Lab manager in the Pulmonomics research group, focusing on molecular sub-phenotyping of obstructive lung disease (Part time) - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Do you want to contribute to top quality medical research?

We have an opening for a combined lab manager/researcher position for a person wishing to join a multidisciplinary systems medicine team investigating the molecular events underlying the development of obstructive lung disease. The successful candidate will be joining a large research team of clinicians, experimental scientists, statisticians and bioinformaticians to investigate the role various risk factors such as of early life events, environmental exposures, and gender in the development of obstructive lung disease.

Your mission

The position consists of three major parts; 1) managing the daily work in the research group including ordering of supplies, organization and inventory of chemicals, biological waste management, monitoring of biobank freezers and cryotanks, updating and organizing SOPs etc; 2) Being responsible for workup and biobanking of clinical samples, primarily collected through bronchoalveolar lavage, but to some extent also from blood and urine; 3) As time permits, the successful candidate will also contribute to our ongoing research projects on molecular characterization at the mRNA, miRNA, proteome and metabolome level from multiple lung compartments to construct a model of disease. Currently, a large proportion of our research efforts are dedicated to our unique LUNAPRE cohort (www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02923648 ), consisting of very prematurely born individuals with or without bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in the neonatal period that have been followed since birth, as well as control groups of healthy and asthmatics born at term. The overall goals of the project involve molecular sub-phenotyping and mechanistic investigations of the obstructive lung disease in this heterogeneous, relatively unknown, and rapidly growing patient group. The specific research projects can be adapted to the experience and interest of the successful candidate, and may include RNA-seq, miRNA-seq and proteome characterizations of various compartments including single cell- or bulk sorted immune cells and extracellular vesicles from the lung os the patient cohort, as well as from cell culture model systems. The studies are performed in close collaboration with clinicians at both the Karolinska University Hospital and Sach’s Children’s Hospital at the Southern Hospital in Stockholm, enabling the successful candidate to be directly involved in translational systems medicine efforts. The successful candidate is also highly encouraged to pursue and develop his/her own research interests, within the scope of the research interests of the group.

Your profile

We are looking for a talented and highly motivated researcher with a Ph.D. in a relevant discipline, preferably molecular biology, biochemistry, systems medicine or omics-related field. Practical experience within the respiratory field, particularly in terms of work-up of BAL samples and brush biopsies, experience with flow cytometry analysis and cell sorting, cell culture work, RNA isolation and library preparation for NGS, transfection, and/or CRISPR-mediated gene editing is a merit, as is previous experience with lab managerial duties. The successful candidate must have excellent communication skills in both Swedish and English, as part of the position includes communication with the clinic and vendors in Swedish, whereas the research is conducted with English as the primary language. Demonstrated excellent communication skills and an ability to interact socially and scientifically with post docs and students in the laboratory and with collaborators in various networks are essential. Previous lab manager- or coordinator experience and a strong publication record are strong merits.

What do we offer?

A creative and inspiring environment full of expertise and curiosity. 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 a better health for all. At Karolinska Institutet, we conduct successful medical research and hold the largest range of medical education in Sweden. Karolinska Institutet is a state university, which entitles to several benefits such as extended holiday and generous occupational pension. Employees also have access to our modern gym for free and receive reimbursements for medical care.

Location

The position is located within the Department of Medicine, Solna. The department consists of twelve divisions and each division consists of several research groups. The position is located within the research group led by Associate professor Åsa Wheelock at the Respiratory Medicine Unit, Center for Molecular Medicine and Department of Medicine, Solna. Our research interests can be broadly defined as developing a respiratory systems medicine framework for molecular sub-phenotyping of chronic inflammatory diseases of the lung. We focus equal efforts on translational studies of the response to environmental exposures in patient cohorts, and innovation & methodology development in the fields proteomics, multivariate modeling and data integration. Our translational systems medicine studies encompass profiling at multiple molecular levels (mRNA, miRNA, proteomes, metabolomes and lipid mediators) from multiple lung compartments (airway epithelium, alveolar macrophages, exosomes, and bronchoalveolar exudates) using a range of omics platforms, in combination with extensive clinical phenotyping. The strength of our approaches is the ability to integrate information from multiple molecular levels and anatomical locations both to improve the statistical power of detecting and defining molecularly distinct sub-groups in small patient cohorts, and to improve our understanding of disease mechanisms on a systems level.

Application

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

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