Professor in Relation Cancer and Inflammation; BOF

Organisation/Company Ghent University Research Field Biological sciences » Other Chemistry » Biochemistry Medical sciences » Other Technology » Biotechnology Researcher Profile Established Researcher (R3) Final date to receive applications 24 Feb 2026 - 22:59 (UTC) Country Belgium Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Ghent University is a world-class, open, pluralistic and socially engaged university. Our credo is 'Dare to Think' : we are a haven for courageous thinkers.

With one of the most progressive career models for academics in the world, Ghent University evaluates its scholars not only by the length of their publication list but also by the impact they pursue, what they achieve and how they collaborate.

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The expectations regarding teaching, research, and institutional and societal engagement, as well as the positioning of this position within the expertise and strategic developments of the faculty and department, were outlined in a position profile document prior to the publication of this vacancy. This position profile document is publicly available via the following link:

The position, funded by the Special Research Fund, is granted the privilege of focusing primarily on research for a period of 5 years. During that period the teaching load will be limited to no more than 8 ECTS credits per semester on average over a period of 3 years. For the further development of the academic career, please see ‘Appointment information’ below.

You lecture various course units in the discipline of the life sciences. You are prepared to teach existing basic courses at the bachelor's level (e.g. cell biology, gene technology, molecular biology, introduction to the life sciences, etc.) and a course at the master’s level about your domain of research expertise within the Biochemistry and Biotechnology BaMa program or related programs (all together about three courses, to be built up gradually).

You will also supervise Bachelor's and Master's theses and doctoral research in this field, encouraging students to think critically and research-oriented.

You conduct innovative and internationally recognized research in the field of relation between cancer and inflammation.

The Department of Biomedical Molecular Biology (WE14) is strongly integrated in the VIB Center for Inflammation Research (IRC). See  . The general mission of the department is to unravel immunoregulatory mechanisms that are relevant to numerous human diseases and can lead to better diagnosis, prevention or therapy. Inflammation is the immune system's first response to infection or tissue damage, leading to protection of the body against these attacks.

However, uncontrolled chronic inflammation can underlie several diseases such as asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), psoriasis, multiple sclerosis, hepatitis, diabetes, and several forms of cancer.

Within the Department of Biomedical Molecular Biology, we want to strengthen the pillar for research into the relationship between cancer and inflammation. Cancer is one of the leading causes of morbidity or mortality worldwide (20 million new estimated cases and 9.7 million cancer‑related deaths in 2022, WHO 2024). Although overall survival rates are increasing due to better therapies and earlier detection, some cancer types remain difficult to treat.

Inflammatory responses are closely associated with the development and progression of most cancer types, as well as with the efficacy of anticancer therapies. Chronic inflammation may also be responsible for immunosuppression, whereby the tumor microenvironment may favor tumorigenesis, progression and metastasis. Inflammation can also be induced by anticancer therapies, for example as a result of dying cancer cells, which can lead to both anticancer responses and therapeutic…