1. The candidate has a master's degree in biomedical sciences, medicine, pharmacy, biology, or a related health science field.
2. A strong interest in allergy, immunology, military medicine, or clinical diagnostics.
3. Experience with clinical research, statistics, or patient-centered data collection is a plus.
4. The candidate is fluent in English (oral and written); knowledge of Dutch and/or French is an asset.
5. Motivated to conduct translational and clinical research with direct real-world relevance.
6. Critical thinker, proactive, well-organized, and comfortable working in multidisciplinary teams.
Respiratory allergies, often underdiagnosed and undertreated, affect military performance, presenteeism, and may even lead to costly evacuations during deployments. This PhD project builds upon pioneering research at MHQA and aims to implement and evaluate allergy screening and treatment strategies in soldiers preparing for deployment.The project will also validate the clinical utility of a novel, automated skin prick test device or S.P.A.T. (Gorris et al., Allergy 2023), as a tool to predict treatment response, particularly to allergen-specific immunotherapy (AIT). This work will directly inform military medical policy and contribute to the development of early biomarkers of treatment success in the broader context of respiratory allergy.Key objectives include:• Evaluating allergic sensitization patterns in soldiers prior to deployment using an extended panel of inhalant allergens.• Comparing clinical outcomes of symptomatic treatment versus AIT in sensitized military personnel.• Validating a novel diagnostic method using S.P.A.T. as a tool to track allergen sensitivity and predict therapeutic response.
The successful candidate will coordinate a prospective clinical study at MHQA, analyze allergy test data, assess treatment response using clinical and patient-reported outcomes, and work closely with research and military health partners in Belgium and abroad.
This PhD project offers a highly translational research environment with direct societal and healthcare impact, combining clinical trials, novel diagnostic technologies, and real-world military applications.The Leuven Allergy and Clinical Immunology Research Group is part of the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation of the Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven, Belgium. Our group focuses on the discovery of new allergens/techniques available for optimising allergy diagnostics such as food allergens, aeroallergens, insect venom and drug allergens. Special emphasis is put on why allergen tolerance at the initiation of disease can be lost, how natural tolerance can occur or how tolerance can be restored. Moreover, we study the interaction between the environment and the host's epithelium, and how external stressors contribute to disease progression in upper and lower airways and in the gut. We study the role of local inflammation, the microbiome and epithelial barrier function in several animal models and also in human subjects with allergic diseases, asthma and inflammatory bowel disease, with specific interest in the underlying adaptive immunity and innate lymphoid cells. We currently accommodate 13 PhD students, 2 postdocs, 3 senior technicians and 1 data manager, all supervised by 5 principal investigators (clinician-researchers). The lab is embedded into the University Hospital, in close proximity of our collaborating groups.
7. A full-time PhD position for 4 years.
8. Competitive salary following Belgian academic regulations.
9. Full social security coverage and comprehensive health insurance through the Belgian national healthcare system.
10. Doctoral training at the KU Leuven Doctoral School, including courses in scientific writing, data management, and clinical research methodology.
11. Access to innovative diagnostic technologies (e.g., S.P.A.T. and AI-readout tools) and validated clinical research infrastructure.
12. Collaborations with KU Leuven, the Belgian Defence medical corps, and international military research centers.
13. Opportunities to present research at international conferences, contribute to peer-reviewed publications, and engage in interdisciplinary symposia.
14. A dynamic research environment located in Brussels (MHQA) and Leuven – vibrant, international cities with excellent quality of life.