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ACTA EPIC PhD Position: Implant-Associated Infection and Host Compatibility

Project 2232 · Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU) · Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA)

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Save this opportunity and prepare around its actual requirements. Confirm deadlines and eligibility at the original source.

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Country or region
Netherlands
Application deadline
2026-11-16 (confirm the exact time with the source)
Funding
38 h/week; gross €3,204–4,051/month; 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% year-end payment. Initial 1-year contract, extendable for 3 years after positive evaluation; ABP pension, commuting support and 232 h annual leave listed.

The research opportunity

ACTA EPIC PhD Position: Implant-Associated Infection and Host Compatibility

Project overview

The NWO-funded EPIC consortium brings together ACTA, the University of Twente, Micreos, LipoCoat and clinical partners to develop endolysin-based nanocarriers for implant-associated infections. This PhD tests antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity alongside biosafety and host compatibility. The work is preclinical; it is not an approved treatment.

Doctoral work

The advertised work compares planktonic and biofilm-associated Staphylococcus aureus and S. epidermidis, including MRSA. It includes advanced in-vitro biofilm and infection models such as microfluidic systems, testing against intracellular staphylococci, and monitoring resistance development. Human cell cultures and 3D tissue models will be used to assess cytotoxicity, immune responses and effects on bone-related cells. The candidate will work with academic and industry partners, publish findings and present at conferences. Confirm which evidence and materials the doctoral researcher will own and which are supplied by consortium partners.

School, field and supervision

The position is based in ACTA’s Departments of Preventive Dentistry and Oral Cell Biology, in an interdisciplinary setting spanning microbiology, cell biology, biomaterials and host–microbe interactions. ACTA is jointly associated with the University of Amsterdam and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU website); the degree-awarding university depends on the first promotor’s affiliation. A VU-hosted vacancy therefore does not by itself establish the degree university or a joint degree. The advertised supervisory team is Bastiaan Krom, Astrid Bakker, Michel Hoogenkamp and Jianfeng Jin. ACTA registration guidance

Eligibility and application

Applicants need a master’s degree, or be close to completing one, in microbiology, biomedical sciences, molecular or cell biology, immunology, biotechnology, biochemistry or a related field. Experience in microbiology, biofilm research, mammalian cell culture, molecular biology and/or microscopy is relevant; the advert does not require every listed specialism. Strong analytical and communication skills, excellent English and an interest in translational biomedical research are also requested.

Applicants already eligible to work in the Netherlands are strongly encouraged. The advert warns that applications needing immigration sponsorship may not be prioritised because of project timing and administration; this is a material risk to clarify, not an absolute nationality ban. Submit online with a motivation letter, CV and contact details for two academic referees; a diploma is part of the application process. Applications by email are not accepted. Questions may be sent to Michel Hoogenkamp at m.hoogenkamp@acta.nl.

The employer vacancy lists 16 November 2026 and says applications are reviewed until the position is filled. The project information separately specifies 22:59 UTC on that date; confirm the actual system cutoff. Current acceptance status is unconfirmed. Interviews were expected in late November, with a preferred start date of 1 February 2027. Apply through the VU vacancy; the saved AcademicTransfer listing also identifies the position.

Employment and costs

The full-time appointment is 38 hours per week, with gross monthly pay of €3,204–€4,051, an 8% holiday allowance and an 8.3% year-end payment. The initial contract is one year, with three further years conditional on a positive evaluation. The advert also lists 232 hours of annual leave, ABP pension and commuting support. The employer’s 50% contribution is toward a partial-disability insurance premium, not extra salary. The saved material does not specify project-specific tuition or training costs; confirm those and the first-year review conditions before accepting.

Research and application brief

Report generated: . This date does not confirm that recruitment remains open.

Information updated: . Recheck the original notice before applying.

Show report contents

ACTA EPIC PhD Position: Implant-Associated Infection and Host Compatibility

Research question and employment conditions

The scientific question is whether a preclinical implant-infection intervention can improve infection-related outcomes while remaining compatible with host tissues. The post combines relevant experimental work with a concrete employment condition: applicants already eligible to work in the Netherlands are particularly encouraged.

The official VU vacancy, number 1350349, lists 16 November 2026 as its closing date; its rolling process means current acceptance cannot be inferred from that date.

It explicitly warns that applications needing immigration sponsorship may not be prioritised. For an overseas applicant, that is a practical selection risk to clarify early, not an unconditional invitation with guaranteed visa support.

Rolling review continues until appointment; interviews are expected late November and the preferred start is 1 February 2027. Official vacancy

What the project addresses

EPIC investigates preclinical approaches to implant-associated infections, combining endolysin formulations with carrier and coating expertise across ACTA, Twente, Micreos, LipoCoat and clinical partners. The advertised PhD assesses therapeutic effectiveness alongside biosafety and compatibility with host tissues. Its research spans microbial communities, cell responses and tissue-relevant models, with collaboration, publications and conference communication.

The advertised assessment distinguishes planktonic from biofilm-associated S. aureus and S. epidermidis (including MRSA), includes advanced in vitro biofilm and infection models such as microfluidic systems, assesses activity against intracellular staphylococci and monitors resistance development, and evaluates cytotoxicity, immune responses and bone-related cells in human cell culture and 3D tissue models.

The project remains preclinical rather than an established clinical treatment. Project

The important scientific distinction is between reducing an infection-related readout and demonstrating a useful, host-compatible intervention. A formulation may affect cellular responses even when a simple viability measure looks acceptable. Material delivery, tissue context and reproducibility add separate uncertainties. Applicants should ask how independent outcome evidence, partner-supplied materials and host-response interpretation fit into their own thesis responsibilities. These are research-design questions for supervision, not an invitation to claim expertise across every consortium work package.

NWO’s March 2025 funding announcement independently names EPIC and the supervisory/industrial partners.

The official project record runs from September 2025 to September 2030, while the vacancy offers a four-year trajectory subject to evaluation. The funder’s combined award total for five consortia and their possible six-year horizons are not this student’s personal budget or guaranteed employment duration. Funder Project record

University, discipline and training

ACTA is the joint dentistry faculty of the University of Amsterdam and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. This vacancy is hosted in Preventive Dentistry and Oral Cell Biology, combining microbial, cellular and biomaterials research. ACTA’s registration guidance says the degree university depends on the first promotor’s affiliation. A VU-hosted advertisement therefore does not establish a joint degree or conclusively settle VU rather than UvA enrolment.

Ask which route applies and who is the first promotor. Registration Research environment

The ACTA School of PhD Studies provides research-specific, general academic and career-oriented training, including scientific writing and grant-related skills. ACTA candidates register with their own graduate school: Amsterdam UMC’s registration page explicitly excludes dentistry candidates from its medical doctoral school. It would therefore be misleading to import a medicine programme’s training quota automatically.

Confirm the individual training/supervision plan, required courses, progress reviews and thesis rules for the selected university. ACTA doctorate School boundary

For scale, QS lists VU at =185 overall for 2027. QS places ACTA third in dentistry for 2026.

The years and units differ: neither is a ranking of EPIC or the endolysin team. The relevant strength is an established dental research setting linking microbial questions, bone biology and clinical partners, rather than a promise of clinical practice training or professional dentist registration. VU ranking ACTA research

Supervision and recent research

The advertised team is Bastiaan Krom, Astrid Bakker, Michel Hoogenkamp and Jianfeng Jin. Krom brings molecular microbiology and biofilm/host-interaction experience and chairs Preventive Dentistry; Hoogenkamp is recorded as EPIC’s principal investigator and the vacancy contact. Bakker and Jin contribute bone/cell biology and tissue-model expertise.

Official profiles support the complementary skill base, but the division of day-to-day supervision and responsibility for resolving cross-department problems is not specified. Krom Hoogenkamp Bakker Jin

Jin and colleagues’ 2025 study in Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications examines endolysin-associated responses in monocyte-derived host cells. The publisher’s results and discussion were read, although direct download was blocked. Cell formation and immune-associated readouts changed in a study without bacteria or an implant.

The lesson for this application is that compatibility requires more than an absence of overt toxicity; this does not establish clinical safety or the behaviour of the complete EPIC carrier system. Host-response study

Seddiqi, Klein-Nulend and Jin’s 2026 open-access review on osteocyte mechanosensing was read in full through its deposited XML. It connects mechanical/hormonal context, bone-cell communication and tissue regeneration, and discusses reproducibility, scale and regulatory challenges.

It supports the host-tissue side of the project while remaining a review, not a new EPIC trial or proof that laboratory findings transfer directly to patients. Bone review

Zhu, Jin, Seddiqi and Bakker’s 2025 three-dimensional cartilage-model paper demonstrates how a tissue model’s mechanical context changes biological readouts. Only the detailed institutional abstract and bibliographic record were accessible, so conclusions here stay at that level. It evidences model-development expertise, not implant-infection effectiveness.

A June 2026 institutional graduation record independently documents Bakker/Jin doctoral supervision; it does not establish graduate employment rates. Model record Supervision example

Funding and Amsterdam costs

The vacancy gives a full-time 38-hour week, gross monthly PhD salary from €3,204 to €4,051, an initial one-year contract and a further three years after positive evaluation. It specifies 8% holiday allowance, an 8.3% year-end payment, ABP pension, commuting support and 232 annual leave hours.

The employer’s 50% contribution concerns a disability-insurance premium, not half the salary or a general cash supplement.

Confirm the salary step and terms applicable at appointment. Pay and contract

Four advertised years are valuable but renewal is conditional. Ask for the first-year assessment criteria and a plan if partner materials or approvals delay progress.

No separate project-specific tuition/training-cost statement was established; do not insert international taught-dentistry tuition into an employed doctorate budget. General relocation services likewise do not cancel this vacancy’s sponsorship warning. Employment policy

VU’s broad student guidance lists €900–1,700 monthly living costs, but it is an undated student reference on a UK-applicant page, not a current employee budget for Amsterdam.

Housing availability matters more than that range: the accommodation FAQ offers no guarantee and distinguishes a €500 one-off long-term PhD housing-service fee from provider charges and deposits.

Obtain actual rent, health-insurance and payroll estimates; do not predict disposable income by subtracting a generic student budget from gross pay. Budget limitations Housing

Applicant fit and next steps

A Master’s or near-completion degree in microbiology, biomedical sciences, molecular biology, cell biology, immunology, biotechnology, biochemistry or a related field can qualify; the completion timeline needs confirmation.

The advert values experience in one or more of microbiology, biofilm research, mammalian cell biology, molecular biology or microscopy, together with analytical ability, collaboration and excellent English. It does not require a dentistry licence or a fixed publication count.

International candidates should first establish whether their current work status or a feasible sponsorship route fits the project timetable. Requirements

The project information gives 16 November 2026 at 22:59 UTC; confirm the actual system cutoff and whether rolling recruitment is still accepting submissions.

Apply online with motivation, CV and two academic-reference contacts; a diploma is part of the process.

Emailed applications are excluded, although Michel Hoogenkamp can answer questions at m.hoogenkamp@acta.nl.

In the motivation, explain a previous project’s question, personal contribution, interpretation limits and collaboration across disciplines. Clarify supervisory roles, degree university, evaluation, research support and publication/IP arrangements.

Career directions

The public–private consortium offers relevant translational experience, while clinical approval, a finished therapy and future industry employment remain outcomes to work toward rather than benefits already secured.

Evidence and Sources

Current acceptance status, individual sponsorship, tuition/training costs and project resources remain unconfirmed. Paper-specific evidence limits are stated with each discussion: publisher results/discussion for the Jin paper, full text for the mechanosensing review, and the institutional detailed abstract and bibliography for the cartilage-model paper.

Verified evidence

Sources

The listing may come from a university or recruitment platform. Check the notice and official sources in the report for current application requirements. View the recruitment source

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