Postdoc in Bioinformatics for Proteome-guided Precision Medicine in Lung Cancer

Do you want to contribute to top quality medical research?

Karolinska Institutet, Department of Oncology-Pathology, Orre/Lehtiö research group

Do you want to contribute to the development of next generation precision medicine in Lung Cancer?

Lung cancer alone is responsible for an estimated two million deaths world-wide every year. New diagnostic and therapeutic strategies are desperately needed to combat this disease and ease the suffering of patients. Precision medicine refers to the tailoring of medical treatment to the individual characteristics of each patient. We are looking for a passionate postdoctor in bioinformatics interested in the concept of precision medicine to work with different types of omics data, with a focus on clinical mass spectrometry (MS)- based proteomics data. The research will include defining and understanding the biology behind different lung cancer subgroups, how they relate to clinical outcomes, and how this information can be used to guide therapy selection.

The position will be placed in the Lung Cancer team headed by Associate Professor Lukas Orre. The team is embedded in the larger research group Cancer Proteomics Mass Spectrometry led by Professor Janne Lehtiö and located at Science for Life Laboratory (SciLifeLab). The overall aim of this research group is to generate and investigate multi-omics tumor data in a translational setting to improve cancer treatment. The group members are from various disciplines working as a team to study genes and proteins in the context of biological networks. The generated knowledge is used to improve our understanding of how molecular changes in a tumor impact the proteome, and to discover new disease biomarkers for prediction of therapy response.

SciLifeLab is a national infrastructure and research center in technology and data driven life sciences and Karolinska Institutet is one of the four founding universities of SciLifeLab. We offer a very stimulating and diverse work in a team of highly motivated co-workers with expertise in cutting-edge technology closely associated with the large data-driven life science community.

Your mission

We seek a highly motivated postdoc in bioinformatics, interested in clinical cancer ​omics data analysis with an emphasis on mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics. The postdoc position requires solid expertise in genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics data analysis, communication skills and the willingness to work in a team environment. The postdoctoral research offers great possibility for innovative research combining proteomics, genomics and clinical data, together with a dedicated group of scientists.

The postdoc employment will include integrative and translational analysis of multiple levels of omics data derived from lung cancer cohorts. The focus will be on applying and developing bioinformatics methods to answer biologically and clinically relevant research questions and as well as to validate and expand on the findings using public domain data. This includes both applying established data analysis approaches as well as investigating new strategies and solutions for the analysis of quantitative biological data. Further, the work involves the use of machine learning-based methods for the development of molecular classifiers for stratification of cancer into different treatment groups to support clinical decision-making in the oncology setting.

Your profile

To be eligible for employment as a postdoctor, a PhD or a foreign degree deemed to be equivalent to a Swedish PhD is required. This eligibility requirement must be fulfilled at the latest at the time of the employment decision. Completion of your doctoral degree within the last three years is considered an advantage. If there are special reasons, your degree may have been completed earlier.

Qualifications

• PhD in biology, medicine, bioinformatics, computer science, mathematical statistics, or another relevant field.
• Documented prior experience as a postdoc.
• Documented experience in bioinformatics applied to high-dimensional and/or high-throughput data, including NGS and MS-based proteomics.
• Work experience in systems biology/systems medicine, large-scale data analysis, integration and visualization.
• Programming experience in R and/or Python.
• Knowledge in statistical methods.
• Understanding of cell- and molecular wet-lab experimental methods.
• Ability to interpret omics data in a biological context.
• Excellent communications skills.
• Fluent in English language

Additional merits

• Previous documented track record in omics data analysis including MS-based proteomics.
• Knowledge and work experience in the field of lung cancer biology and precision medicine.
• Knowledge and work experience in multi-level omics data analysis of clinical sample cohorts.
• Knowledge and work experience in machine learning and classification methods.
• Knowledge and work experience in network analysis.
• Knowledge of current translational cancer research.
• Strong publication track record with significant own contribution (e.g first name authorship).
• Experience in building and handling interactive user-friendly web-based visualization tools.

Since the position involves both independent work and close interaction with several researchers, emphasis is placed on personal skills such as:

• Strong emphasis on personal skills.
• Ability to work independently.
• Very good collaborative skills.
• Excellent communication skills and analytical skills.
• Curious and eager to solve biological questions.

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: Science for Life Laboratory in Solna

Choose to work at KI – Ten reasons why
Lehtiö Lab

Application

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

• PhD certificate
• 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)

Welcome to apply at the latest 25^th April. 

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

This employment is for 2 years, with possibility of extension. 

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