Postdoctoral studies in bioengineering of extracellular vesicles - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

The Department of Laboratory Medicine
The department consists of 6 divisions and is active in many areas of Laboratory Medicine. The department is involved in advanced basic scientific, clinical and epidemiological research. The department is one of the largest departments of education at Karolinska Institutet.

The Clinical Research Centre (CRC)
The Clinical Research Centre is one of the divisions at the Department of Laboratory Medicine. The CRC provide the facilities needed for cell- and molecular biology research and the possibility to perform research in vivo. With its particular position in the interface between basic science and clinical application, CRC has a unique opportunity to translate progress in biomedical research into new methods and principles for diagnosis and treatment of diseases.

Project Description
The research efforts in El-Andaloussi´s lab focus on one of the greatest challenges facing modern therapeutics; delivery. 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 in optimal dosage. 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.

We are also developing methods for large-scale production and purification of such exosome therapeutics. Additionally, our lab develops methods for gene therapy based on modified cell-penetrating peptides that are efficient carriers of nucleic acids and proteins across biological barriers. We test our different technologies in models of inflammatory diseases as well as neurodegenerative and neuromuscular disorders. Our main aim is to one day unlock the potential of protein and gene therapy of such diseases by the development of novel and efficient delivery technologies.

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) for delivery of RNA- and protein-based therapeutics.

Most of the research will be conducted utilizing cell lines and animal models. The first part of the work will involve engineering of therapeutically active exosomes with different RNA species. This is achieved by cloning various genetic constructs that are introduced into producer cells and validated for expression in purified exosomes. The second part will involve testing these exosomes in normal and tumor-bearing mice.

Entry requirements and qualifications
A person is eligible for a position as Postdoctoral Researcher if he or she has obtained a PhD no more than seven years before the last date of employment as postdoc. The term can be extended under special circumstances.

The applicant should have a solid background in basic biology or medicine. The position requires experience in practical lab experience in the following areas;

• Expression analysis on the protein (Immunoblotting and ELISA) and RNA level (qPCR)
• Extensive experience in cell culture and bacteria work, microscopy techniques (TEM and fluorescent microscope) and basic knowledge on flow cytometry
• Extensive experience from work with EVs, from purification to phenotyping using different techniques.

The project will include animal work which requires the applicant to hold a FELASA certificate. 

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

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

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 complete list of publications
3. A summary of current work (no more than one page)

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

Karolinska Institutet is one of the world’s leading medical universities. Its vision is to significantly contribute to the improvement of human health. Karolinska Institutet accounts for the single largest share of all academic medical research conducted in Sweden and offers the country’s broadest range of education in medicine and health sciences. The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet selects the Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine.
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