Karolinska Institutet,

The Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery (MMK) carries out both preclinical and clinical research within numerous fields. Linked to the department are approximately 450 researchers, postgraduate students, teachers and technical & administrative staff and we currently have about 150 PhD students. The department is conducting undergraduate courses for medical students, physiotherapist students, biomedicine students and biomedical laboratory students.

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.
Decisions on admission are made by the prefect.

For more information about postgraduate education at MMK Karolinska Institutet, see forskarutbildning-vid-mmk

Research group
The research group Translational Psychiatry (translationell-psykiatri) seeks a PhD student for a project that studies biomarkers in early psychosis and the effects of treatment with physical exercise (fitforlife-fysisk-aktivitet-vid-psykos). The research group consists of molecular biologists and biochemists in collaboration with psychiatrists, epidemiologists and statisticians, which means that the doctoral student will be in a creative, stimulating translational research environment.

The doctoral student project and the duties of the doctoral student
The doctoral position implies studies on wet lab technologies, advanced statistical analysis of smaller datasets and large omics data, and bioinformatic analyzes. The studies also involve exposure to planning and coordination of clinical trial of physical activity in patients with psychosis. The aim of the doctoral project is to identify immune activation and characterize the intestinal flora in psychotic illness and the effect of physical exercise on psychosis and immune status.
The doctoral studies correspond to four years of full-time studies and should not be combined with clinical work. The studies include scientific work, courses, seminars and conferences. The doctoral student will carry out steps to achieve pre-defined intended learning outcomes under the guidance of the various competencies needed.

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
Required:

  • Course points from college / university, corresponding to a master's degree in biotechnology or biomedicine with at least 15 credits in computer programming and 20 credits in mathematics.
  • Excellent knowledge of the Swedish language since the project includes survey data in Swedish.
  • Excellent knowledge of the English language.
  • Previous experience of advanced medical statistical analysis in large dataset and some computer programming ability.
  • Good abilities in molecular biological wet lab work.
  • Personal qualities, such as enthusiastic, careful and responsible, and with the ability to work in teams and solve practical problems independently.

Merits include a previous experience of research in molecular psychiatry with wet laboratory and statistical analyzes and a with great research interest in molecular psychiatry.

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
Salary Månadslön
Reference number 2-5268/2019
Contact
  • Catharina Lavebratt /Forskargruppsledare, cetharina.lavebratt@ki.se
Union representative
  • Virpi Töhönen, SACO, virpi.tohonen@ki.se
  • Biborka Bereczky Veress, SACO, 46 70-173 85 75
  • Elisabeth Noren-Krog, OFR, elisabeth.noren-krog@ki.se
Published 21.Oct.2019
Last application date 04.Nov.2019 11:59 PM CET

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