Marijn Peters

Tu/e is offering a PhD position on bioreactor-based preservation of human heart valves within the Department of Biomedical Engineering. The project sits in the Soft Tissue Engineering and Mechanobiology (STEM) group and is closely connected to the work of Assistant Professor Marijn Peters , Professor Carlijn Bouten , and Assistant Professor Marcel Rutten , alongside collaborators in mechanical engineering and cardiovascular biomechanics. The research goal is to develop and improve a model that can keep donor heart valves alive outside the human body using dynamic, flow-based bioreactors . The work aims to reproduce the complex mechanical environment of the native heart valve, including flow, pressure, and mechanical stimulation, to support extended ex vivo culture and preservation. This is positioned as an important step toward living cardiac tissue culture, immune-shielded heart valve implants, and future therapies for children with congenital heart disease. As a PhD candidate, you will work on bioreactor development , sterile vessel and tissue culture , and advanced tissue analysis including microscopy. The project is described as a pioneering effort that will generate new experimental data on optimal cardiovascular tissue preservation and contribute to smart culture conditions and feedback-enabled bioreactor design. You will also write a doctoral thesis, publish in scientific journals, and take part in teaching and student supervision at bachelor’s and master’s level. The project is embedded in the BIOSHIELD consortium (BIOengineering immune SHielded Heart valve Implants), funded by the Dutch Heart Foundation , and involves collaboration with the University Medical Center Utrecht, the Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital, and the ETB-Bislife Multi Tissue Center. The broader research theme is the development of living heart valve replacements that can grow with a child’s heart and reduce immune rejection and repeated surgery. This is a strong fit for candidates interested in biomedical engineering, mechanobiology, fluid dynamics, tissue engineering, cardiovascular regeneration, and ex vivo tissue preservation . The application deadline is 2026-11-30 , and applications are submitted via the AcademicTransfer link provided in the posting.