Physician-Scientist (Atrial Fibrillation)

Are you interested and just like us fascinated by heart diseases and atrial fibrillation ? Then please read on, because the research team of Michiel Rienstra and Isabelle van Gelder would be very happy to work with you. You can now join our team as a physician scientist.

You will work in the department of cardiology of the University Medical Center Groningen, UMCG. A dynamic department where research and clinical practice are intertwined.

Job Description

You will join the UMCG cardiology research department as a PhD student, and work on scientific discovery at the intersection of science and medicine. You will work on clinical studies under the guidance of national and international experts in the field. Through our PhD training program you will develop the unique ability to identify and study important questions in atrial fibrillation independently. You will work in a multidisciplinary team that consists of cardiologists, physiologist, epidemiologists, vascular specialists, neurologists, and biologists. Our international network allows you to collaborate with researches from around the world and international work visits and presentations at international conferences are part of the job.

In our RACE V study you will study why and in whom atrial fibrillation progresses. For that, we aim to build a prediction model for progression from paroxysmal AF to permanent AF using not only clinical parameters like sex, age and underlying diseases, but also echo parameters, severity of vascular disease, blood biomarkers identifying pathophysiological pathways and genetics.

We also perform our own investigator initiated randomized trials studying which treatment strategy is preferable in different groups of AF patients, e.g. RACE 8 (yes or no ablation in patients with atrial fibrillation and heart failure), RACE 9 (yes or no cardioversion in short lasting AF), RASTA-AF (yes or no lifestyle interventions and aggressive risk factor management in patients undergoing AF ablation), and APAF-CRT (yes or no AV node ablation in permanent AF and heart failure).

Job requirements

• You are (almost) licensed as a medical doctor and are interested in cardiology and arrhythmias
• Preferably you already have some research experience, but this is not absolutely necessary
• Excellent communication skills, in English and in Dutch
• You are a team player, but can also work independently

Terms of employment

As a physician / PhD candidate with an interest in cardiology, UMCG cardiology offers you plenty of opportunities to follow your passion!

The salary amounts to a maximum of 4,361 euros gross per month (scale 10) depending on education and experience and on the basis of a full-time appointments. In addition, the UMCG offers 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus. The employment conditions are in accordance with the Collective Labor Agreement (CAO) for University Medical Centers.

The duration of a PhD program is usually four years (up to a maximum of 4 years).

About the employer

The UMCG cardiology research center offers a unique workplace in the world of science. Problems experienced by practicing cardiologists are translated into scientific questions each day. Always trying to finds solutions today that may benefit the patients of tomorrow. The UMCG is one of the largest hospitals in the Netherlands and also the largest employer in the North. The Heart Center consists of the departments of cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery and is among the largest departments of its kind in the Netherlands and one of three national centers where patients with congenital heart disease are treated.