Internship/Master project: Encapsulation Efficiency of PURE in Synthetic Cells

Work Activities

This internship is part of a research project within EVOLF, a large Dutch research consortium that aims to build a fully functional synthetic cell from the bottom up. A key challenge in synthetic cell construction is the efficient encapsulation of cell-free gene expression systems inside membrane-bound compartments.

The project will focus on the PURE system (Protein Synthesis Using Recombinant Elements), a well-defined in vitro transcription-translation platform widely used in synthetic biology. You will investigate how efficient PURE system components can be encapsulated in giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) and how encapsulation efficiency affects gene expression within synthetic cells.

Fluorescent protein expression is commonly used as a readout for successful encapsulation. However, protein production only occurs when all components required for transcription and translation are present inside a vesicle. As a result, it is difficult to determine whether non-expressing vesicles lack essential components altogether or contain sufficient machinery for transcription but not for translation. In this project, you will compare RNA production and protein production within individual GUVs to determine the encapsulation efficiencies of the transcriptional and translational machinery. These measurements will help identify bottlenecks in current GUV preparation methods and provide insight into the sources of gene expression variability in synthetic cells.

Qualifications

You hold a Bachelor's degree in (bio)physics, nanobiology, molecular biology, biochemistry, biomedical sciences, or a related field, and are currently enrolled in a Master's program in one of these disciplines.

You have a nationality of an EU-member state and/or you are a student at a university in the Netherlands. The internship has to be a mandatory part of your curriculum. We expect you to be available for at least 5 months, although longer is preferable. The preferred start date is early 2027.

Experience with confocal microscopy, synthetic biology, or quantitative data analysis is an advantage but not required.

Work environment

AMOLF is a part of NWO-I and initiate and performs leading fundamental research on the physics of complex forms of matter, and to create new functional materials, in partnership with academia and industry. The institute is located at Amsterdam Science Park and currently employs about 140 researchers and 80 support employees. www.amolf.nl

Physics of Cellular Interactions (Ganzinger) group – We are a supportive and social research group of about 10 PhD students and postdocs, which work together in small teams on various projects from immunological signalling to signalling in synthetic cells. The collaborative and social atmosphere includes to the other research groups at the AMOLF institute at the Science Park in Amsterdam and other universities. 

We study how immune cells communicate when they touch. At these contact points, called immune synapses, proteins move, cluster, and reorganize to send signals that tell cells how to react. The group investigates how these physical movements and chemical signals work together to control immune responses.

We use powerful microscopes, synthetic biology, and simplified model systems (e.g. lipid bilayers) to observe signaling one molecule at a time. By combining experiments in living cells with synthetic biology approaches, we can see how immune cells process information and make decisions, including in situations that could improve cancer immunotherapy. We also design artificial signaling systems and synthetic cells to test new ideas and principles behind biological sensing and signaling.

https://amolf.nl/research-groups/physics-of-cellular-interactions

Working conditions

At the start of the traineeship your trainee plan will be set out, in consultation with your AMOLF supervisor. During the internship, you will receive training in all necessary experimental methods and techniques. You will be closely integrated into the research team and receive day-to-day supervision from a PhD candidate, while also interacting with other members of the PCI group and the wider EVOLF consortium.

More information?

For further information about the position, please contact Kristina Ganzinger: k.ganzinger@amolf.nl or Franziska Giessler: F.Giessler@amolf.nl.

Application

You can respond to this vacancy online via the button below.

Online screening may be part of the selection.

Diversity code

AMOLF is highly committed to an inclusive and diverse work environment: we want to develop talent and creativity by bringing together people from different backgrounds and cultures. We recruit and select on the basis of competencies and talents. We strongly encourage anyone with the right qualifications to apply for the vacancy, regardless of age, gender, origin, sexual orientation or physical ability.

AMOLF has won the NNV Diversity Award 2022, which is awarded every two years by the Netherlands Physical Society for demonstrating the most successful implementation of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI).

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