Postdoctoral Researcher in Spatial Transcriptomics of Human Adipose Tissue

Do you want to contribute to top quality medical research?

The Rydén and Mejhert laboratory is a multidisciplinary research group of 15–20 members, including postdoctoral fellows, PhD and master’s students, and technical staff. We are equipped with state-of-the-art infrastructure, encompassing a comprehensive preclinical laboratory at Biomedicum and a dedicated clinical research unit at Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge. Using these resources, we focus on understanding how alterations in human white adipocyte function contribute to cardiometabolic disorders, including type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, and atherosclerosis.

Your mission

We are recruiting a postdoctoral researcher to lead a project focused on adipose tissue alterations in prediabetes, based on a well-characterized human cohort. The project builds on adipose tissue biopsies collected within a large population-based study linked to extensive clinical phenotyping and detailed fat cell characterization performed ex vivo.

The aim of the project is to understand how early metabolic disease affects adipose tissue organization, cellular composition, and gene regulatory programs. The successful candidate will apply spatial transcriptomics and single-nucleus RNA sequencing to human adipose tissue biopsies to investigate cytoarchitectural features and cell-type–specific changes associated with prediabetes.

These molecular data will be integrated with deep clinical metadata and functional adipocyte measurements to define tissue-level alterations that precede overt diabetes. The project combines human physiology, tissue biology, and high-dimensional molecular profiling, and will contribute to a better understanding of early disease mechanisms in cardiometabolic disorders.

This position is embedded in a vibrant and interdisciplinary research environment with strong links to clinical studies and translational metabolic research, offering excellent opportunities for scientific development, collaboration, and career advancement.

Your profile

To be eligible for employment as a postdoctoral researcher, a PhD or a foreign degree deemed to be equivalent to a Swedish PhD is required. This eligibility requirement must be fulfilled at the latest at the time of the employment decision. Completion of your doctoral degree within the last three years is considered an advantage. If there are special reasons, your degree may have been completed earlier.

The ideal candidate has a strong interest in human adipose tissue biology and metabolic disease, and is motivated to work with clinically anchored human material. The applicant should be comfortable generating and analyzing complex datasets and have experience with advanced molecular or omics-based techniques.

Experience with spatial transcriptomics, single-cell or single-nucleus RNA sequencing, or related technologies is highly desirable, though not strictly required. Familiarity with analysis of transcriptomic data, including work in R, Python, or similar environments, will be considered a strong asset. The key requirement is the ability to take ownership of data generation and follow through with rigorous and independent downstream analysis.

The candidate should be able to work independently, manage complex projects, and collaborate effectively in an interdisciplinary research environment. Strong analytical thinking, attention to detail, and the ability to critically evaluate data are essential. Intellectual curiosity and an interest in integrating molecular data with clinical and physiological phenotypes are important for success in this role.

Proficiency in written and spoken English is required for effective communication, manuscript preparation, and collaboration within an international research environment.

What do we offer?

A creative and inspiring environment with wide-ranging expertise and interests. Karolinska Institutet is one of the world's leading medical universities. At Karolinska Institutet, we conduct successful medical research and hold the largest range of medical education in Sweden. At KI, you get to meet researchers working with a wide range of specialisms and methods, giving you ample opportunity to exchange knowledge and experience with the various scientific fields within medicine and health. It is the crossover collaborations, which have pushed KI to where it is today, at the forefront of global research. Several of the people you meet in healthcare are educated at KI. A close relationship with the health care providers is important for creating groundbreaking top quality education and research. Karolinska Institutet is also a state university, which entitles you to several benefits through our collective agreement.

Location: Solna

Rydén and Mejhert laboratory 

Application

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

• PhD certificate
• A complete resumé, 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)

Welcome to apply at the latest  2026-02-11.

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

Want to make a difference? Join us and contribute to better health for all!