<div dir="ltr"><p style="margin:0cm;font-size:medium;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-align:justify"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Are you interested in breakthrough rehabilitation robotic technologies for restoring movement following neuromuscular injuries? Are you passionate about designing and developing robotic systems for skeletal muscle regeneration? Would you like to apply robotic design, fabrication and control in the context of tissue-engineered skeletal muscles</span><span class="gmail-Apple-converted-space" style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> </span><i style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">in vitro</i><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">?</span><span class="gmail-Apple-converted-space" style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> </span><br></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm;font-size:medium;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm;font-size:medium;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-US">The Neuro-Mechanical Modeling and Engineering Lab (</span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://bit.ly/NMLab" style="color:purple">http://bit.ly/NMLab</a></span><span lang="EN-US">) is seeking for an outstanding post-doctoral fellow to work within our new<span class="gmail-Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11.5pt;background-image:none;background-position:0% 0%;background-size:auto;background-repeat:repeat;background-origin:padding-box;background-clip:border-box">Project<span class="gmail-Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US">ROBOREACTOR funded by the prestigious European Research Council (Consolidator Grant). You will join an international team working on a novel and ambitious project at the frontiers of robotics, muscle physiology and regenerative medicine (</span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://bit.ly/NMLTube" style="color:purple">http://bit.ly/NMLTube</a></span><span lang="EN-US">).</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm;font-size:medium;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-align:justify"><b><span lang="EN-US"> </span></b></p><h2 style="margin:0cm;break-after:avoid;font-size:13pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,176,80);text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-US">The opening:</span><span lang="EN-US"></span></h2><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 6pt;font-size:medium;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-US">You will develop a robotic system to pace (<i>i.e.,</i><span class="gmail-Apple-converted-space"> </span>both mechanically and electrically) skeletal muscle tissues engineered<span class="gmail-Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>in vitro</i><span class="gmail-Apple-converted-space"> </span>from human-induced pluripotent stem cells. The envisioned robotic system will enable skeletal tissues to be simultaneously stretched (<i>i.e.,</i><span class="gmail-Apple-converted-space"> </span>via movable pillars), while receiving electrical stimulation (<i>i.e.,</i><span class="gmail-Apple-converted-space"> </span>via carbon electrodes). The robot will deliver closed-loop controlled mechanical strain to the tissue under various levels of activation over a period of 4 weeks to study tissue structural remodeling.<span class="gmail-Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 6pt;font-size:medium;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><h2 style="margin:2pt 0cm 6pt;break-after:avoid;font-size:13pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,176,80)"><span lang="EN-US">Your tasks will be:</span></h2><ul type="disc" style="margin-bottom:0cm;color:rgb(0,0,0);margin-top:0cm"><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm;text-align:justify;font-size:12pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span lang="EN-US">Design and develop the robot for tissue pacing including:<span class="gmail-Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></li><ul type="circle" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-top:0cm"><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm;text-align:justify;font-size:12pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span lang="EN-US">Selection of biocompatible materials for the robot structure.</span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm;text-align:justify;font-size:12pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span lang="EN-US">Selection of sensors for closed-loop control, to be compatible with a cell culture incubator, visible light and fluorescence microscopy as well as stimulation electrodes.</span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm;text-align:justify;font-size:12pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span lang="EN-US">Development of low-level controllers of tissue strain and electrical activation.</span></li></ul><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm;text-align:justify;font-size:12pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span lang="EN-US">Conduct<span class="gmail-Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>in vitro</i><span class="gmail-Apple-converted-space"> </span>experiments, perform tissue handling and analyses (<i>e.g.,</i><span class="gmail-Apple-converted-space"> </span>(immuno)histology, imaging, or qPCR analyses) to assess the efficacy of the robot in promoting muscle tissue growth over a 4-week period. This task will be conducted together with a PhD candidate team member.</span></li></ul><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt;font-size:medium;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm;font-size:medium;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-US">Your work will be facilitated by in-house expertise and mentorship. You will collaborate with top-scientists on aspects including muscle-on-a-chip and statistical modelling, giving large opportunity to perform impactful research!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 6pt;font-size:medium;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><h2 style="margin:2pt 0cm 6pt;break-after:avoid;font-size:13pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,176,80)"><span lang="EN-US">Information and application</span></h2><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm;font-size:medium;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-US">Apply by August 26th, 2024 via this link: <a href="https://bit.ly/3zhqVSq">https://bit.ly/3zhqVSq</a> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm 0cm 6pt;font-size:medium;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span lang="EN-US"> </span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm;font-size:medium;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-align:justify"><span class="gmail-Heading2Char" style="color:rgb(0,176,80);font-weight:bold"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:13pt">ERC Consolidator Grant ROBOREACTOR:</span></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color:rgb(0,176,80)"><span class="gmail-Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color:rgb(13,13,13);background-image:none;background-position:0% 0%;background-size:auto;background-repeat:repeat;background-origin:padding-box;background-clip:border-box">Is it possible to regenerate new, healthy biological tissues in the human body after neuro-muscular injuries such as a stroke? Can we develop intelligent robots that autonomously discovers the electro-mechanical stimuli needed for skeletal muscles (and its innervating spinal motor neurons) to regenerate over time, potentially outperforming conventional rehabilitation? These are some of the questions my team and I will address in the coming 5 years. We will do that by proposing radically new sensor-driven, AI-powered computational models to predict structural remodelling in the skeletal muscle across large time scales i.e., weeks to months. We'll use these predictive models to command rehabilitation robots closed-loop control key muscle adaptation and remodelling both<span class="gmail-Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>in vitro</i><span class="gmail-Apple-converted-space"> </span>and<span class="gmail-Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>in vivo</i>.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm;font-size:medium;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-US" style="color:rgb(13,13,13);background-image:none;background-position:0% 0%;background-size:auto;background-repeat:repeat;background-origin:padding-box;background-clip:border-box"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm;font-size:medium;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-US" style="color:rgb(13,13,13);background-image:none;background-position:0% 0%;background-size:auto;background-repeat:repeat;background-origin:padding-box;background-clip:border-box">Project Web Page:<span class="gmail-Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101123866" style="color:purple"><span style="background-image:none;background-position:0% 0%;background-size:auto;background-repeat:repeat;background-origin:padding-box;background-clip:border-box">https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101123866</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color:rgb(13,13,13);background-image:none;background-position:0% 0%;background-size:auto;background-repeat:repeat;background-origin:padding-box;background-clip:border-box"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm;font-size:medium;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-align:justify"><br></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm;font-size:11pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">---<br>Massimo Sartori<br>Full Professor and Head of Chair, Neuromuscular Robotics</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm;font-size:11pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Lab Head, Neuromechanical Modeling and Engineering Lab<br></span><span style="font-size:5pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> <br></span><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">University of Twente</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">,<span class="gmail-Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">TechMed Centre</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">, Robotics Centre</span><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><br>Faculty of Engineering Technology <br>Department of Biomechanical Engineering<br>7500 AE, The Netherlands<br></span><span style="font-size:5pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><br></span><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Personal: </span><a href="https://people.utwente.nl/m.sartori"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(5,99,193)">https://people.utwente.nl/m.sartori</span></a><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><br>Lab:<span class="gmail-Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="https://bit.ly/NMLab"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(5,99,193)">https://bit.ly/NMLab</span></a><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><br>YouTube:<span class="gmail-Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="https://bit.ly/NMLTube"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(5,99,193)">https://bit.ly/NMLTube</span></a><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm;font-size:11pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm;font-size:11pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm;font-size:11pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Listen to our<span class="gmail-Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/3dQjP4kQ9nM3IaD5pHYvxB?si=6d90a5aeb6eb485f"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(5,99,193)">podcast</span></a><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span class="gmail-Apple-converted-space"> </span>on AI-powered Digital Human Twins!<br>Watch our<span class="gmail-Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="https://ntr.nl/Focus/287/detail/Geprinte-benen/VPWON_1353472"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(5,99,193)">work</span></a><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span class="gmail-Apple-converted-space"> </span>on bionic legs featured on Dutch TV!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm;font-size:11pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm;font-size:11pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-size:5pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm;font-size:11pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><img border="0" width="281" height="65" src="blob:https://mail.google.com/e3b1fc9e-8f75-4840-aa67-51557d6b8d59" alt="A picture containing icon

Description automatically generated"></span><span lang="EN-GB"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm;font-size:medium;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-US"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm;font-size:11pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm;font-size:medium;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-US"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0cm;font-size:medium;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p></div>