Senior lab manager in molecular immunology related to the development of the universal cell therapies, with special focus on immune-privileged off-the-shelf NK cells for cancer immunotherapy - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Do you want to contribute to top quality medical research?

Karolinska Institutet, Institutionen för medicin, Huddinge
The Cell and Gene Therapy Group (CGTG) at the Department of Medicine, Center for Hematology and Regenerative Medicine is announcing a senior lab manager position at Karolinska Institutet within the research fields of Immunology, Cancer Immunotherapy, and Gene Therapy.

Center for Hematology and Regenerative Medicine at the Department of Medicine Huddinge
The department of Medicine, Huddinge conducts graduate and post-graduate education, as well as research, within a wide range of the medical field, covering all internal medicine specialties, infectious diseases, and dermatology. The department consists of seven units with nearly 60 research groups, including three research centers. Our ambition is to be the leading department for medical research and education.

Research group
The Cell and Gene Therapy Group is a multidisciplinary research group with 17 members, including senior scientists, Ph.D. students, technical and biomedical lab staff, and administration at ANA Futura, Campus Flemingsberg, in a translational research environment. This includes research groups involved in hematology, immunology, and cell therapy. The CGTG has internationally-recognized leadership in clinical-grade, current good manufacturing practice (cGMP)-compatible manufacturing of cellular and gene therapy applications. We have access to a GMP facility capable of generating clinical-grade cellular and gene therapy products. Furthermore, the CGTG has been involved in a large number of clinical trials, including the first gene therapy clinical trial in Sweden as well as the first Swedish clinical trials assessing the safety of both patient and donor-derived ex vivo expanded NK cells in patients with various malignancies.

Description of the project
The senior lab manager’s efforts in Evren Alici's lab of Biomolecular Medicine will focus on one of the most significant challenges facing modern therapeutics; generation of the “Universal Cell” that is “immune-privileged”. We have developed a promising technology based on transplant cell modifications that render them exempt to immune attack. Additionally, our lab develops methods for NK cell expansions for cancer immunotherapy. The research project will be pre-clinical translational research in cancer immunotherapy, focusing on the optimization of immune accepted transplant cells, with a special interest in NK cells. This project aims to investigate a new class of immunotherapeutic product in vitro and in vivo. The study will encompass the modifications of the donor/transplant cells to prevent immune recognition/rejection. The group’s primary focus is NK cell mediated cancer immunotherapy, but other cells may be of interest in the future. The efficacy of immunomodulatory molecules on the transplant cells will be tested in vitro with both cell lines and primary cells.

Duties
A senior lab manager position is now open for a highly-motivated and skilled scientist with a strong background in molecular-immunology and cell biology. We are looking for a highly-organized analytical team player with a strong sense of responsibility. The senior lab manager will be responsible for the research aiming to investigate the development of the “Universal Cell”, specifically in NK cells. We believe you to be a structured person with attention to detail and the ability to identify and solve problems as they come up. Therefore, we are seeking someone with a can-do attitude and openness to taking on new responsibilities. The senior lab manager will serve as a project leader, have the responsibility for coordination of ongoing projects, and will actively write scientific manuscripts, and present the research results nationally and internationally. Supervision of Ph.D. students and lab technicians is also expected.

Key entry requirements and qualifications
To be eligible for the position as a senior lab manager, the applicant must have been granted a Degree of Doctor and have completed postdoctoral studies with a solid background in basic molecular- immunology and cell biology as well as published peer-reviewed articles in the field of molecular-cell biology and immunology. A detailed understanding and research background on signal transduction of lymphocytes and their roles in immune responses is a must. The candidate must have a proven track record of deciphering complex signaling interactions and have shown the capacity to exploit the present knowledge. The applicant should also have demonstrated competence in the molecular biology skills (e.g., cloning, PCR, overlapping PCR, Gibson Assembly, RNA-extraction, cDNA synthesis, primer design and qPCR optimization for viral titration, gene engineering including codon optimization with codon frequency knowledge and manul optimization, siRNA, vector designs, and expression systems), cell culture work (e.g., knock-in and -out, establishing cell lines, degranulation assays, lentiviral particle production, transduction, and ADCC assay), analysis of protein e.g., Western blot, immunoprecipitation, ELISA, in vitro kinase assays) as well as fluorescent/confocal microscopy. The senior lab manager should have experience of mammalian cell transfection and electroporation systems including Neon, 2D, 4D nucleofection, along with the chemical transfection methods. Knowledge and experience of different promoters and expression systems used in lenti and retroviral vectors is an important attribute required for this job. Extensive experience working with chimeric protein designs and their structure function relationship is required. Understanding of transmembrane types and their use in protein engineering, mRNA designs, secondary structures, free energy calculation, removal of internal ribosomal entry sites and promoters and synthesis, and modifications of cells for engineered extra cellular vesicles’ (EVs) production are also required. Strong Knowledge of CLC Main Workbench 8-20 and a FELASA certificate, are prerequisites.

We are looking for a senior lab manager who has a strong work ethic, passion for solving difficult questions and challenges with the ability to design, plan, perform, and interpret original experiments in an independent and innovative environment. Excellent communication skills and the ability to perform different tasks in succession are required. The candidate must be able to integrate into the international and multidisciplinary research group environment. Fluency in English and skills in scientific writing are mandatory. A high level of oral and written presentation skills are crucial for this position. Documented international collaboration is meriting. Personal suitability will be a strong selection criterion.

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

Application

An employment application must contain the following documents in English:

1. Cover letter, including a summary of the Ph.D. studies (no more than two pages)

2. A complete curriculum vitae, , including date of degrees, previous positions, work experience, eventual publications and references.

3. A complete list of publications

4. A summary of current work (no more than one page)

5. Description of planned research

Welcome to apply at the latest 2021-03-26.

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

Permanent position is initiated by a six months trial period.

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