Postdoctoral studies in Virus-Host Interactions and ISG15-mediated Immune-metabolic Regulation (scholarship)

Do you want to contribute to top quality medical research? 

The Systems Virology group comprises interdisciplinary research teams working at the interface of systems virology, immunometabolism, and host-pathogen interactions, with a particular focus on human-specific immune regulation. Our research team combines advanced wet-lab virology with multi-omics approaches to understand how viruses reprogram cellular homeostasis during infection and immune stress.

As a postdoctoral fellow, you will join an ongoing, data-rich research program and gain hands-on experience in mechanistic experimentation, integrative data analysis, and collaborative projects with strong translational relevance.

Division

The position is based at the Division of Clinical Microbiology within the Department of Laboratory Medicine at Karolinska Institutet. The division conducts research and education focused on infectious diseases, host-pathogen interactions, and immune responses, with strong links to clinical diagnostics and translational research. Research within the division spans molecular virology and bacteriology, immunology, vaccine-related research, and integrative systems-level approaches, aimed at improving the understanding of disease mechanisms and promoting human health.

Duties

The postdoctoral position is part of an interdisciplinary research program focused on host-pathogen interactions and immune-metabolic regulation during infectious diseases, with particular emphasis on innate immune signaling and immune-metabolic control of cellular homeostasis. The overarching aim of the team’s work is to understand how pathogens manipulate host regulatory pathways and how these processes contribute to disease mechanisms relevant to human health.

Within this framework, a central focus of the group is the study of ubiquitin and ubiquitin-like pathways, with particular emphasis on ISG15-mediated regulation of antiviral responses. Ongoing projects investigate how ISG15 controls immune signaling, metabolism, and cellular stress responses, as well as how viruses counteract these mechanisms through virus-encoded deubiquitinases and deISGylases. These studies are driven by mechanistic wet-lab experimentation and complemented by systems-level analyses.

The successful candidate will primarily conduct experimental wet-lab research, including mammalian cell culture, viral infection models, immune stimulation, and genetic or pharmacological perturbation of host pathways. Experimental readouts include molecular and cellular biology techniques such as immunoblotting, immunoprecipitation, quantitative PCR, microscopy, and functional assays. The position builds on established experimental platforms and datasets within the group and supports the continuation and expansion of ongoing postdoctoral and PhD projects.

The research program is further supported by advanced methodologies, including quantitative and PTM-focused proteomics, integrative multi-omics approaches, and advanced imaging techniques, as well as through close collaborations with clinical researchers and access to clinically relevant material. The postdoctoral fellow will interact with these platforms and collaborations as part of the broader research environment, depending on project needs and individual expertise.

In addition, the analysis and interpretation of complex biological datasets form an important component of the work. Experience in computational or bioinformatic data analysis (e.g. using R or Python), as well as familiarity with protein structure-based or structural bioinformatics approaches, is not a requirement, but is considered a strong advantage and may be used to enhance data integration, hypothesis generation, and systems-level interpretation of experimental findings.

The postdoctoral fellow is expected to actively participate in scientific writing, presentation of results, and collaborative research activities. Depending on experience, the role may also include supervision of junior researchers and contributions to the development of new research directions aligned with the group’s focus on ISG15 biology and viral immune evasion mechanisms.

Entry requirements

Postdoctoral scholarships may be established for foreign researchers who pursue their merit in Sweden. A foreign researcher is a person living in another country who comes to Sweden with the intention of only staying in Sweden for all or part of their postdoctoral education at KI. Persons who are resident in Sweden and/or have carried out all or part of their academic education at KI or some other educational institution in Sweden cannot be considered for scholarships. 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.

Personal qualities

The successful candidate is expected to have good interpersonal skills and the ability to work both independently and as part of a team. Strong communication skills in spoken and written English are required. The candidate should be motivated, creative, and capable of taking initiative in driving research projects forward.

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 innovative medical research and provide the largest range of biomedical 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. Students and employees have free access to our modern gym facilities with trained staff on site.

Location: Campus Flemingsberg

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.

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