Riekelt Houtkooper

This PhD project at Amsterdam UMC focuses on translating hereditary retinal disease biology into model systems that can support the development of new treatments. The work centers on gyrate atrophy and retinitis pigmentosa , using patient-based in vitro and in vivo models to study disease mechanisms and assess the potential of cell therapy . You will work with patient-derived stem cells, developing and optimizing differentiation protocols for retinal cell types and tissue models. A major part of the project is to characterize how genetic and clinical patient features are reflected in the morphology, molecular profile, and function of the models, and to determine which model systems and outcome measures are most useful for evaluating new therapies. The project also explores how stem cell-derived cells and biomaterials can be combined into transplantable constructs, with preclinical evaluation of their survival, integration, and function after transplantation. This connects model development directly to therapeutic testing and regenerative approaches for hereditary eye diseases. You will be embedded in the Ophthalmogenetics section of Human genetics at Amsterdam UMC and work closely with clinicians from the Emma Children's Hospital , the Emma Center for Personalized Medicine , and the Department of Ophthalmology . The project is part of the Lifelong VISION consortium, linking Platform A: Model systems with Pillar 3: Cell-based therapy , and bringing together expertise in retinal model systems, stem cell biology, biomaterials, and preclinical transplantation research. The research is positioned within a multidisciplinary environment where experimental findings are connected to clinical questions in rare hereditary disease. The opening is focused on building patient-relevant models that can help move hereditary eye disease treatments closer to the clinic.