Project
Metabolic diseases are a burden on the European population and health care system. It is increasingly recognised that individual differences with respect to history, lifestyle, and genetic make-up affect disease progression and treatment response. A Systems Medicine approach, based on computational models fed with individual patient data, has the potential to provide the basis for a personalised diagnosis and treatment strategy. The PoLiMeR consortium (Polymers in the Liver: Metabolism and Regulation) has identified the inherited, liver-related diseases of glycogen and lipid metabolism as the ideal starting point for innovative research training in personalised ‘Systems Medicine’. These diseases are life-threatening for children. Since each specific disease is rare, research efforts are diluted. Our system-based perspective opens possibilities for the application of novel drugs and diagnostic tools to a range of different diseases.
Training
To advance diagnostics and treatment of metabolic diseases beyond the state-of-the-art, a new generation of scientists is needed. The complexity of the metabolic network and its aberrant behaviour in disease require truly interdisciplinary researchers, trained in the three ‘pillars of Systems Medicine’: experimental, computational and clinical research.
As a PhD student in this project you will be part of a highly international team of young researchers. You will have your individual research project at your host organisation, focusing on your discipline of interest. To complement your specialised training, you will do internships at a complementary PoLiMeR partner organization. In addition, you will follow advanced interdisciplinary courses by leaders in the field of Systems Medicine. Thus, you will be trained to become a Systems-Medicine expert with expertise in computational and wet-lab techniques, who can collaborate between clinical, academic, and industrial environments.
Are you interested? Please, check the different PhD positions available in the PoLiMeR project!
