Research Infrastructure Specialist at the Karolinska Institutet’s 3D-EM facility

Do you want to contribute to top quality medical research?

The Department of Cell and Molecular Biology (CMB) is a department with a strong focus on basic science. CMB conducts research and education in cell biology, molecular biology, developmental biology, stem cell biology, cancer, and infection biology. CMB is located in Biomedicum, an interdisciplinary research center designed to concentrate much of the experimental research conducted at Karolinska Institutet Campus Solna under one roof to promote collaboration. Biomedicum houses approximately 1,200 researchers and other personnel, allowing expensive equipment to be shared and utilized more effectively.

A Research Infrastructure Specialist position is available in the 3D-EM facility at Karolinska Institutet, one of the world’s leading biomedical research institutes. The facility has a strong focus on cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) applied to biological samples, including single particle analysis, cryo-electron tomography, and cryo volume imaging workflows. The facility is located in specially built premises designed for high-end electron (cryo) microscopy. The facility currently features a Krios G3i with a BioQuantum K3, an Aquilos 2 cryo-FIB-SEM, a Leica SP8 cryo-confocal, a Talos 120C G2, and a range of sample-preparation equipment such as Vitrobots and a high-pressure freezer (Leica ICE). All electron microscopes in the facility are controlled remotely, and there are two specially built rooms with 10% relative humidity.

https://ki.se/cmb/3d-em

Your mission

• To help and train users, primarily from Karolinska Institutet, in using instrumentation (Krios, Talos, and Aquilos 2) and associated sample preparation equipment in the facility.
• To guide users in choosing appropriate cryo-EM, volume EM, and related workflows for biological research projects.
• To take part in and/or drive some of the facility’s method-development programs, particularly within cryo-EM, volume imaging, CLEM, and 4D-STEM

As Research Infrastructure Specialist in the KI 3D-EM facility, you will work closely with the other facility manager(s) and director and take shared responsibility for the facility's day-to-day operation.

Eligibility requirements

For employment as Research Infrastructure Specialist at Karolinska Institutet, the eligibility requirements stated in the Guidelines for non-teaching positions at Karolinska Institutet are applied in relation to the established profile of employment.

To be eligible for an employment as Research Infrastructure Specialist the applicant must have demonstrated research expertise and been awarded a PhD or a qualification from a foreign higher education institution deemed equivalent to a Swedish PhD. The applicant must also have demonstrated technological and methodological expertise.

Assessment criteria

We are seeking a Research Infrastructure Specialist with experience in cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) applied to biological samples. Previous hands-on experience with cryo-TEM is required for the position, including experience in single-particle analysis (SPA) and/or cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET). A strong background in biological sciences and experience working with biological specimens for electron microscopy are required.

Experience with cryo-FIB-SEM is considered meriting. The following experience is also considered strongly meriting:

• Cryo-SEM
• Cryo-confocal microscopy and cryo-CLEM workflows
• Cryo volume imaging
• Room-temperature volume EM approaches, such as serial block-face SEM
• Plunge freezing and/or high-pressure freezing (HPF)
• Negative stain electron microscopy
• Immunostaining for electron microscopy
• Experience operating some or all of the instrumentation available in the KI 3D-EM facility
• 4D-STEM methods
• Cryo-EM data analysis pipelines (RELION, IMOD, CryoSPARC, etc)
• SerialEM administration and operation
• Programming experience, especially with scientific python or related languages

Experience with room-temperature TEM or SEM is considered an asset but is not the primary focus of this position.

A PhD or equivalent is required along with high proficiency (native or fluent) in English.

After an overall assessment of the expertise and merits of the applicants in relation to the subject area, Karolinska Institutet will determine which candidate has the best potential to contribute to the positive development of the activities at KI.

What do we offer?

A creative, international 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 good benefits through our collective agreement.

Location: Solna

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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  presented in accordance with  Karolinska Institutet's qualifications portfolio for research infrastructure specialist/senior research infrastructure specialist.

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

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