Assistant Professor in Cell and Molecular Biology

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Karolinska Institutet, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology

Are you a bold, creative researcher ready to shape the future of medical science? Karolinska Institutet (KI), one of the world’s foremost medical universities, is launching a major recruitment initiative in 2025. KI is seeking 20 outstanding early- career researchers to join us as Assistant Professors in a wide range of subject areas.

At KI, we foster a vibrant, international research environment where curiosity, innovation, and excellence thrive. We are looking for inspiring, driven, and visionary scientists with exceptional research achievements and the potential to become future leaders in their fields.   

The Department of Cell and Molecular Biology (CMB), Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, is a leading academic research centre that prioritizes and promotes long-term projects with the prospect of leading to groundbreaking discoveries across different areas of cell-, molecular-, developmental- and tissue biology. The department is located in Biomedicum, a thriving interdisciplinary research center that concentrates much of the experimental research conducted at Karolinska Institutet. Biomedicum also houses top-quality core facilities and is directly linked to SciLife Labs, a center for national infrastructure. CMB provides an outstanding environment for a dedicated early career scientist with the ambition to establish a top-quality research team aiming to tackle foundational, unresolved biomedical questions.

What do we offer?

If you meet our requirements and propose a groundbreaking research project, we are prepared to employ you as an Assistant Professor for six years and support you with a generous funding package of SEK 12 million to cover your salary and other research costs. KI offers the opportunity to be promoted from a time-limited (six-year) position as Assistant Professor to permanent employment as Senior Lecturer. You can read more about it here.

At KI, you’ll be part of an interdisciplinary research community. Our researchers work across a wide range of fields and methodologies within medicine and health, creating rich opportunities for knowledge exchange and cross-disciplinary collaboration. You’ll also benefit from close connections with healthcare providers, ensuring your research remains closely aligned with real-world clinical practice.

As a state university, KI offers a comprehensive benefits package governed by collective agreements. These include annual salary reviews, supplementary insurance, and opportunities to participate in institutional decision-making.

We also understand that a successful research career is supported by a strong personal foundation. That’s why we are committed to supporting not only our researchers but also their partners and families, recognising the vital role they play in your life and well-being.

Learn more about what KI and Sweden can offer, and the different calls!

Location: Solna

Description of the subject area 

We invite applications from researchers addressing fundamental and unresolved questions in biomedicine, within the broadly defined field of cell- and molecular biology. This open call is intentionally inclusive: we welcome applicants working across diverse biological systems, processes, and scales. We are particularly enthusiastic about research programs that develop innovative technologies or conceptual approaches with the potential to drive transformative discoveries and/or open up entirely new lines of inquiry. We are committed to strengthening the department through the recruitment of outstanding faculty and to fostering pioneering research that expands the frontiers of knowledge and advances biomedical science.   

Your mission 

This Assistant Professor position offers a unique opportunity to build a strong academic profile primarily by developing your independence as a researcher, while also gaining valuable teaching and pedagogical experience.

As assistant professor at CMB you will become group leader, and have full academic freedom and responsibility to develop and execute an independent line of research. You will hold primary responsibility for recruiting and supervising group members, including research staff and students, and are expected to contribute to departmental activities. There will be great opportunity to establish local, national and international collaborations to further boost your research program. You are expected to disseminate your findings through peer reviewed publications and international meetings at a level that secures external funds to finance group expansion and long-term sustainability.

Eligibility requirements 

To be eligible for an appointment as Assistant Professor, you must demonstrate good scientific skills according to KI’s eligibility criteria as follows:

• A PhD (or equivalent degree) in a relevant subject area
• At least two peer-reviewed original scientific publications as first or last author, in addition to the doctoral thesis

Priority is given to those who were awarded a PhD (or attained equivalent competence) no more than seven years prior to the expiry of the deadline for the application.

Those who have been awarded a doctoral degree or attained equivalent research competence earlier will also be considered if there are special circumstances for absence from research (deductible time), such as: parental leave, long-term illness, positions of trust in trade union organizations or mandatory service in total defence.

The circumstances, dates and extent must be clearly specified in the application and verified by relevant documentation.

For this call, exceptions are made from all pedagogical requirements specified in the instructions regarding the Appointment procedure for teachers at KI. However, you must complete three weeks of higher education pedagogical courses in accordance with the Association of Swedish Higher Education Institutions’ recommendations, no later than two years after starting your employment as an Assistant Professor (unless you can certify that you have completed equivalent training before starting the position).

Candidates will be evaluated based on both scientific and pedagogical qualifications, with greater emphasis placed on scientific excellence. The full set of assessment criteria is outlined in the  instructions regarding the Appointment Procedure for Teachers at KI.

Particularly meritorious is:

• the scientific quality, originality, and feasibility of your research plan within the relevant subject area
• documented experience in research environments outside KI, with special consideration given to international research experience

These criteria reflect our commitment to fostering globally competitive researchers who contribute to high-impact science and academic excellence.

It is further meritorious that you have demonstrated the ability to

• initiate and develop an independent line of research
• obtain competitive national and international external research grants
• work independently, take own initiatives, and have good collaborative and leadership skills
• initiate international and national research collaborations
• effectively disseminate your research (publications, invited talks, public outreach)
• supervise colleagues (e.g. students)
• contribute to the university’s educational, translational, or innovation goals 

The criteria listed will form part of the overall assessment of the applicant. All criteria will be assessed but they should not individually be seen as requirements.

Offers will be extended to the best candidate based on an overall assessment of the applicant’s expertise and merits in relation to the subject area.

Application guidelines

All applicants are expected to follow the application instructions carefully. Failure to comply with the guidelines or misrepresentation of qualifications may negatively impact on the evaluation of your application.

The application should consist of the following documents, written in English:

• A personal letter (maximum 1 page)
• Application form, including your research project (the form can be found here)
• Up to ten published papers and optionally one manuscript, in PDF format
• PhD certificate
• If you have a PhD that is older than seven years and want to claim deductible time, you must attach a certificate of deductible time in Swedish or English.

Welcome to apply no later than September 2nd, 2025 (time 23.59 CEST).

For more information about the calls, conditions regarding funding and employment, see here.

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