Postdoctoral Researcher in Tumor Biology – Chemokine Signaling

Do you want to contribute to top quality medical research?

At the Department of Medicine, Huddinge (MedH), Karolinska Institutet, we study redox-controlled pathways that drive tumor progression. You will join a collaborative, well-equipped group at Campus Flemingsberg, focusing on how a chemokine of the CCL family sustains tumor cell survival, angiogenesis and metastasis, and how that pathway can be targeted.

Your mission

You will lead experiments to test whether inhibiting signaling by a CCL-class chemokine restrains lung cancer and melanoma progression in vitro and in vivo. Experiments include:

• Genetic perturbations in tumor cells (CRISPR/Cas9, shRNA/CRISPRi; receptor knockout/inactivation) and protein-level modulation (viral vectors, targeted mutagenesis).
• Mouse oncology models: genetically engineered strains and xenograft studies in syngeneic and NSG mice, with longitudinal readouts of primary tumor growth, dissemination and metastasis.
• Mechanistic analyses (e.g., phosphoprotein signaling, cytosol–nuclear transport, transcriptional regulation) and functional phenotyping (proliferation, invasion, colony formation).
• Cross-team collaboration on data analysis (RNA-seq, methylation, ChIP-seq, imaging) and reporting.

You will be part of Professor Martin Bergös research group

This position is a time-limited employment for two years.

Your profile

Essential qualifications

• PhD (or equivalent) in molecular/cellular biology, cancer biology, or a related field.
• Hands-on expertise in advanced mouse models for cancer (including genetically modified strains and xenografts in syngeneic and immunodeficient/NSG mice).
• Strong skills in cell culture and gene/protein perturbation (CRISPR/Cas9, shRNA/CRISPRi, viral vectors, targeted mutagenesis).
• Proven ability to plan, execute, analyze and document multi-step in vivo studies with high research integrity.

Meritorious (desirable)

• Experience with chemokine/GPCR biology or the tumor microenvironment.
• Phospho-proteomics or pathway-targeted western blotting (e.g., STAT).
• Histology, IHC, image analysis; statistics.
• Evidence of teamwork across labs/cores and timely delivery of figures/manuscripts.

We place great emphasis on personal suitability.

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.

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: Campus Flemingsberg

Links: Department of Medicine Huddinge

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 26 November 2025

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

Permanent position is initiated by a six months trial period.

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