Professor in Formulation of Biologicals

• You have a PhD in either Pharmaceutical Sciences, Biomedical Sciences, (Bio)chemistry, Biology, (Bio)science engineering, or equivalent.
• You combine an in-depth pharmaceutical expertise with a technical expertise in the field of formulation of biologicals and/or ATMPs.
• Upon appointment, you have at least 3 years of postdoctoral experience and expertise with formulation of biologicals and/or ATMPs in an academic and/or industry context.
• You have a strong research record and excellent teaching and training skills, allowing you to contribute to the research output of the department and to the quality of the educational program.
• The high quality of your research track is evidenced by high-impact first and/or last author publications in international peer reviewed journals and by successful grant applications. International research experience is required.
• You have good organizational skills and you have a team-player attitude. You have leadership capacity within the university context.
• Proficiency in English is required.

The official administrative language used at KU Leuven is Dutch. If you do not speak Dutch (or do not speak it well) at the start of employment, KU Leuven will provide language training to enable you to take part in meetings.

Before teaching courses in Dutch or English, you will be given the opportunity to learn Dutch, respectively English, to the required standard.

The landscape of modern therapeutics is rapidly evolving, with an increasing emphasis on complex biological modalities such as monoclonal antibodies, recombinant proteins, oligonucleotides, RNA-based medicines and other next-generation biotherapeutics. In parallel, Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs)—including cell and tissue therapies and gene-based interventions—are reshaping the treatment options for rare and severe diseases. These emerging therapeutic classes introduce important scientific and technological challenges related to stability, manufacturability, delivery and storage, and increasingly call for innovative formulation strategies tailored to their unique biophysical properties. KU Leuven is strongly positioning itself within this transformative domain. A key example is the establishment of a state-of-the-art KU Leuven/UZ Leuven ATMP facility on the Gasthuisberg Campus, a new GMP centre that will support the manufacturing and clinical validation of advanced therapies (https://gbiomed.kuleuven.be/english/biomedia/a-leuven-production-facility-for-cell-and-gene-therapy). This investment illustrates KU Leuven’s broader ambition to be a leading academic hub for advanced therapeutic modalities and creates a dynamic environment in which formulation science, biopharmaceutical innovation and translational research can thrive. Within this context, the Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences seeks to appoint a professor who will strengthen and expand our research in the formulation of biologicals. Drug formulation plays a critical role in translating sensitive biological drug substances into safe, effective and stable products suitable for clinical use. Because biologicals possess complex structures and route-dependent stability requirements, they require dedicated formulation approaches tailored to their biophysical properties. The appointed professor will contribute to advancing this field by developing innovative formulation technologies for biological medicines and exploring how emerging therapeutic modalities may benefit from cutting-edge formulation science. The position will be embedded within the Drug Delivery and Disposition research unit of the Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences.

We are offering full-time (100%) employment in an intellectually challenging environment. KU Leuven is a research-intensive, internationally oriented university that carries out both fundamental and applied scientific research. It is highly inter- and multidisciplinarily focused and strives for international excellence. In this regard, it actively works together with research partners in Belgium and abroad. It provides its students with an academic education that is based on high-quality scientific research.

You will work in Leuven, a historic, dynamic and lively city located in the heart of Belgium, within 20 minutes from Brussels, the capital of the European Union, and less than two hours from Paris, London and Amsterdam.

Depending on your record and qualifications, you will be appointed to or tenured in one of the grades of the senior academic staff: assistant professor, associate professor, professor or full professor. In principle, junior researchers are appointed as assistant professor on the tenure track for a period of 5 years; after this period and a positive evaluation, they are permanently appointed (or tenured) as an associate professor.

KU Leuven is well set to welcome foreign professors and their family and provides practical support with regard to immigration & administration, housing, childcare, learning Dutch, partner career coaching, …
To facilitate scientific onboarding and accelerate research in the first phase a starting grant [of 110.000 euro] is offered to new professors appointed for at least 50%.