Research Engineer in Translational Microbiome Research

Do you want to contribute to top quality medical research?

The Center for Translational Microbiome Research (CTMR) started in January 2016 as a collaboration between Karolinska Institutet, Science for Life Laboratory (SciLifeLab) and Ferring Pharmaceuticals. The centre builds on a deep understanding of translational microbiome research and has established a broad technical, biological, clinical and epidemiological platform for studying complex microbiological communities in well-defined human materials. The centre aims at creating a scientific translational environment with a broad interdisciplinary approach to the interface between clinical epidemiology and the microbiological, immunological and genetic aspects of the human microbiome and its association to health and disease. Lars Engstrand’s culturomics team focuses now in moving forward with our knowledge and expertise in clinical microbiome studies and aims to optimize the culturomics techniques and technological process development for microbiome-based therapeutics.

Your mission

In CTMR, we have collected a large amount of culture samples from our clinical studies and performed isolation of hundreds of strains. For this work, we are looking for an independent and self-sustaining research engineer who can help further develop our Culturomics platform and plan accordingly for high-throughput phenotyping, analysis, and selection of therapeutic strains of interest. The aim is to create a comprehensive cultivation biobank by growing and characterizing bacterial strains from our clinical research samples and performing molecular biological techniques and assays where necessary. The tasks include planning, optimization of methods, implementation and growth and evaluation of important factors for growth and strain utilization as therapy.

The research engineer is expected to perform development and routine work for bacterial phenotyping and assays. Cultivation work is planned and prioritized in collaboration with the head of unit. The work also includes implementation of risk analysis and design of protocols (SOP). The successful candidate is required to document their results in an organized manner, in accordance with pre-GMP standards. To correlate clinical metadata and information to these isolated strains, information surrounding these are handled in different databases, Excel sheets, ELN and Clarity LIMS, which is a large and important part of the work.

Your profile/Qualifications

We are looking for candidate that has either achieved M.Sc. degree but with an extensive experience in laboratory work or attained a Ph.D. degree in microbiology, molecular biology, biochemistry or relevant field. Long relevant work experience is a must.

Requirement

At least a five-year wet lab experience in microbiological work
Solid understanding of bacterial culturing techniques and bacterial metabolism
Extensive experience with handling fastidious bacteria, inclusive of strict anaerobes in an anaerobic chamber
Solid understanding of standard molecular biology techniques, inclusive of bacterial cloning and protein analytical techniques such as western blotting, peptide isolation and sample preparation for mass spectrometry.

Merit experience

Experience with high-throughput assays and platforms (Fluent Tecan, multiple-well minibioreactors, colorimetric assays etc.)
Experience with bacterial microscopy, inclusive of confocal and electron microscopy.

Personal Characteristics

The candidate should be independent, takes initiatives, flexible but structured, resourceful, and thorough. Documentation, critical check and validation of your work should be done in English and in a traceable way.

We invite applicants who are easy to collaborate with others and communicate clearly with colleagues and supervisors. To be analytical and troubleshooting in the lab is essential for the position. We will place great emphasis on personal suitability.

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.

Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology (MTC)

https://ki.se/en/mtc/department-of-microbiology-tumor-and-cell-biology

Centre for Translational Microbiome Research (CTMR)

https://ki.se/en/research/centre-for-translational-microbiome-research-ctmr

Location: Solna, Biomedicum

Application

We are happy to see that your application is written in English, but it is also possible to apply in Swedish. The application must contain the following documents: CV, qualifications and cover letter.

Welcome to apply!

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

Permanent position are initiated by a six months trial period.

Want to make a difference? Join us and contribute to better health for all