Research assistant in Cell and Molecular Neurobiology (fixed-term)

Do you want to contribute to top quality medical research?

We are seeking a research assistant who will help us investigate the impact of perinatal mental illness and related pharmaceutical treatment on the offspring’s health outcomes, especially as relates to neurodevelopment and brain health. This position constitutes a recruitment by the Cruceanu Lab (Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, FyFa) at the Karolinska Institutet Solna campus. The selected candidate will become a part of the Developmental and Translational Neurobiology Research Group at FyFa led by Assistant Professor Cristiana Cruceanu. The group studies molecular mechanisms of how stress and pharmacological exposures shape early human development, aiming to understand the long-term outcomes of these exposures on neurodevelopmental and mental health. We use state-of-the-art in-vitro cell culture models of the brain and placenta and human cohorts in combination with state of the art imaging and computational biology techniques.

Your mission

We seek an outstanding and innovative individual to join our collaborative team. This individual should be passionately committed to furthering knowledge of developmental neurobiology with the ultimate aim of improving mental health outcomes. The successful applicant will join our team and conduct research on molecular and ‘omics data generated from biospecimens and in-vitro exposure paradigms in fetal development models of the brain and placenta. The main aim of the proposed research program is to disentangle the impact of perinatal mental illness and related pharmaceutical treatment on maternal and offspring health outcomes. We will model exposures in-vitro using multi-tissue organoids to uncover the underlying biological mechanisms of pharmacological exposure. The successful applicant will play a key role in these novel projects and will have rich interactions with all group members as well as collaborators at FyFa, KI, and abroad.

Your profile

Qualified to be employed as a research assistant is one who has obtained a MSc degree in a relevant field or has equivalent scientific competence. We seek an enthusiastic and talented individual with suitable cell and molecular biology education, with interest and experience in in-vitro culture systems, especially stem-cell derived brain models.

Experience in pharmacology and physiology is essential, as the proposed project will bridge the gap between these fields in the neurodevelopment context.
Experience with cerebral organoids or other neuronal model systems is a plus, as is a background in tissue engineering and regeneration.
A combined interest in wet lab and dry lab approaches is of interest.
The ideal candidate will be proficient in culturing and handling induced pluripotent or embryonic stem cell culture systems or similar. Additionally, the candidate must be able to independently perform basic molecular biology techniques such as immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, quantitative PCR and other protein and gene quantification methods.
Applicants should be highly collegial and experienced in working eﬀectively in “team science” contexts. Successful candidates are expected to possess exceptional organizational skills.
Above all, we will evaluate highly the ability of the candidate to work independently while also being a team player who can collaborate and contribute positively to various ongoing projects.
Applicants will be asked to describe past examples of having developed structured approaches to solving unanticipated and complex problems.
Excellent oral and written communication skills in English are required, along with experience with scientific writing. The professional communication language for this position will be English.

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 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 employees 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.

We are strongly committed to equity, diversity and inclusiveness, and encourage individuals from diverse backgrounds to apply.

Location: Solna

https://ki.se/en/research/groups/developmental-and-translational-neurobiology-cristiana-cruceanus-research-group

Application

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

A complete CV, including publication list if relevant.
A letter of motivation, with direct relevance to the advertised position.
The contact information for at least two individuals who can provide a reference.

You are also asked to answer some questions about why you are applying for the job in the application form. You will be asked to provide the contact information of two references.

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

Welcome to apply!

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