The department of Cell Biology-Inspired Tissue Engineering (cBITE) at the MERLN Institute for Technologyinspired Regenerative Medicine at Maastricht University in the Netherlands invites applications for a postdoctoral position. The post-doctoral researcher will perform cutting-edge research in computational modeling methods applied to drug-toxin interactions in the kidney. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is one of the top ten causes of death worldwide. Gradual decline in kidney function leads to accumulation of metabolic waste products (toxins) normally excreted by the kidneys, contributing to progression of CKD and its comorbidities, in particular cardiovascular disease. To alleviate the CKD complications, patients are routinely treated with many drugs, such as antihypertensive and cholesterol-lowering agents. However, the transporter proteins in kidney cells that handle these drugs are also responsible for secreting the toxins, and may, therefore, not be able to handle the competing demands. Considering the multitude of CKD drugs, toxins and transporter proteins and their potential interactions, investigating drug-toxin interactions is experimentally time consuming and difficult to accomplish. In this project, funded by the Dutch Kidney Foundation (https://nierstichting.nl/), we propose to integrate computational and experimental expertise with state-of-the-art technologies to address investigate drug-toxin interactions in the kidney and improve CKD drug treatments.
Project description:
- Computational modeling of drug-toxin transport in the proximal tubule; (competitive) binding kinetics;
- Sensitivity analysis;
- Analysis and integration of various in vitro/in vivo data for model calibration;
- Parameter optimization.
Application deadline: 29 June 2023
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