Research Specialist in pulmonary host defence in chronic airway disease

Do you want to contribute to top quality medical research?

Description of the subject area

The scientific focus for the current position is on cellular and molecular mechanisms behind alterations in pulmonary host defense among patients with chronic airway disease. The long-term goal of our research group is to characterize novel and critical aspects of immune signaling to identify targets for diagnosis, monitoring and therapy for airway disorders such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic bronchitis bronchiectasis and severe asthma.

Your mission

The successful applicant will work in the Division for Lung and Airway Research in laboratories located at the Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital Solna, and at the Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Solna Campus. The position is intended to serve two research groups in the division on a 70/30 basis. The primary responsibility is the practical and administrative responsibility for laboratory logistics, biobank storage and data bases for our human study samples. The collection of samples from human donors requires close collaboration with specialist physicians and nurses at Karolinska University Hospital in Solna and Huddinge. The secondary responsibility is the analysis with flow cytometry of the airway and blood cell samples from human donors. The third responsibility is to design and perform experiments on isolated cells from the airways and from blood. The position also requires collaboration with Research specialists from other research groups in our professional network.  The position will allow the qualified applicant to develop a personal line of research on a part-time basis.

Eligibility requirements

To be eligible for employment as a Research Specialist, in addition to holding an academic Degree of Doctor (PhD) in a relevant subject area, the applicant must possess excellent methodological research expertise in cell and molecular biology as well as in immunology. To qualify for the position, the applicant’s PhD grade should include cell biology, immunology, medicine, molecular biology or other relevant field of research for the position.

Assessment criteria

The successful candidate must have a scientific background relevant to the study of cellular and molecular immunology in human airways and blood. This means that the successful applicant is required to have expertise in cell culture techniques. It is especially important that the applicant has an in-depth technical and practical understanding of techniques in flow cytometry for the characterization of immune cells and their cytokine signaling. Documented skills in and experience from additional methods in molecular biology constitute a strong merit. Documented experience from work with animal in vivo models is also a merit.

Required characteristics of the applicant include good organizational skills, personal commitment, and flexibility. Previous experience from being responsible for the practical management of a biomedical laboratory is a very strong merit. Experience from project coordination and laboratory safety management is needed. Previous experience from the database software REDCAP is a plus. Interest in and experience from the practical supervision of Post docs and PhD students is a plus. Social competence, the ability to work in a team and good communication skills in English are important. Practical skills in Swedish are desirable.

After an overall assessment of the expertise and merits of the applicants in relation to the subject area, Karolinska Institutet will determine which of them has the best potential to contribute to a positive development of the activities at the involved division.

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.

Form of employment:
To start with, this is a 12-month position that prepares the qualified applicant for a coming permanent position. The successful candidate may be offered to apply for a subsequent position in our division after this period. Full time employment is preferred.

Location: Solna

Application

We prefer that Your application is written in English, but You can also apply in Swedish. An application must contain the following documents: Resumé, qualifications and description of planned research, presented in accordance with Karolinska Institutet's qualifications portfolio.

Welcome to apply.

The application must be submitted through the Varbi recruitment system.

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