Doctoral (PhD) student position in the area of infection, immunology and global health research - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

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.

Department of Medicine Huddinge
The Department of Medicine at Huddinge is comprised of seven units, three research centers and around 70 independent research groups. The Center for Infectious Medicine (CIM) is a research unit within the Department of Medicine Huddinge with a focus on translational studies of the human immune system and infection-immunity primarily in humans.

Research group
The PhD studies will be conducted in Assoc. Prof. Susanna Brighenti’s research group (https://ki.se/en/medh/susanna-brighenti-group). The research performed in the laboratory of Assoc. Prof. S. Brighenti involves studies on the pathogenesis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection, the causative agent of tuberculosis (TB). The group has a focus to study immune responses at the site of infection eg. in the lung or lymph nodes, compared to peripheral blood using advanced cellular and molecular techniques. For this work, the group as collected unique clinical materials from TB infected patients and controls and also established relevant in vitro infection models with virulent Mtb strains and human cells. Majority of the work is conducted in a biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) laboratory. The Brighenti group has well-established collaborations with TB-endemic countries, primarily Ethiopia. The long-term goal of the group is to develop new host-directed immunotherapies that could support conventional anti-TB treatment with antibiotics aiming to enhance patient recovery. 

The doctoral student project and the duties of the doctoral student
In this PhD project the student will use clinical material from TB patients obtained in exploratory studies or a clinical trial (Clinicaltrials.gov ID NCT01698476) as well as an in vitro experimental model to explore modulation of protective immunity in TB disease. There will be a specific focus on multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) and how the virulent MDR-TB strains can subvert protective immunity. Methods include mass and flow cytometry, multicolor confocal microscopy, quantitate PCR, bacterial growth assays, multiplex assays for cytokine/chemokine analyses and microbiome analyses.

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
We are seeking a talented and enthusiastic doctoral candidate with an interest in infection and immunology. The successful candidate should be highly motivated and able to keep herself/himself informed on developments of the relevant research field, and also, have excellent communication and organizational skills, as well as the ability to work productively and dynamically in a team. The applicant must be able to integrate well into the group and like to work closely in a team. Previous experience from working in a biomedical research lab and expertise in cell culture and techniques such as cell culture, microscopy, mRNA analysis, ELISA and flow cytometry is highly desired. Experience in work with macrophage infection assays and bacterial cultures is highly preferable. Additionally, training or experience from mass cytometry or microbiomics analyses is considered a merit.

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.