Master thesis/Internship position on 3D bioprinting

The DWI – Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials, Aachen is a research institute that takes on the challenge of surpassing disciplinary limits and tackling new questions relating to substances and materials that combine technology and nature. It is a location where people with different talents, experiences and skills work together, to learn from each other, and generate new knowledge and new methods to create a better quality of life in our world. 

DWI invites applications for a position as:

Master thesis/Internship (m/f/d) (Biomedical engineering, Mechanical engineering, Bioengineering, or related field of study)

Project description:

3D bioprinting has emerged as a powerful tool to fabricate human tissue models ex vivo. These models can be used for drug discovery, to obtain a better understanding of physiological and pathological mechanisms, and in the future to replace diseased or injured tissues and organs. However, current bioprinting technologies can neither mimic the nano- and microscale fibrillar extracellular matrix (ECM), nor replicate the anisotropic and spatially organized architecture and gradients of complex tissues, such as cartilage, cornea, and the heart. Within this project, we aim to develop a novel 3D bioprinting platform, capable of bioprinting hierarchical and organized biomaterial constructs at high resolution to instruct and guide cell growth and tissue maturation. This will allow researchers and pharmaceutical companies to perform better drugs target identification in native-like bioprinted human tissues ex vivo.

Your Tasks and Responsibilities:

Together with a highly interdisciplinary team of engineers, chemists, and bioengineers, you will be responsible for:

• in vitro fabrication and characterization of 3D bioprinted structures. This will include working with a novel 3D bioprinter hardware, optimizing bioink composition according to cell responses, performing microscopy analysis and characterizing the printed structures using fluorescent immune staining. 

Your Profile:

• You should hold a bachelor’s degree and be currently enrolled in a master’s degree program in biomedical engineering, mechanical engineering, bioengineering, or related field of study.
• Strong interest in working in a high pace environment and a multidisciplinary project is essential.
• The candidate must be a team-player and a strong communicator both in written and verbal (English and preferentially also German).
• Having experience with 3D cell culture and characterization is advantageous.

DWI offers:

We will offer you exciting and challenging tasks, as well as development opportunities in a modern scientific organization. We will provide you an open and team-oriented working atmosphere in an international environment. You will have the support of an experienced team and work in a close collaboration with national/international recognizable scientists in the field of biomedical and tissue engineering.

At DWI we value diversity and therefore welcome all applications - regardless of gender, disability, nationality, or ethnic and social background.