Postdoctoral Researcher in Translational Gene Therapy

Do you want to contribute to top quality medical research?

The Department of Laboratory Medicine consists of seven divisions in which both research and teaching are conducted. The department is involved in advanced research in both basic and applied research. All divisions operate in close contact with clinics at Karolinska University Hospital. The activities of the Division of Biomolecular and Cellular Medicine (BCM) focus on the use of modified biomolecules, cells and cell products as novel therapeutic agents and the identification and study of suitable biomolecular and cellular targets for therapy and diagnosis.

We are seeking a highly motivated person to join the group of Assistant Professor Joel Nordin as a Postdoctoral Researcher to work on the development of gene therapy for genetic diseases.

Your mission

Most of the research will be conducted utilizing cell lines and animal models. The overreaching goal of the project is to develop natural nanoparticles effectively loaded with specific macromolecules such as Cas9, mRNA, and siRNAs, targeted to specific cells and organs, in this project mainly hematopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow. mRNA and Cas9 therapeutics have gained more interest with covid vaccines proving their applicability in clinical medicine as well as Cas9-mediated treatments entering clinical trials. However, the delivery vectors used today are still toxic after systemic repeated injections and mainly deliver the mRNA/Cas9 to the liver. Hence, in this project, we will utilize extracellular vesicles (EVs), which are natural non-toxic nanoparticles released by all cells. EVs contain macromolecules, such as mRNA and proteins, and can be engineered to be loaded with various cargo, such as mRNA, siRNA, and CRISPR/Cas9. However, the targeting and functional uptake of EVs is today at best poor. Therefore, we aim to improve both the loading and targeting and finally unleash the potential of EV-mediated delivery to hard-to-reach tissues. This would enable us to treat several diseases that are out of reach today. The present postdoctoral position would work in a translational project which aims to bring CRISPR treatments to the clinic at Karolinska University Hospital and at the same time develop novel delivery methods for CRISPR in vivo. As a Postdoctoral Researcher, you will participate in several projects and lead one of the projects independently. You will additionally have the opportunity to develop your own projects and ideas in the field. The work will include, for example, cell culture, cloning, protein engineering, genetic libraries and production of EVs as well as manuscript writing.

Your profile

To be eligible for employment as a postdoc a doctoral degree or a foreign degree deemed to be equivalent to a doctoral degree is required. This eligibility requirement must be fulfilled at the latest at the time of the employment decision. It is considered as an advantage if you have completed your doctoral degree within the last three years, if there are special reasons, your degree may have been completed earlier.

In addition, you should have a solid background in basic or molecular biology. Practical experience in the following areas is required: PCR, cloning, cell culture, and preferably, but not mandatory lentivirus production. Fluent English in both speech and writing is also required. Thorough experience in PCR and primer design as well as in bacteriophage genetic studies and/or viral fusion proteins is an advantage. It is ideal to have experience in the EV and/or virus field, but it is not a requirement. As a person, we would like you to be energetic and passionate and you will fit in and contribute to our team. In this recruitment, we place great importance on personal characteristics.

What do we offer?

A creative and inspiring environment with wide-ranging expertise and interests. Karolinska Institutet is one of the world's leading medical universities. At Karolinska Institutet, we conduct successful medical research and hold the largest range of medical education in Sweden. At KI, you get to meet researchers working with a wide range of specialisms and methods, giving you ample opportunity to exchange knowledge and experience with the various scientific fields within medicine and health. It is the crossover collaborations, which have pushed KI to where it is today, at the forefront of global research. Several of the people you meet in healthcare are educated at KI. A close relationship with the health care providers is important for creating groundbreaking top quality education and research. Karolinska Institutet is also a state university, which entitles you to several benefits through our collective agreement.

Location: Flemingsberg

Read about Joel Nordin Research group

Application

An employment application must contain the following documents in English or Swedish:

A complete resumé, including date of the thesis defence, title of the thesis, previous academic positions, academic title, current position, academic distinctions, and committee work
A complete list of publications
A summary of current work (no more than one page)

Welcome to apply at the latest 10 May.

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

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