Maria Tenje

This postdoctoral project is based in the Division of Biomedical Engineering at Uppsala University’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering, within the EMBLA research group led by Prof. Maria Tenje . The position sits in an internationally active environment focused on biomedical engineering, materials–biology interactions, organ-on-chip systems, and droplet-based microfluidics. The department combines basic and applied research with a state-of-the-art cleanroom laboratory and close links to education and student supervision. The project develops and evaluates a microfluidic technology platform for studying three-dimensional cell cultures, including spheroids and organoids, with the goal of extending the method to larger 3D constructs and examining its usefulness for biomedical applications. The advertised work builds on a system for continuous oxygen monitoring in individual cells and aims to adapt it for quality control and broader translational use. The research is carried out in collaboration with the Michno lab at the Rudbeck Laboratory and Wojciech Michno , as well as with Lars Behrendt at the Technical University of Denmark, with an explicit ambition to move the technology toward practical and commercial translation. The successful candidate will work across the full development chain: design, fabrication, characterisation, and optimisation of the Spher-O2-Chip technology; assembly of a portable prototype; development of a suitable plastic fabrication process; evaluation of gas permeability; and application of the system to liver and brain spheroid and organoid models under changing culture conditions. The role also involves publishing the results, presenting at conferences, supervising students to some extent, and contributing to external funding applications. The group’s research culture is highly collaborative and internationally connected, with work spanning biological systems, microfabrication, device engineering, and translational biomedical technology. The project is positioned at the interface of engineering and life science, and it is linked to a broader ecosystem that includes SciLifeLab and commercialisation-oriented collaboration.