Postdoctoral position on liver metastasis of colorectal cancer

Do you want to contribute to top quality medical research?

We are seeking an ambitious post-doc to develop an exciting project on the roles of fibroblasts and perivascular cells in colorectal cancer (CRC) liver metastasis. The project is a joint feature of three groups with complementary expertise in tumor biology and oncologic and surgical treatments of CRC. The study takes advantage of front-line methods for spatial tissue profiling applied to a highly competitive clinically well-annotated collection of CRC liver metastasis.

The project will be co-supervised by Prof. Arne Östman, PhD, Prof. Pia Österlund MD, PhD. and Marco Gerling, MD, PhD.

The Östman group perform translational research on the tumor microenvironment. Studies range from tumor biology studies, experimental therapy studies and tissue profiling for discovery of prognostic and predictive biomarkers.
https://ki.se/en/onkpat/arne-ostmans-group

Prof. Österlund is responsible for the RAXO CRC study maximizing metastasectomies and has an internationally recognized collection of matched primary tumor and metastatic tissue, coupled with outcome data.
https://staff.ki.se/people/pia-osterlund

Dr. Gerling has a background that combines tumor biology studies with clinical work as oncologist. His translational research group is focused on liver metastasis.
https://ki.se/en/bionut/cancer-cell-invasion

Studies will mostly be performed in the Östman/Österlund group at the Department of Oncology-Pathology (https://ki.se/en/onkpat/department-of-oncology-pathology).

Activities at the department include basic, translational, and clinical research and education related to cancer. Approximately 300 people from over 40 nations are currently working at the department. The department have 37 research groups and around 110 PhD students.

Your mission

The candidate will use a broad spectrum of techniques to study the distribution, spatial context, and functional importance of tumor microenvironment cells. Particular focus will be on recently identified subsets of colorectal cancer fibroblasts, in primary tumors and liver metastasis. Studies will rely on state-of-the-art methods for multiplex tissue staining and digital image analyses. The project is performed with the double purpose of tumor biology discovery and biomarker identification. For the latter, the Finnish RAXO cohort is a major resource, as well as samples from patients operated at Karolinska Hospital.

Your profile

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

The applicant must show verified skills particularly in tumor biology, preferably with a focus on tumor microenvironment and antibody-based tissue analyses. Candidates with experience with big data analyses, and coding with R and/or Python are prioritized.

The candidate should be self-motivated, have good communication skills and an ability to interact effectively and work within a team. Fluency in English is a requirement.

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: BioClinicum, Karolinska Institutet, Solna campus

Application

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

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 January 16th.

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

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