Karolinska Institutet, Department of Oncology-Pathology, Group Helleday

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.

Research group
We are seeking a postdoctoral fellow to join the research team of Dr Sean Rudd
(https://ki.se/en/people/searud), which is focused upon gaining a better understanding of cytotoxic chemotherapies currently employed in cancer treatment, and in particular how the metabolic processes within cancer cells can be exploited to enhance the efficacy of these therapies. Dr Rudd’s research team is placed within the Helleday Laboratory (www.helleday.org), a multidisciplinary translational research group comprising of 50-60 scientists, which is located at the Stockholm node of Science For Life Laboratory (www.scilifelab.se), a national centre for molecular biosciences containing state-of-the-art high-throughput technology platforms.

Project description
Antimetabolites remain standard-of-care for most common cancers, in addition to being important antivirals, however treatment efficacy can vary and the underlying mechanisms can often remain unclear (Tsesmetzis et al., 2018, Cancers). Research by Dr Rudd and collaborators at Karolinska Institutet identified the enzyme SAMHD1 as a critical modulator of these therapies, in particular cytarabine therapy for treatment of acute myeloid leukaemia (Herold & Rudd et al., 2017, Nat Med; Rudd et al., 2017, Mol Cell Oncol), and a subsequent study implicated SAMHD1 in the control of several other antimetabolites active in a range of malignancies (Herold & Rudd et al., 2017, Cell Cycle). Building upon these studies, in a project funded by a Swedish Research Council starting grant, the successful candidate will aim to further define this role of SAMHD1 as a drug resistance factor, and develop strategies to inactivate this enzyme in cancer cells, thus providing a potential means to overcome this barrier to therapeutic efficacy. Practically, this project entails working in a small interdisciplinary team with close collaboration with research physicians at Karolinska Hospital, and employs an array of different techniques, including biochemical, biophysical, and cell-based assays.

Entry requirements
Qualified to be employed as a postdoctor is one who has obtained a doctorate or has equivalent scientific competence. A postdoc position is a fixed-term position. This employment is for one year for a start, with good possibility of extension with one more year.

Qualifications
The applicant should have a PhD in molecular biology or a related field. Familiarity with standard biochemical, molecular and cell biology techniques is essential, such as Western blot analysis, PCR, cell culture techniques, immunofluorescence microscopy and multicolour flow cytometry. Previous experience with developing microtiter plate-based high-throughput assays would be beneficial, in particular drug combination studies and high content imaging. Furthermore, experience with anti-cancer and/or anti-viral drug development would be highly desirable. Particularly strong merits for the candidate would also include research experience with nucleoside-based drugs and nucleotide metabolic enzymes.

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

  1. 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
  2. A cover letter
  3. A summary of previous and current work (one page maximum)
  4. Contact details of two referees

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

Type of employment Temporary position
Contract type Full time
First day of employment 190301 or sooner
Number of positions 1
Full-time equivalent 100%
City Solna
County Stockholms län
Country Sweden
Reference number 2-6843/2018
Contact
  • Sean Rudd, Project leader, sean.rudd@scilifelab.se
  • Teresa Sandvall, Research manager, teresa.sandvall@scilifelab.se
Union representative
  • Helen Eriksson, OFR, 08 517 762 79
  • Andreas Lundqvist, SACO, 08 517 768 84, andreas.lundqvist@ki.se
Published 06.Dec.2018
Last application date 15.Dec.2018 11:59 PM CET

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