PhD Position in Physical Chemistry: Revealing the role of surface-supported lipids in gecko and insect adhesion

Your job

Have you ever wondered how animals are capable of impressive feats such as climbing effortlessly on walls? Are you eager to understand how these fascinating manifestations at the macroscale are originated at the microscale? Are you interested in developing bio-inspired technologies that can contribute to improving agriculture, medicine, and other industries? Are you a creative thinker, eager to tackle an exciting physical chemistry project using state-of-the-art facilities across two multidisciplinary and collaborative departments? If so, this might be the perfect PhD position for you!

What will you do?

• Microfabricate gecko-inspired structures with surface-supported lipids;
• use atomic force microscopy and spectroscopy, interferometry, and fluorescence microscopy to image and characterize these adhesive structures;
• develop analytical and computational models to better understand the underlying physicochemical processes dictating adhesive and lubricating performance;
• use these minimal systems to better understand gecko and insect adhesion, and their evolution and ecology;
• collaborate with roboticists to translate these structures to agricultural and medical robots.

Project description
Lipids are amphiphilic molecules that form a variety of self-assembled structures, such as micelles, bilayers, and vesicles, and serve a crucial role as the interactive boundaries of living cells and organelles. Additionally, at the multicellular level and macroscopic length scales, they serve versatile functions, such as their newly discovered role in gecko adhesion. Gecko’s sticky toes are covered by millions of microscopic hairs (setae) that generate adhesion via weak intermolecular forces. However, recent observations have found a layer of phospholipids on the setae, which may hinder these forces, introduce hydrogen bonding and capillary and electrostatic forces, and facilitate peeling by serving as a sacrificial, lubricating layer. Additionally, lipids in the liquid footpad secretions of insects may serve crucial roles in their reversibility, possibly aiding in detachment. In this project, we aim to uncover the implications of surface-supported lipid assemblies on the adhesion and lubrication properties of gecko setae and insect footpads using biomimetic models and numerical modelling. This interdisciplinary approach may further shed light on the role of lipids in other systems, like the lubricating and protecting tear film of vertebrate eyes, and lead towards development of bio-inspired adhesives, such as soft grippers for harvesting crops in agrotechnology.

The development of bio-inspired technologies, such as soft grippers, will be pursued in collaboration with the 4TU Dutch Soft Robotics consortium, with partners in TU Delft, TU Eindhoven, University of Twente, University of Amsterdam, and AMOLF, as well as the Agricultural Biosystems Engineering group at Wageningen University.

Your qualities

• you have an MSc degree (or equivalent) in biophysics, soft matter, nanotechnology, physical chemistry, biomimetics, mechanical/chemical engineering, or a related field;
• you have a strong affinity for interdisciplinary research and the capacity to dive into unexplored areas;
• prior experience in surface chemistry, microfabrication, atomic force microscopy, interferometry techniques, or programming and coding is a plus;
• you are capable of working independently but are also a good team player;
• you have good communication and presentation skills.

For this position your command of the English language is expected to be at C1 level. Sometimes it is necessary to submit an internationally recognised Certificate of Proficiency in the English Language. More information can be found here.

You will work here
You will join the EmBioSys Lab and Biomimetics Lab, embedded within the Laboratory of Physical Chemistry and Soft Matter and Experimental Zoology Group situated at Wageningen University, the Netherlands. Led by Siddharth Deshpande, EmBioSys lab is an interdisciplinary group, and our broad vision is to tackle unsolved biological questions through appropriate bottom-up/biomimetic systems and create soft matter-based materials with biotechnological potential. Led by Guillermo Amador, the Biomimetics lab combines biology, physics, and engineering to understand how animals move and help develop bio-inspired technologies. You will be supervised by Siddharth Deshpande and Guillermo Amador.

We offer you

Wageningen University & Research offers excellent terms of employment. A few highlights from our Collective Labour Agreement include:

• Partially paid parental leave;
• working hours that can be discussed and arranged so that they allow for the best possible work-life balance;
• the option to accrue additional compensation / holiday hours by working more, up to 40 hours per week;
• there is a strong focus on vitality and you can make use of the sports facilities available on campus for a small fee;
• a fixed December bonus of 8.3%;
• excellent pension scheme.

In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, you will receive a fully funded PhD position and you will be offered a course program tailored to your needs and the research team.
The gross salary for the first year is € 2.872,- per month rising to € 3.670,-  in the fourth year in according to the Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) (scale P). This is based on a full-time working week of 38 hours. We offer a temporary contract for 18 months which will be extended for the duration of the project if you perform well.

There are plenty of options for personal initiative in a learning environment, and we provide excellent training opportunities. We are offering a unique position in an international environment with a pleasant and open working atmosphere.

You are going to work at the greenest and most innovative campus in Holland, and at a university that has been chosen as the “Best University” in the Netherlands for the 19th consecutive time.

Coming from abroad
Wageningen University & Research is the university and research centre for life sciences. The themes we deal with are relevant to everyone around the world and Wageningen, therefore, has a large international community and a lot to offer to international employees.

Our team of advisors on Dutch immigration procedures will help you with the visa application procedures for yourself and, if applicable, for your family.

Feeling welcome also has everything to do with being well informed. Wageningen University & Research's International Community page contains practical information about what we can do to support international employees and students coming to Wageningen. Furthermore, we can assist you with any additional advice and information about for example helping your partner to find a job, housing, or schooling. Finally, certain categories of international staff may be eligible for a tax exemption on a part of their salary during the first five years in the Netherlands

Do you want more information?

For more information about this position, Dr. Siddharth Deshpande (assistant professor), e-mail: siddharth.deshpande@wur.nl and Dr. Guillermo Amador (assistant professor), email: guillermo.amador@wur.nl.

For more information about the procedure, please contact Rutger Voorrips (corporate recruiter), e-mail: rutger.voorips@wur.nl.

Do you want to apply?
You can apply directly using the apply button on the vacancy page on our website which will allow us to process your personal information with your approval.

This vacancy will be listed up to and including Monday, 14 October 2024. We hope to schedule the first job interviews in mid-October and early November 2024.

Equal opportunities
Wageningen University & Research (WUR) employs a large number of people with very different backgrounds and qualities, who inspire and motivate each other. We want every talent to feel at home in our organisation and be offered the same career opportunities. We therefore especially welcome applications from people who are underrepresented at WUR. A good example of how WUR deals with inclusiveness can be read on the page working at WUR with a functional impairment.

We are

The mission of Wageningen University & Research is “To explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life”. Under the banner Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen University and the specialised research institutes of the Wageningen Research Foundation have joined forces in contributing to finding solutions to important questions in the domain of healthy food and living environment. With its roughly 30 branches, 7,600 employees (6,700 fte) and 13,100 students and over 150,000 participants to WUR’s Life Long Learning, Wageningen University & Research is one of the leading organisations in its domain. The unique Wageningen approach lies in its integrated approach to issues and the collaboration between different disciplines.

Read the 5 reasons why your future colleagues enjoy working at WUR and watch the video below to get an idea of our green campus!


We will recruit for the vacancy ourselves, so no employment agencies please. However, sharing in your network is appreciated.