Karolinska Institutet, Department of Oncology-Pathology, Group Lehtiö

At the Department of Oncology-Pathology basic, translational and clinical research and educational activities related to cancer is carried out. Approximately 300 people from over 40 nations are currently working at the department. About 30 research groups with various cancer research profiles are involved and we have around 110 PhD students. The Department of Oncology-Pathology is responsible for undergraduate courses in Pathology, Oncology and Forensic Medicine for medical students, as well as for Tumor biology courses for biomedicine students and Pathology courses for opticians.

Work place
The postdoctoral studies will be conducted in the Cancer proteomics Mass spectrometry (MS) research group at Science for Life Laboratory (SciLifeLab). Janne Lehtiö is heading the group and the proteomics facility at KI and SciLifeLab. SciLifeLab is a collaboration effort between four universities in Stockholm and Uppsala: Stockholm University, Karolinska Institutet, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) and Uppsala University. The center combines state-of-the-art equipment with a broad knowledge in translational medicine and molecular biosciences. Since 2013 SciLifeLab has an assignment from the government to work as a national infrastructure and the vision is to make SciLifeLab a competitive center for high-throughput biosciences meant for research within health and environment.

Research group
The Lehtiö group is a translational group of scientists with a drive to improve human proteome analysis by developing new MS methods that can be applied to improve personalized cancer treatment. Our group includes researchers and staff from various disciplines working as a team to gain new knowledge. Our main focus is on cancer proteome analysis. Proteomics is a research field aiming to study proteins on a systems level by simultaneous analysis of thousands of proteins. We aim to gain new knowledge on proteins in the context of biological networks, to discover biomarkers and understand how genome changes impact the proteome level. In addition to the MS-data, we also generate genomic and transcriptomic data at SciLifeLab, which are used together with proteomics data to gain new knowledge on cancer. We now need to strengthen our leukemia sub-group with a postdoc bioinformatician within the field of multi-omics data analysis and cancer research.

Area of responsibilities/duties
We are looking for an outstanding postdoc with focus on bioinformatics and experience in omics data analysis. The position requires solid expertise in genomics, transcriptomics and/or proteomics data analysis and communication skills as well as willingness to work in a team environment. The current position offers great possibility for innovative research combining proteomics and genomics data, together with a dedicated group of scientists.
The postdoc will work on integrative and translational analysis of multiple levels of omics data derived from childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia cell lines as well as clinical specimens with the aim of identifying novel therapeutic and resistance biomarkers. The focus will be on applying ‘omics’ methods on biologically/clinically oriented research questions and to analyze the acquired data as well as to validate the findings using public domain data. This includes both applying established data analysis steps as well as investigating new strategies and solutions for the analysis of quantitative biological data.
Important components of the work are experimental design, development of genomics/transcriptomics/proteomics pipelines and statistical analyses of quantitative data. It is expected that the applicant is acquainted with software and programming languages related to omics data analysis.
We offer a very stimulating and diverse working atmosphere in a team of very motivated co-workers, therefore the postdoc is expected to engage and interact with researcher and staff in the group and contributing with her/his expertise.

Entry requirements
Scholarships for postdoctoral qualification can be established for foreign researchers who place their qualifications in Sweden. The purpose of scholarships for postdoctoral qualification is to promote internationalization and contribute to research qualification after a doctorate or equivalent.
A scholarship for carrying out postdoctoral research can be granted for a maximum of two years within a four year period following the receipt of a doctoral degree or equivalent.
To be eligible for a postdoctoral scholarship, the person must have obtained a doctorate or a foreign degree deemed to be equivalent to a doctorate.

The head of the department determines whether their previous training and scholarly qualifications correspond to a Swedish doctorate or higher.

Qualifications

  • PhD in biology, medicine, bioinformatics, computer science, mathematical statistics, or another relevant field.
  • Documented experience in bioinformatics, including experience with for instance NGS, MS proteomics, drug sensitivity/resistance screens or analysis of data from other high-throughput / high-dimensionality generating methods.
  • Working experience in systems biology/systems medicine, large-scale data analysis, integration and visualization.
  • Programming experience in: Python and R
  • Knowledge in statistical methods
  • Understanding of cell- and molecular wet-lab experimental methods.
  • Ability to interpret omics data in a biological context
  • Excellent communications skills
  • Fluent in English language

Other merits

  • Knowledge and working experience of acute lymphoblastic leukemia biology is ideal
  • Knowledge of cancer biology and current translational cancer research is a plus
  • Knowledge/experience of drug discovery and development methods
  • Experience on building and handling interactive user-friendly web-based visualization tools.
  • Experience in wet-lab cellular and molecular biology methods are a plus.

Since the postdoctoral studies involves close interaction with several researchers, emphasis is placed on personal skills such as:

  • Very good collaborative and pedagogic skills
  • Excellent communication skills and analytical skills.
  • Curious and eager to solve biological questions

Type of scholarship
The amount is tax free and it is set for twelve months at a time, paid out on a six months basis. In exceptional cases, shorter periods may be acceptable.

Application process
An employment application must contain the following documents in English or Swedish:

  • Application letter
  • A complete curriculum vitae, including date of the thesis defence, title of the thesis, previous academic positions, academic title, current position, academic distinctions, and committee work
  • A complete list of publications
  • A summary of current work (no more than one page)

The application is to be submitted on the Varbi recruitment system.

First day of employment According to agreement
Reference number 2-1312/2019
Contact
  • Rozbeh Jafari, Assistant Professor, rozbeh.jafari@ki.se
  • Helena Bäckvall, Helena.backvall@ki.se
Union representative
  • Andreas Lundqvist, SACO, 08 517 768 84
  • Helen Eriksson, OFR, 08 517 762 79
Published 27.Feb.2019
Last application date 31.Mar.2019 11:59 PM CET

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