Research Specialist in Pluripotent Stem Cell derived Cell Therapies

Do you want to contribute to improving human health?

Novel Stem Cell derived Cell Therapies have the potential to dramatically improve health or even cure disease and injuries of the Brain and Spinal Cord. Would you like to contribute to our research?

Description of the subject area

The research group is using induced pluripotent stem cells to develop novel cell therapies for disorders of CNS. We use knowledge from development biology to direct differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) to neural cells for regenerative medicine and further work with aspects of clinical translation as quality controls, standardization and defined protocols.

Your mission

The work includes advanced cell culture of human stem cells like iPSC, neural differentiation, neural stem cells and complex experimental setups for identifying extrinsic and intrinsic factors that directs cell fate. Various analyses of expression of RNA and protein and morphometry and functional assessment of the cells. The work will include both fundamental research but also translation parts and work in accordance with GMP. The position included much lab and administration responsibility in addition to responsibility in driving collaboration with other labs nationally and international also with clinical research groups. Furthermore, the research specialist is expected to drive and coordinate writing of papers and grants.

Eligibility requirements

To be eligible for employment as a Research Specialist, in addition to holding a Degree of Doctor, PhD, or having equivalent scientific expertise, the applicant must have demonstrated research expertise as well as have documented research experience after defending their doctoral dissertation. The successful applicant will have documented postdoctoral experience of culturing human iPSC, neural differentiation and culture of neural stem cells in addition to documented experience of work within clinical translation as creating defined protocols, plan batch manufacturing and development of quality controls. Another criterion is documented experience of receiving grants in competition.

Assessment criteria

The employment requirements are:

• Completed PhD in stem cell biology, neurobiology, molecular biology or equivalent
• Postdoctoral studies within iPSC, neural cell therapy development
• Documented experience of receiving grants in competition
• Documented experience in leading the writing of reviews within the field of neural stem cells
• Documented experience in culturing human iPS cells
• Experience of neural differentiation of human iPS cells
• Documented experience in culturing neural stem cells
• Experience in process development of cell therapy
• Experience of standardization of methods and cells
• Ability to plan and use molecular methods such as RT-PCR, Westen blot, immunostaining and imaging
• Scientific skills to plan and analyze experiments
• Experience in administrative tasks as recruitment processes, reporting for grants, grant writing
• Skills to function well in collaborative projects both within the group and with other research groups as well as with other disciplines
• Positive attitude, hard work and a drive to succeed
• Documented experience of presenting research in speech and writing

Great emphasis will be placed on personal qualities. The tasks require that you are structured, accurate, persistent and with great interest in the regenerative potential of iPSC and how iPSC therapies should reach the patient.

Additional qualifications (meritorious) for the position are:

• Translational work and innovation
• Work within a preGMP environment
• Quality work
• Interdisciplinary collaborations
• Good ability to supervise 

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 KI.

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.

Location: Solna

Choose to work at KI - Ten reasons why

Application

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

Welcome to apply at the latest 2025-12-23. 

The application must be submitted through the Varbi recruitment system and should include the following:

• Personal letter (max 1 page) including description of how you fulfill the requirements
• Short CV
• PhD graduation certificate[AF1] 

This is a fixed term employment, of maximum of 1 year. 

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