Postdoctoral fellow in Computational Biology - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology (MTC) at Karolinska Institutet conducts research and teaching in immunology, infection biology, cell biology and cancer. MTC has about 430 active employees, including 100 PhD students, 50 postdoctoral researchers and 26 professors. Key words are multidisciplinary, bridging, translational, national and international collaborations.

Division
MTC is offering a postdoctoral stipend position in the field of Computational Biology in the group of Dr. Vicent Pelechano. The group combines experimental and computational approaches to develop and apply novel genome-wide techniques to investigate eukaryotic transcription and gene Pelechano et al.Nature 2013, Chabbert et al. Mol. Syst. Biol. 2015, Pelechano et al. Cell 2015).

We are especially interested in understanding the regulatory mechanisms leading to the appearance of divergent gene expression programs in clonal cell population (http://pelechanolab.com/). Different cells in a population can present varying responses to the same stimulus. In some cases these differences are attributable to genetic mutations, such as the appearance of drug-resistant cells in bacterial and cancer populations. However, in other cases identical (clonal) cells can also display phenotypically heterogeneous responses. This non-genetic heterogeneity has a poorly understood origin but a significant impact on biology and human health. We combine the development of state-of-the art genome-wide approaches with the molecular dissection of fundamental biological problems.

Our lab is located in the newly established Science for Life Laboratory (SciLifeLab, http://www.scilifelab.se/) in the Karolinska Institute campus. SciLifeLab is equiped with state-of-the-art instrumentation and core facilities, and is home to the second largest sequencing cluster in Europe. SciLifeLab Stockholm is a joint effort between Karolinska Institute, the Swedish Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) and Stockholm University, and hosts research groups with diverse backgrounds and expertise, including basic biology, drug discovery, genomics, bioengineering, and translational medicine.

Duties
The available postdoctoral position concerns developing and applying novel genomic and computational approaches to study RNA metabolism and ribosome dynamics. The candidate will focus on the computational analysis of newly developed methods to study ribosome dynamics, mRNA degradation and tRNA processing (e.g. Pelechano et al. Cell 2015). The candidate is expected to contribute his/her own ideas to the common goal of understanding how RNA biology and post-transcriptional regulation contributes to the appearance of divergent cellular phenotypes. The candidate will perform original research in genomics and computational biology, and acquire the required experimental and computational skills necessary for the completion of the project. The candidate will use multiple model organism, from budding yeast (S. cerevisiae) to human.

The candidate will be responsible for developing and implementing analytical pipelines and integrate different kinds of genomic data to answer biologically relevant questions. The successful candidate will take a strong lead in the experimental design, and collaborate with other team members. The candidate is expected to communicate the scientific results by writing up scientific papers and attending scientific meetings. The ideal candidate is also expected to participate in the general duties of the team and to effectively communicate with scientists of very diverse backgrounds in a highly interdisciplinary and international environment.

The candidate will be part of a team funded by an ERC evaluated/Swedish funded grant (http://startinggrant.se/) and a Wallenberg Academy Fellowship 2016 to Vicent Pelechano (http://kaw.wallenberg.org/en/wallenberg-academy-fellows-2016).

Entry requirements

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.

Applicants to this position should have a PhD in genomics, epigenetics or molecular biology.

The successful applicant should have experience interpreting biological data and experimentally testing their hypothesis, NGS analysis and proficiency in a scripting language (e.g. Python, R, Perl) and in UNIX/Linux. A strong interest in interdisciplinary technology development, and novel and creative thinking abilities are essential. Preferred experience also includes familiarity with RNA biology, ribosome profiling analysis, CLIP, metagenomics, clinical genomics, RNA-Seq, and molecular biology techniques. This is an excellent opportunity for an individual with experience in computational biology and genomics to expand his/her ability to design and interpret novel experimental approaches. Applicants wishing to integrate computational and experimental biology approaches are also encouraged to apply.

Type of scholarship
The amount is tax free and it is set for twelve months at a time, paid out on a six months basis. In exceptional cases, shorter periods may be acceptable.

Application process

An employment application must contain the following documents in English:

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)
4. Verifications for crediting of illness, military service, work for labour unions or student organisations, parental leave or similar circumstances
5. Verification from the thesis defence committee or the equivalent (only if the thesis defence is scheduled within three months after the application deadline)

The application is to be submitted via the MyNetwork system. Deadline for the submission is February 29th, 2020 at midnight.

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