Karolinska Institutet, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Vascular Biology

A doctoral student is admitted to third-cycle/doctoral education. A doctoral education consists of supervised research, combined with courses and other educational activities. An individual study plan is established for each doctoral student. For a doctoral degree, the equivalent of four years of full-time doctoral education is required.

Research group
A doctoral position is an available doctoral education project to which a PhD student is to be recruited. This position is supported by the division of Vascular Biology. The student is expected to start no later than August 1st, 2019. After a candidate is selected, an admission process commences. The candidate is admitted as a student once an individual study plan for the doctoral education has been approved by the departmental admission board. For more information regarding doctoral (PhD) education, see: http://www.ki.se/doctoral

The Department
The Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics at Karolinska Institutet conducts a broad spectrum of biomedical research and education. Presently our department consists of 12 research divisions with a total of approximately 450 employees. The PhD student will work at the division of Vascular Biology. The laboratory is located in the newly built Biomedicum research facilities at the Karolinska Institutet campus in central Stockholm, one of Europe’s largest research buildings. Please see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TgcildO0tQ

The division of Vascular Biology
The division of Vascular Biology focuses on identifying mechanisms that regulate blood vessel formation and function. The aim is to find new ways of interfering with these processes to treat human disease. To this end, we combine developmental studies with models of human disease and apply the most recent technologies in molecular medicine.

https://ki.se/en/mbb/research-division-of-vascular-biology

The doctoral student project and the duties of the doctoral student

The research group
The research group aim to understand how vascular growth factors, including Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-B, signals in blood endothelial cells and how this affects glucose and lipid transport from the blood into target tissues and overall control of blood vessel functions including vessel integrity of relevance for e g cardiovascular diseases and diabetes complications. We address these questions by using both in vivo and in vitro models in combination with modern state of the art microscopy techniques such as live cell confocal and 2-photon imaging. The lab has an extensive international scientific network and is integrated in a highly interactive scientific environment with close contact with both the clinic and the industry.

The doctoral student project
Our group has previously demonstrated that VEGF-B acts as a central regulator for the transport of lipids from the blood over the endothelium into target tissues. By limiting VEGF-B signaling, lipid transport and consequently lipid associated toxicity and insulin resistance in various tissues in murine models of diabetes is ameliorated. Epidemiological data, as well as observations from animal models, demonstrates an association between obesity/diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. The aim of the PhD project is to investigate how underlying systemic metabolic disturbances as a consequence of obesity and diabetes will affect vascular functions and their impact on development and progression of Alzheimer’s disease. This will be achieved through the use of novel mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease in combination with a high-fat diet treatment regime to induce a pre-diabetic phenotype. Furthermore, the project aims to investigate the mechanism of action of VEGF-B in endothelial cell dysfunction in diabetes and the relevance for Alzheimer’s disease development will be investigated in vivo by utilization of different pharmacological and genetic tools limiting VEGF-B signaling.

Eligibility requirements for doctoral education
In order to participate in the selection for a doctoral position, you must meet the following general (A) and specific (B) eligibility requirements at latest by the application deadline.

It is your responsibility to certify eligibility by following the instructions on the web page Entry requirements (eligibility) for doctoral education.

A) General eligibility requirement

You meet the general eligibility requirement for doctoral/third-cycle/PhD education if you:

  1. have been awarded a second-cycle/advanced/master qualification (i.e. master degree) or
  2. have satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits of which at least 60 credits were awarded in the advanced/second-cycle/master level, or
  3. have acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad.*

Follow the instructions on the web page Entry requirements (eligibility) for doctoral education.

*If you claim equivalent knowledge, follow the instructions on the web page Assessing equivalent knowledge for general eligibility for doctoral education.

B) Specific eligibility requirement

You meet the specific eligibility requirement for doctoral/third-cycle/PhD education if you:

  • Show proficiency in English equivalent to the course English B/English 6 at Swedish upper secondary school.

Follow the instructions on the web page English language requirements for doctoral education.

Verification of your documents Karolinska Institutet checks the authenticity of your documents. Karolinska Institutet reserves the right to revoke admission if supporting documents are discovered to be fraudulent. Submission of false documents is a violation of Swedish law and is considered grounds for legal action.

Skills and personal qualities
The candidate is expected to have knowledge and experience of relevance for the project and desirably hold a Master´s degree in biomedicine. Knowledge in vascular biology, metabolism, diabetes and neuroscience, as well as experience in basic techniques such as cell culture, immunohistochemistry, Western blot, FACS and quantitative real-time PCR are required. In particular, experience with primary endothelial cell culture techniques, including but not limited to, growth factor stimulation, virus production/cloning/transfection and gene/protein expression analysis are strongly meriting. The candidate is expected to have obtained education and training in laboratory animal science.

Personal qualities
Excellent communication skills, ability to easily integrate into the laboratory environment and interact both socially and scientifically with other colleagues and collaborators is essential. The ideal candidate should be ambitious, strongly motivated and independent to develop the project and successfully troubleshoot emerging issues. Emphasis will be placed on personal suitability. Excellent ability to express themselves in speech and writing in English is a requirement.

Terms and conditions
The doctoral student will be employed on a doctoral studentship maximum 4 years full-time.

Application process
Submit your application and supporting documents through the Varbi recruitment system. Use the button in the top right corner and follow the instructions.

Your application should contain the following documents:

  • A personal letter and a curriculum vitae (Swedish or English)
  • Degree projects and previous publications, if any (Swedish or English)
  • Any other documentation showing the desirable skills and personal qualities described above (Swedish or English)
  • Documents certifying your general eligibility (see A above)
  • Documents certifying your specific eligibility (see B above)

Selection
A selection will be made among eligible applicants on the basis of the ability to benefit from doctoral education. The qualifications of the applicants will be evaluated on an overall basis.

KI uses the following bases of assessment:

  • Documented subject knowledge of relevance to the area of research
  • Analytical skill
  • Other documented knowledge or experience that may be relevant to doctoral studies in the subject.

All applicants will be informed when the recruitment is completed.

Type of employment PhD placement
Contract type Full time
First day of employment Upon agreement
Salary monthly
Full-time equivalent 100%
City Solna
County Stockholms län
Country Sweden
Reference number 2-3482/2019
Contact
  • Ingrid Nilsson, +46 8 524 872 83
Union representative
  • Anne Edgren, OFR/S, P, O, 08-524 87570
  • Henry Wölling, SEKO, 08-524 840 80
Published 14.Jun.2019
Last application date 07.Jul.2019 11:59 PM CEST

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