Postdoctoral studies in Computational Biology (scholarship)

Do you want to contribute to top quality medical research?

In our research group, you will find a unique opportunity to work closely with top researchers at the interface of vascular biology and neuroscience to jointly understand how the human brain becomes vulnerable during injury, neurodegeneration and aging. Our recent work (Månberg et al. Nature Medicine 2021) showed that vascular and glial cells contribute to dynamics of neurodegeneration and this project will aim to refine our understanding of cellular mechanisms, biomarkers and genetic risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and scarring in the central nervous system. We offer an engaging and international research environment where you will have the opportunity to contribute to high quality research at the top international level.

Division

The successful candidate will work in the Applied Immunology & Immunotherapy group with dr. Sebastian Lewandowski – a team leader in Vascular Neurology.
The team is part of the Karolinska Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis (KNIMS) division which gathers around 40 researchers working on different aspects of the pathogenesis of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and other neurodegenerative diseases, including genetics, epidemiology, immunology and epigenetics, with excellent clinical cohorts and experimental models. The Applied Immunology & Immunotherapy group is physically located at the Center for Molecular Medicine (www.cmm.ki.se ), a translational medical center with ~500 researchers working on complex diseases, and with extensive national and international collaborations. The Applied Immunology & Immunotherapy group studies why chronic neurodegenerative diseases occur, and then devise ways to prevent or treat them, applying a range of molecular immunological techniques, experimental models and patient cohorts.

Duties

The project combines single-cell, multi-omics data with large scale human genetics to investigate the cellular origin of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) with particular focus on the role of blood vessels. The postdoc candidate will work closely with researchers in the team as well as with our collaborators and be responsible for data analysis, visualization, and development of new computational methods for processing and analysis of large-scale omics data. We welcome applications from candidates with pure computational background and those combining experimental and theoretical approaches.

Qualifications

• Well-documented expertise in any of the following areas: next-generation sequencing data analysis (singe cell and spatial sequencing),
• Computational genomics, medical statistics, computational biology and/or imaging analysis. 
• PhD in Computer science, Biostatistics, Bioinformatics, Neuroscience, or similar field
• Proficiency in written and spoken English
• Previous work with large-scale data analysis, integration and visualization
• Experience with NGS (10x platform, Smart-Seq) or other high-throughput/dimensionality methods
• Proficiency in scripting language (Python or R) database development, maintaining & sharing code repositories
• Curiosity to solve fundamental biological questions and enthusiasm to lead new independent projects
• Ability to formalize a biological question into a computational model

Entry requirements

Scholarships for postdoctoral qualification can be established for foreign researchers who place their qualifications in Sweden. The purpose of scholarships for postdoctoral qualification is to promote internationalization and contribute to research qualification after a doctorate or equivalent.
A scholarship for carrying out postdoctoral research can be granted for a maximum of two years within a four year period following the receipt of a doctoral degree or equivalent.
To be eligible for a postdoctoral scholarship, the person must have obtained a doctorate or a foreign degree deemed to be equivalent to a doctorate. Applicants who have not completed a doctorate at the end of the application period may also apply, provided that all requirements for a completed degree are met before the (intended) start date of the post doctoral education.

The head of the department determines whether their previous training and scholarly qualifications correspond to a Swedish doctorate or higher.

Location: Solna

Type of scholarship

The amount is tax free and it is set for twelve months at a time, paid out on a six months basis. In exceptional cases, shorter periods may be acceptable.

Application process

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

• A complete curriculum vitae, 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)

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

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