PRR Project

Summary

???????The assistant researcher to be hired should establish a research program focused on fostering the field of cell and gene therapy, regenerative medicine and cancer therapies, by translating pioneering research and development in stem cell, tissue and organ engineering and science to improve human health and well-being. Such program should contribute to the development of one of the three focus areas “Engineering of pluripotent stem cells”, “Development and manufacturing of cellular and molecular therapies” or “Biomaterials and devices for advanced medicine and sustainable food”.The expertise seek should combine know-how on stem cells and bioengineering tools applied to one or more of the fields of cell and gene therapies, regenerative medicine, cancer therapy, tissue engineering, organ engineering, disease modelling, or cellular agriculture.The candidate should have experience on working with stem cells, namely one or more of the following cell types: induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC), hematopoietic stem cells (HSC), neural stem cells (NSC) or mesenchymal stem/stromal cells. Moreover, the candidate must have a solid experience on the development of one or more of the following bioengineering tools, bioprocess engineering, cell expansion and differentiation, scale-up, mathematical modelling, bioreactor design, biomaterials development or additive manufacture.Preferential areas of work are the development of scalable bioprocesses for the production of stem cells, cells  molecular derivatives, disease models or scaffolds and additive manufacture approaches, among other namely on the areas of immune therapies, cancer therapies, as well as osteochondral, hematopoietic, cardiac, neural, muscular applications.The researcher is expected to apply for funding from competitive international and national calls to ensure the sustainability of the envisaged research and maximizing its impact; establish national and international collaborations with academic, clinical or industrial stakeholders; and supervise MSc and PhD students. Therefore, the candidate should demonstrate the capacity to secure funding through competitive calls, have experience in applying or participating on EU-funded applications, experience in the supervision of MSc and PhD students, and ability to establish national and international collaborations with academic, clinical or industrial partners.The mission of iBB is to promote cross-disciplinary research encompassing the biological and engineering disciplines for the benefit of the industrial, environmental and health sectors. This is achieved through developing research with impact in Health and Bioeconomy. This assistant researcher position is fully aligned with one of the iBB research challenges in the human health and well-being. During the last years, iBB has been gathering a unique and internationally recognized track record in Stem Cell Engineering, by establishing scalable manufacturing platforms for stem cell expansion for application in cell therapies, novel scaffolds and additive manufacturing for tissue engineering, technologies development for cellular agriculture, the use of bioelectronic materials to stem cells stimulation or development of disease models for drug screening. Importantly, a highly talented generation of young researchers have emerged from the research group SCERG-iBB, who have assumed leadership positions in the fields of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Engineering, both in academic and industrial leading institutions.  For iBB to reinforce its R&D leadership in the field of stem cell bioengineering, regenerative medicine and emerging cancer therapies, ranging from cells isolation and bioprocessing to, bioreactors, biomaterials and additive manufacture, this portfolio should now be extended towards the development of platforms for production of novel advanced therapeutics and disease models. This position will also allow iBB to extend its competences towards a new cross-disciplinary field combining bioprocess engineering with cell-based immunology, while allowing iBB to penetrate and provide a unique contribution to this new emerging area of cancer therapies.