About the position
PhD position: Targeted Radioenhancing Nanoparticles for Neuroblastoma (P2602)
This PhD project develops ultrasmall, intravenously deliverable hafnium oxide nanoparticles to improve radiotherapy for high-risk neuroblastoma, a pediatric cancer with poor prognosis and limited treatment options.
Neuroblastoma remains a major unmet clinical need because high-risk disease is still associated with poor outcomes despite multimodal treatment, while conventional radio-chemotherapy is constrained by toxicity to healthy tissue.
Radiotherapy-enhancing nanoparticles offer a promising route to increase local tumor damage without simply escalating X-ray dose.
Hafnium oxide nanoparticles are attractive radioenhancers because hafnium strongly absorbs X-rays, leading to enhanced local energy deposition and free-radical generation during irradiation.
This project addresses that limitation by designing ultrasmall nanoparticles suitable for intravenous delivery and tumor targeting, with a specific focus on neuroblastoma.
Building on established expertise in nanoparticle synthesis and surface chemistry, this project will optimize nanomaterial design for circulation, targeting, and therapeutic performance in neuroblastoma organoids, enabling preclinical evaluation in physiologically relevant 3D models.
This PhD position sits at the interface of nanochemistry, and translational cancer research, and offers the opportunity to contribute to a next-generation strategy for making radiotherapy more selective, effective, and clinically accessible for difficult-to-treat pediatric tumors.
You have a degree in Chemistry or Biochemistry.
You either have experience with nanoparticles or with biochemical/biological research.
You are curious to both the chemical and the biological aspects of the project.
Andreas Baumgartner (andreas.baumgartner@unibas.ch), or directly the project leaders.
Please note that the vacancy can be filled any time from now.
Deadline: 2026-10-15
What you’ll bring
- You have a degree in Chemistry or Biochemistry.
- You either have experience with nanoparticles or with biochemical/biological research.
At a glance
- Position type
- PhD
- Institution
- University of Basel
- Department
- Not stated
- Research group
- Not stated
- Location
- Basel, Switzerland, CH
- Supervisor / contact person
- Dr. Andreas Baumgartner
- Funding
- Funding not stated
- Duration
- Not stated
- Expected start
- Not stated
- Vacancy reference
- Not stated
Research focus
- Discipline
- Chemistry
- Research area
- Nanomaterials
- Methods
- Synthesis
- Software
- Not stated
Dates to know
- Listed on FOSS Positions
- 28 Sep 2026
- Original advertisement date
- 2026-09-16
- Application deadline
- 15 Oct 2026 Timezone not stated. Check the original advert.
- Priority review date
- Not stated
- Last checked
- 28 Sep 2026
- Last updated
- 28 Sep 2026
2026-10-15
How to apply
Application / Contact
More information and the online application platform can be found at www.phd.nanoscience.ch. For questions, please contact the head of the SNI PhD programme, Dr. Andreas Baumgartner (andreas.baumgartner@unibas.ch), or directly the project leaders. The application has to be completed before 31 December 2026. Please note that the vacancy can be filled any time from now.
Contact: andreas.baumgartner@unibas.ch
Original sources
https://ohws.prospective.ch/public/v1/jobs/0d5aab38-83d2-4d04-9377-10fb41a5267f ↗
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