Postdoctoral Researcher in Bioengineering of Extracellular Vesicles - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

The Department of Laboratory Medicine, located at Campus Flemingsberg, is one of Karolinska Institutet’s largest departments with 7 research divisions including the Division for Biomolecular and Cellular Medicine (BCM) where the project will be carried out. BCM provides the facilities needed for cell- and molecular biology research and the possibility to perform research in vivo.

Do you want to contribute to top quality medical research?
The BCM research group lead by Samir EL Andaloussi is now looking for a highly motivated person to join our efforts to understand one of the greatest challenges facing modern therapeutics; delivery.

The project
Despite the unprecedented knowledge of diseases and their mechanisms due to advances in biomedical sciences; many promising therapeutic approaches are still clinically unavailable. This is simply because there is no efficient means of delivering these therapeutics to the right organ with the right dose. Such therapeutics include proteins for replacement therapy or antibodies for anti-inflammatory treatment as well as nucleic acids for gene therapy of diseases including muscular dystrophies and neurodegenerative disorders.

We develop innovative drug delivery technologies that are able to carry protein and/or gene therapies to the target tissues safely and efficiently. We have developed a promising technology based on reprogramming exosomes, which are vesicles that are naturally used by cells to communicate, to carry therapeutic proteins and nucleic acids. We engineer exosomes with enhanced delivery and targeting capacities and screen our wide array of exosome designs in disease-relevant cellular and animal models. To further enhance exosome loading as well as targeting library screen will be conducted.

Duties
We are seeking a highly motivated person to join the group of Associate Professor Samir El-Andaloussi as a Postdoctoral Researcher to work on the development of bioengineered extracellular vesicles (EVs).

Most of the research will be conducted utilizing cell lines and animal models. The first part of the work will involve performing a lentivirus library screen to identify novel sorting domains for efficient targeting to specific tissues and cell populations. Targeting will be assessed in cell cultures and mice. Secondly a library screen will be performed to find optimal mRNA sequences for mRNA loading into EVs. Here the loading efficiency will be evaluated based on sequencing and qPCR.

Your Profile
The applicants should have a solid background in basic biology and/or drug delivery. The position requires experience in practical lab experience in the following areas; foremost experience with performing library screens (lentivirus or other types of genetic library screens) expression analysis of proteins (Immunoblotting and ELISA). Extensive experience from cell culture work is needed. The project will in later stages include animal work which requires a FelasaC certificate, hence previous experience with animal work is preferred but not required. The ideal candidate would furthermore have experience within the EV field or virus field, but this is not required.

Previous experience from molecular cloning is a merit. In addition, excellent proficiency in both spoken and written English is important. We are looking for an energetic and passionate person who fits in, and actively contributes to our team.

Qualified to be employed as a postdoctor is one who has obtained a doctorate or has equivalent scientific competence. Applicants who have not completed a doctorate at the end of the application period may also apply, provided that all requirements for a completed degree are met before the (intended) date of employment. This must be substantiated by the applicant's main supervisor, director or equivalent.

What do we offer?
Karolinska Institutet is one of the world's leading medical universities. Our vision is to pursue the development of knowledge about life and to promote better health for all. At Karolinska Institutet, we conduct innovative medical research and provide the largest range of biomedical education in Sweden. Karolinska Institutet is a state university, which entitles employees to several benefits such as extended holiday and a generous occupational pension. Employees also have free access to our modern gym and receive reimbursements for medical care.

Location: Flemingsberg

https://ki.se/en/labmed/research-group-samir-el-andaloussi

https://ki.se/en/labmed/biomolecular-and-cellular-medicine-bcm

Application

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

• 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 12 November 

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