Postdoctoral studies in HPV Epidemiology (Scholarship) - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

The Department of Laboratory Medicine consists of 7 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 department of Laboratory Medicine is tightly connected with clinical researchers and healthcare teams at several departments of the Karolinska University Hospital, which allows for translational research involving clinical material and the potential to bring new therapies from bench to bedside. The facilities at Laboratory Medicine offer state-of-the art cell culture, molecular biology, flow cytometry and microscopy facilities. The vision of the Department is to conduct research to promote human health. This research often leads to new diagnostic methods, clinical practices or to new treatments.

The Division of Pathology and the research group
The Division of Pathology is one of the divisions within the Department of Laboratory Medicine in Huddinge. Our research spans from the whole-body level down to specific tissues and organs at the molecular level. Research is conducted in close collaboration with other departments at KI and also the Karolinska University Hospital.

A position as Postdoctoral fellow is available in the group of Professor Joakim Dillner at the Department of Laboratory Medicine. The successful applicant will join a research team focusing on eScience and cancer research. Within a center for cervical cancer prevention, the group conducts basic and translational studies of human papillomavirus (HPV) and HPV-based prevention and holds the international HPV reference laboratory where we sequence, document, and store all new Papillomaviruses.

The group is involved in national and international projects on exposome research and cervical cancer prevention and maintains a high profile in disseminating research findings and working with health authorities to monitor and evaluate prevention program efforts.

The successful candidate will join a project team studying the microbiome of cervical- and oral cancers.

Project duties

• Identification and sequencing of HPV types in cervical and oral surveillance samples of large trial cohorts
• Microbiome analyses of the above-mentioned samples
• Pertinent Data analyses and Bioinformatics (see above)
• Scientific report writing
• Arranging extramural funding
  
  

Entry requirements
Essential skills:

• PhD in molecular biology, virology, genetics, computational biology or bioinformatics
• Skills in working with NGS-data
• Good skills in creating and analysing large scale HPV genotype and HPV genome sequence NGS-data
• Good skills in cluster computing for viral and bacterial epidemiology and evolution (e.g. Linux, Bash, R)
• Particularly good bioinformatic skills in bacterial and viral microbiome diversity, compositional structure and phylogenetic analysis using metagenomics tools such as (BEAST, RAxML, Kraken, Kaiju, DADA, Metaphlan)
• Experience in successful lead author publishing
• Experience in leading HPV and microbiome related projects
• Independent scientific thinking, writing and communication
• Ability to work in a team and mentor co-workers
• Proficiency in English.

Desirable skills:

• Postdoctoral training in HPV and microbiome related epidemiology and metagenomics
• Experience in mentoring students and laboratory personnel
• Experience in successful funding retrieval
• Ability to network and create successful collaborations

Scholarship for postdoctotral studies
Scholarships for postdoctoral qualification can be established for foreign researchers who place their qualifications in Sweden. The purpose of scholarships for postdoctoral qualification is to promote internationalization and contribute to research qualification after a doctorate or equivalent.

A scholarship for carrying out postdoctoral research can be granted for a maximum of two years within a four year period following the receipt of a doctoral degree or equivalent.

To be eligible for a postdoctoral scholarship, the person must have obtained a doctorate or a foreign degree deemed to be equivalent to a doctorate.
The head of the department determines whether their previous training and scholarly qualifications correspond to a Swedish doctorate or higher.

The initial scholarship is awarded for the duration of 12 months, with possibility for extension depending on scientific progress.

Application process
An employment application must contain the following documents:

• A complete resumé (CV), including date of the thesis defence, title of the thesis, academic title, previous academic and clinical (If relevant) positions, academic title, current position, academic and clinical (if relevant) distinctions, and committee work
• A complete list of publications
• A summary of current work (no more than one page)
• For foreign diplomas a certificate with description of the courses passed has to be submitted.

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

Karolinska Institutet is one of the world's leading medical universities. We offer a creative and inspiring environment full of expertise and curiosity. Our vision is to pursue the development of knowledge about life and to promote a better health for all. At Karolinska Institutet, we conduct successful medical research and hold the largest range of medical education in Sweden.