MSCA-DN PhD Position: Functional micronutrient status in ICU burn patients

Offer Description:

Are you a highly motivated researcher with a background in medicine, biomedical sciences or nutrition and do you have a strong interest in critical care, burn medicine and clinical nutrition? Are you motivated to investigate how micronutrient metabolism, inflammation and recovery interact after severe burns, and to translate these insights into improved outcomes for critically ill burn patients? 

We invite you to apply for an MSCA Doctoral Network PhD position within the research teams of Intensive Care and Burns in the Martini Hospital Groningen and Wageningen University, The Netherlands. The position is funded for 36 months, and includes enrolment in the PhD programme of Wageningen University within an international, interdisciplinary training environment.

What will you do

Research fellowship 13: The impact of functional micronutrient status on clinical outcomes in critically ill burn patients
Duration: 36 months
Supervisors: Dr. W.A.C. Koekkoek, Prof. M.K. Nieuwenhuis, Dr. I Kouw, Prof. A.R.H. van Zanten

Enrolment in a Doctoral Program: Wageningen University

Project description: 
Micronutrient deficiencies are common in critically ill and burn patients and may significantly delay recovery. However, current diagnostic methods are often insufficient, and clinical care typically relies on fixed-dose supplementation rather than personalised treatment strategies.

Within the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions–funded BIO-MICRO project, this PhD position aims to investigate the impact of functional micronutrient status on clinical outcomes in critically ill burn patients. 
This project is embedded in BIO-MICRO’s broader aim to achieve personalised micronutrient therapy in critical illness. The project addresses key knowledge gaps on functional micronutrient status and its association to inflammation, wound healing, organ dysfunction and long-term outcomes in patients with burns, a group with extreme metabolic stress and losses. 

Your main tasks and responsibilities in this project are

• 1. Perform a systematic review on micronutrient status, function and losses in patients with burns, and translate these findings into hypotheses and analysis plans for the clinical observational study.
• 2. Coordinate and conduct inclusion and follow-up of patients with burns in a multicentre clinical observational study, including structured collection of clinical data, biospecimens and burn-specific outcomes.
• 3. Investigate micronutrient status in burn wound fluid.
• 4. Analyse changes in micronutrient levels across the recovery trajectory after burns and relate these to functional outcomes within the PICS domains.
• 5. Prepare scientific outputs and actively contribute to BIO-MICRO network meetings, workshops and secondments.

What do we expect

We seek a highly motivated scientist who enjoys interdisciplinary science and clinical translation. You are able to work both independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team, have strong analytical skills, high accuracy, and good written and oral communication abilities. The research project should result in a PhD thesis.

To be eligible for this position, applicants must meet the Marie Sklodowska-Curie admission requirements:

• You must not already hold a doctoral degree.
• You must comply with the MSCA mobility rule: you must not have resided in or carried out your main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the Netherlands for more than 12 months during the three years immediately prior to recruitment.

In addition, you meet the following requirements and experience: 

• You have a Master’s degree in biomedical sciences, nutrition, clinical medicine, or a related field.
• You have good command of English (both written and spoken); proficiency in Dutch is an advantage
• Affinity with ICU or burn care research

The following experience and skills would be helpful, but not essential:

• You have experience with clinical or laboratory research and data analysis

Your working environment

You will be based at the Intensive Care and Burn Centre of the Martini Hospital in Groningen, one of the Alliance of Dutch Burn Care centres with a strong focus on multidisciplinary burn care and clinical research. You will work in a collaborative environment that brings together intensivists, burn surgeons, nurses, dietitians, rehabilitation specialists and researchers, closely linked to the broader BIO-MICRO network of academic ICUs, nutrition scientists and analytical laboratories. The Martini Hospital team is actively involved in national and international burn research, providing access to a large, well-characterised burn population and established infrastructure for longitudinal data and biosample collection across ICU, burn ward and rehabilitation phases. You will be co-supervised by experts in burn intensive care at Martini Hospital and in clinical nutrition and metabolism at Wageningen University, ensuring tight integration between bedside research, advanced biomarker analyses and PhD-level training.

A secondment is planned at Wageningen University, with a duration of 12 months. The secondment will focus on the analysis of changes in micronutrient levels throughout recovery from burns and relate them to functional clinical outcomes.

What we offer

This PhD position is funded by the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) of the European Union's Europe 2024 research and innovation program under grant agreement No 101226686. You will be appointed as fulltime PhD student for 3 years at the Martini Hospital Groningen & Wageningen University. 

Salary scale:  Market competitive based on a 36 hour week, depending on qualifications and experience. Successful candidates will receive an attractive base-salary in accordance with the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions, for 36 months. The exact (net) salary depends on the EU-defined country correction factor, and on local tax regulations (for additional information see EU MSCA website). Exact salary will be confirmed upon appointment.

Doctoral candidates will receive a living allowance of €4010/month (correction factor to be applied per country, and local employer’s contribution and tax regulations). They will also benefit from a monthly mobility allowance of €710. In addition a family monthly allowance of €660 (if applicable) is on offer to fellows with a spouse &/or child/children. Successful applicants are eligible for parental leave in compliance with the Dutch legislature. 

In addition to your local PhD training, you will participate in a comprehensive and attractive educational programme specifically designed for the 13 Research Fellows within the BIO-MICRO consortium. The BIO-MICRO training programme offers a blended learning approach that combines monthly interactive live online sessions (60–90 minutes) with in-person workshops. The online curriculum covers essential topics in clinical research, including epidemiology, biostatistics, observational and clinical trial design, statistical computing, and scientific writing. In addition, four intensive three-day in-person workshops are dedicated to the development of both academic and transferable skills. In addition, all fellows will carry out 12 months of secondments and will be enabled to participate in relevant international scientific conferences. Together, this structured training programme is designed to optimally prepare you for a successful academic, clinical, industry or policy career in the fields of clinical nutrition and critical care. 

If you don’t have the nationality of an EU/EEA country or Switzerland, you will need a residence permit to live and work in The Netherlands.