Towards an innovative strategy to bioprint a tooth

Job title:

Towards an innovative strategy to bioprint a tooth

Company:

Job description

Offer DescriptionYou will work on the FWO-research project of which the general aim is to biofabricate a biomimetic tooth. Your specific focus will be on spheroid generation and bioprinting.
Despite today’s technological advancements and professional health care, tooth loss remains a global health problem. The tooth is a complex structure composed of the highly mineralized tissues (enamel and dentin) enclosing a soft vascularized tissue, the dental pulp. As the teeth and dental tissues cannot regenerate, missing teeth need to be replaced. Current dental restoration solutions are made of synthetic materials and are prone to mechanical and biological failure. Hence, there is an urgent need to new strategies, preferentially made of human biological materials.
The ultimate goal of this project is to bioprint a 3D tooth. Specifically, we will bioprint a structure composed of human cells, that mimics the anatomy of the human tooth, hence composing of three layers: enamel, dentin and soft dental pulp. First, we will design three different spheroidical building blocks composed of human cells: enamel, dentin and vascularized pulp spheroids. Next we will optimize a bio-ink and use these building blocks together with novel bioprinting techniques to print 3D tooth constructs. We will also evaluate whether the 3D constructs can be used to repair dental tissues and even totally replace a tooth using rat models. This project will not only pave the way for cell-based tooth regeneration strategies in the clinic but the developed bioprinting strategies can also be applied for other tissue regeneration purposes such as cartilage and bone.RequirementsResearch Field Engineering Education Level Master Degree or equivalent

Languages ENGLISH Level GoodResearch Field Biological sciences Years of Research Experience NoneAdditional InformationBenefits

• We offer a doctoral position for 1 year in an interdisciplinary environment. After a positive evaluation, the position is prolonged with 3 years.
• You will have access to state-of-the-art research facilities (bioprinter, light-sheet microscopy, flow cytometry,…) and will be registered in a specific program of the doctoral school.
• You will have active collaborations with (inter)national laboratories.
• You will work in a stimulating, international research environment in an academic laboratory.

Eligibility criteria

• You must hold a Masters’ degree in biomedical sciences, biomedical engineering, bioengineering, pharmaceutical sciences, or equivalent related fields.
• You have experience with general laboratory skills, microscopy, cell culture,…
• You should have solid knowledge of tissue engineering, histology, biology,…
• You should be a team player with good oral and written communication skills.
• You should be eager to deliver presentations (oral or poster) at (inter)national symposiums or conferences.
• You are interested to carry out visitations to other laboratories for learning new techniques.
• You are enthousiastic to co-supervise the thesis projects of bacher and master students.

Selection processFor more information please contact Prof. dr. Heidi Declercq, tel.: +32 56 24 64 25, mail: .
You can apply for this job no later than 24/06/2024 via theWork Location(s)Number of offers available 1 Company/Institute KU Leuven Country Belgium State/Province West-Vlaanderen City Kortrijk Postal Code 8500 Street Kortrijk GeofieldWhere to apply WebsiteContact State/ProvinceKortrijk CityWest-Vlaanderen StreetKortrijk Postal Code8500STATUS: EXPIRED

Expected salary

Location

Courtrai, Flandre-Occidentale

Job date

Wed, 27 Mar 2024 01:33:03 GMT

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