About this role
Menu Career at Amsterdam UMC NL EN Vacancies Vacancy: MSCA-DN PhD position in Molecular Pharmacology (Amsterdam, NL) Copy Link Working at Amsterdam UMC MSCA-DN PhD position in Molecular Pharmacology (Amsterdam, NL) Would you like to investigate a novel drug target for a rare genetic brain disease? Join an interdisciplinary research team and use molecular pharmacology and drug discovery to explore new treatment options for MLC. MSCA-DN PhD position in Molecular Pharmacology (Amsterdam, NL) Questions? Copy Link 36 hours per week Externe locatie fixed-term React until: 5 October 2026 The project POLARIS doctoral network POLARIS is a European Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network focused on accelerating therapy development for leukodystrophies: rare genetic disorders affecting the brain's white matter. The network aims to strengthen the full translational pathway, from understanding disease mechanisms and developing disease models to preclinical therapy testing, clinical readiness and patient-informed treatment priorities. To achieve this, POLARIS brings together expertise in leukodystrophy biology, advanced disease models, therapeutic innovation, biomarker development, clinical translation, patient engagement, and ethical, regulatory and health-economic aspects of therapy development. The network will train a cohort of doctoral candidates in an international and interdisciplinary environment, combining academic research, industry-based preclinical development, secondments, network-wide training and transferable-skills development. PhD project The project is based within the Medicinal Chemistry research group at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam . You will investigate the molecular pharmacology of an orphan G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) as a potential drug target for megalencephalic leukoencephalopathy with subcortical cysts (MLC), a rare genetic brain disease that affects mechanisms regulating brain volum...