhance anti-tumour immunity using cell models and patient-derived head-and-neck cancer organoids and to define corresponding patient-cohort biomarkers to guide proton therapy-immunotherapy combinations (Maastricht University Maastricht The Netherlands).

WP2: Immune impact and combined responses of proton therapy with immunomodulatory agents
PhD3: This PhD project aims to define how radiotherapy and proton therapy modulate immune responses both alone and in combination with immunomodulatory agents. Molecular and immunological effects on immune cell function and immune-tumour cell crosstalk will be examined in 2D/3D head-and-neck cancer co-cultures and ex vivo tissue slice models in collaboration with Erasmus MC using state-of-the-art technologies (Radboudumc Nijmegen The Netherlands).

WP3: Optimal proton therapy and immunotherapy in vivo combination strategies
PhD4: This PhD project will investigate interactions between immune cells and tumour cells using patient-derived head-and-neck cancer slice cultures and in vivo models including the analysis of proton-induced immunomodulatory effects and sparing of lymphoid structures. Detailed immune profiling will be performed in close collaboration with Radboudumc (Erasmus MC Rotterdam The Netherlands).
PhD5: Using patient-derived head-and-neck cancer tumoroids salivary gland organoids and in vivo models this project focuses on validating recently identified immunomodulatory targets such as inflammatory-response agonists as well as novel targets in combination with proton therapy and ultra-high-dose-rate (FLASH) proton therapy (UMCG Groningen The Netherlands).

Place of work

You will join a collaborative national network of leading Dutch universities and medical centers. Across the consortium researchers apply cutting-edge omics platforms mechanistic modelling molecular biology and advanced radiation technologies to answer key questions in radiation onco-immunology. More information on the participating researchers and their research interests can be found at their institute locations.

• Prof. M. van Vugt (PhD1); Dr. L. Barazzuol and Prof. R. Coppes (PhD5) UMCG;
• Prof. M. Vooijs and Prof. K. Rouschop (PhD2) Maastricht University;
• Prof. G. Adema and Dr. M. Ansems (PhD3) Radboudumc;
• Dr. D. van Gent and Dr. J. Essers (PhD4) Erasmus MC.