Professor in Molecular Psychiatry - prolonged application period - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

- with focus on research

Do you want to contribute to top quality medical research?

Recent advances in the field of large-scale molecular biology have opened for the possibility to establish links between genetic alterations and the biology of the nervous system at the cellular and circuit level. This development has transformed the field of research with great hopes of being able to understand disease mechanisms and develop biomarkers for precision medicine. We are now looking for a world-leading scientist for a new professorship in the subject of Molecular Psychiatry. The Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics offers Sweden's best environment for basic molecular medical research, located at Biomedicum at Karolinska Institutet.

Description of the subject area

Psychiatric disorders account for enormous suffering and great societal costs. One of the predominant diseases is schizophrenia and, with the exception of treatment for acute psychosis, there are currently no effective treatment options. The realization that these diseases are largely inherited paved the way for genetics research over the past 20 years. This research has been enormously successful in describing the genetic structure of psychiatric disorders and in identifying risk genes. Molecular psychiatric research has undergone explosive development in the last ten years. These advances have been made possible by rapid technological advances that have increased the overall understanding of the human genome and how it is regulated, as well as detailed knowledge of the genetic variation associated with disease. These achievements have often been made possible through collaborations between larger constellations of research groups. At the same time, other technical advances in large-scale molecular biology with cellular resolution mean that we can now map and catalog the brain's cell types molecularly by measuring the entire gene expression of individual cells. These two achievements together have now opened the possibility to develop completely new approaches to find out which cells are involved in disease and to lay the foundation for advanced studies on alterations of gene expression in disease. Technologies with spatial resolution have also enabled opportunities to study how cells interact in tissues and how different genes are used in different regions of the brain. Molecular psychiatry faces a transformation if the gaps between genetics, molecular biology and neurobiology are bridged. The hope is for a better understanding of the underlying biology of complex diseases, biological classifications or stratifications of psychiatric diseases and the development of new treatment strategies including precision medicine.

Your mission

The position is a professorship focused on research. Supervision of master students and PhD students is part of the activity. You are expected to conduct internationally leading research in the field of molecular psychiatry. Teaching may include postgraduate courses as well as undergraduate courses of biomedicine and the medical school for undergraduate students. You are also expected to contribute to the management and development of the Department. The position includes acting as a research group leader.

Eligibility requirements

Eligible to be employed as a professor with a focus on research is someone who has demonstrated good pedagogical skills and excellent scientific skills, and who otherwise meets the requirements for eligibility for a professorship at Karolinska Institutet. The applicant shall have demonstrated research at the top international level in the area of molecular psychiatry, with publications as senior main author in the very top international journals, and research grants obtained as main applicant in national or international competition.

Assessment criteria

The position focuses on research. For this position, merits will be weighted as follows: scientific skill (3), pedagogical skill (1), management, development and collaboration skills (2).

In the case of employment as a professor at Karolinska Institutet, the eligibility requirements and assessment grounds specified in instructions to the employment order 3.1.1 apply in relation to the established employment profile.

It is particularly meritorious that the applicant has demonstrated

• Published collaborations within the research field, where applicants made a decisive contribution, published in leading journals
• Published scientific breakthroughs within the research field that have had a large international impact

It is meritorious that the applicant has demonstrated

• Proficiency in teaching in postgraduate and undergraduate education and in subjects relevant to the focus of the position in a broad sense
  
  

Applicants must have completed university pedagogical training covering 10 weeks (or have equivalent skills) according to SUHF's recommendations for qualifying university pedagogical education. If such training is missing at the time of employment, the professor must undergo such training within the framework of the employment during the first two years of employment.

Karolinska Institutet employs a comprehensive evaluation approach that takes into account the collective qualifications and competencies of the applicants to assesses which of the applicants has the best conditions to contribute to a positive development of the activity in the organization.

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. Here, 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: Solna, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics

 https://ki.se/en/mbb/department-of-medical-biochemistry-and-biophysics   

Application

Your application must contain the following documents in English: a cover letter as well as a résumé and a qualifications portfolio including a description of your research plan, both presented in accordance with Karolinska Institutet’s template (http://ki.se/qualificationsportfolio). You may change or add to your application at any time up to and including the application deadline date. After the deadline, the process closes, and no amendment or addition can be made to your application.

The applications will be reviewed by external reviewers, most often both national and international. For that reason, all the submitted documents should be written in English.

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

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