Multi-Modal Data Analysis on 3D Retinal Organoids at the Cell Biology of Vision group

This internship/MSc thesis is aimed at Master Computing Science with an interest in analyzing biological data. Are you passionate about neuroscience, data science, and cutting-edge biomedical research? We - the Cell Biology of Vision lab, part of the Ophthalmology Department at the Radboudumc - are seeking a motivated and detail-oriented internship student to join our team and contribute to the analysis of multimodal data from retinal organoids.

Background:

Retinal organoids are 3D structures derived from stem cells that mimic the development and structure of the human retina. They carry the genetic information of individual, which means they can be used to model hereditary retinal diseases like retinitis pigmentosa or macular degeneration in the lab, in a way that is personalized. They help test new drugs, gene therapies, or treatments to see how a patient’s own retinal cells might respond, offering a step toward personalized medicine.

Research Objectives:

This project involves analyzing multimodal datasets from stem cells-derived retinal organoids including:

• Electrophysiology (e.g., MEA recordings)
• Imaging data (e.g., calcium imaging, confocal microscopy)
• Transcriptomics (e.g., bulk/single-cell RNA-seq)

The goal is to integrate and interpret these data to better understand the functional maturation and heterogeneity of retinal organoids, as future models for understanding retinal disease and finding therapies.

Your role:

As an intern, you will:

• Preprocess and analyze large-scale biological datasets
• Apply statistical and machine learning methods to uncover patterns
• Integrate multiple data types to generate biological insights
• Contribute to data visualization and presentation of findings
• Work collaboratively with experimental and computational researchers

We are looking for MSc Computing Science students with:

• Strong background in Python/R (or MATLAB) and relevant libraries (e.g., Pandas, NumPy, Seaborn, Scanpy)
• Interest in retinal biology, stem cells, or neurodevelopment is a plus
• Curious, communicative, and enthusiastic about learning new techniques
• Familiarity with biological data types such as RNA-seq or imaging data is a plus

We offer:

• A stimulating multidisciplinary research environment
• Mentorship from experienced scientists and opportunities to co-author publications
• Hands-on experience with high-impact data
• Flexible working hours and potential for remote collaboration

The project can be tailored to either a Master's thesis or internship project.

If you are interested, send your CV and a brief motivation letter to Zohreh Hosseinzadeh(zohreh.hosseinzadeh@radboudumc.nl) and Yagmur Demircan-Yalcin (Yagmur.Demircan-Yalcin@radboudumc.nl), or contact Tom Claassen (tom.claassen@ru.nl) for more information.