Postdoctoral Researcher in Protein-Protein Interaction Studies

Do you want to contribute to top quality medical research?

A position as postdoctoral researcher is available at the Department of Neuroscience at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden for a motivated young individual wishing to join a multidisciplinary project with critical next steps to understand and to modulate novel mechanisms of neuroendocrine signaling in the hypothalamus and pancreas. The research project is supported by grants from the Swedish Research Council and Novo Nordisk Foundation.

During the recent past, our laboratory has discovered novel proteins participating in the exocytosis release machinery for the stress hormone, CRH, as well as for insulin. Our work has particularly focused on a novel class of calcium-sensor proteins, their localization, biochemical characterization, typifying of their protein-protein interactions and the structural investigation of the protein-complexes. A postdoctoral fellow is recruited to take the project forward to the analysis of protein-protein interactions and the possibility to pharmacologically inhibit hormone release. Relevant literature includes: Malenczyk K. et al. EMBO J. PMID:28637794; Romanov RA. et al. EMBO J. PMID:25430741, Fuzik J et al. PNAS PMID: 31796600 and Malenczyk K. et al. Mol Metab. PMID: 29910119). Providing new pharmacological means to modulate hormone release and consequently stress, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and diabetes could be seen as major therapeutic advances.

Your mission

Post-doc position with a focus on protein biophysics, ligand interactions and structural biology:

The candidate will be expected to produce recombinant proteins and to identify and characterize protein-protein interactions, determine their biochemical and biophysical characteristics and study these in a biological context. Considering that drug-like small molecules interfering with the very protein-protein interactions are being developed, characterization of their binding specificity, affinity, and the structural basis of their binding by X-ray crystallography will be an important part of the work.

Qualifications

We are looking for a highly motivated candidate with a Ph.D. or equivalent degree in a field of medicinal chemistry, biochemistry, biophysics, or structural biology. Documented expertise in characterizing protein-protein and protein-small molecule interactions and/or X-ray crystallography will be considered an advantage. The successful candidate will be expected to establish heterologous protein expression, carry out large scale protein purification, characterize the interactions of proteins and their ligands in vitro, and participate in structural studies aimed to determine on how protein partners interact. Outstanding communication skills and an ability to interact socially and scientifically within a multinational team in the laboratory, and with collaborators across Europe and overseas will be essential. Top-tier publications in any relevant field will be seen as a priority during the selection process.

Your profile

To be eligible for employment as a postdoctor 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.

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: Solna

Choose to work at KI – Ten reasons why

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)
At least two letters of reference need to be enclosed.

Welcome to apply at the latest July 27, 2023.

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

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