PhD position on the ethical aspects of organoids

The application deadline is the 15^th of March, 2019.

Host institution: Centre for biomedical ethics and law, Faculty of Medicine, University of Leuven (Belgium)

In 2016 and 2017 the University of Leuven (KUL) was listed by Thomson Reuters in the annual list of Europe’s most innovative universities. The Centre for Biomedical Ethics and Law (KUL-CBMER) is part of the University of Leuven and is a renowned research centre in Europe with expertise in ethics, law, philosophy and close links with various medical and care disciplines.

You will be part of the broader research consortium Organovir. Organovir is an Innovative Training Network (ITN) that focuses on the use of organoid technology and will provide 15 Early Stage Researchers (ESRs).

Project description

This project focuses on the ethical and social challenges of organoids (mini organs), with due attention to implications for policy.

During this project, you will be focussing

1. on the ethical status of organoids and
2. on the implications of the use of organoids regarding the replacement and reduction of animals in experimental medical research. 

This will be done by investigating the existing literature and setting up empirical tools to explore the attitudes and opinions of different stakeholders on the development of adaptive structures.  A cooperative analysis on ethical policies will be conducted in different European countries.

This project also includes two secondments: one with the National (Dutch) Institute for Public Health and the Environment, and one with the Dutch Society for the Replacement of Animal Testing .

You will be guided during your research project by Kris Dierickx, professor of biomedical ethics at KU Leuven.

Requirements

Organovir is looking for research candidates who are highly motivated and enthusiastic with a flexible, pro-active team spirit and a recent Master degree in the field of (bio)ethics, philosophy, life/health sciences, biology, social or political sciences with interest in the ethics and governance of new biomedical technology.

Experience with qualitative research methods is an advantage. The candidate is required to be proficient in the English language and should be in the first four years (full-time equivalent) of his/her research career.

In addition, the applicant should not, at the time that he/she is selected by the host institution, have resided or carried out their work and/or studies in the country of the host institution for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to their recruitment.  Find an overview of the requirements on our website: https://organovir.com/recruitment/

The offer

The selected candidates will be enrolled in a KU Leuven PhD program on a full-time basis for 36 months, and will receive a competitive salary in accordance with the EC MSCA regulations for early stage researchers.  Efforts will be made to acquire additional funding for the 4th PhD year.

The starting date of the research project is the 1^st of September 2019.

Apply now for this research position.