Postdoctoral studies in (scholarship)

Do you want to contribute to improving human health?

One position is now open in Professor Karin Loré’s group for bioinformatical analyses to study mechanisms of action of vaccines. The overall focus of the research group is to investigate immune functions by which different vaccine formulations regulate immunity. The successful candidate will join an enthusiastic team at the Department of Medicine, Solna at Karolinska Institutet and study timely questions in close collaboration with the vaccine industry. The Loré laboratory has a variety of samples and comprehensive sequencing datasets from vaccine studies in place, providing an excellent foundation for candidates eager to quickly engage in advanced bioinformatic research and data-driven discovery.

Duties

The group’s studies focus on the generation of high quality and durable B cell and T cell responses by vaccination. This involves high resolution analyses of both early cell activation and gene modulation as well as of the B cell and antibody response including mapping of antibody specificities. The projects will have a special focus on mRNA vaccines and nanoparticle vaccines with different adjuvants. The bioinformatical analyses will employ samples obtained from clinical studies and non-human primate models and focus on bioinformatics preprocessing and analysis of single-cell and/or bulk RNA sequencing as well as adaptive immune receptor repertoire (AIRR; BCR/TCR) sequencing. The research program will partly be shaped to take into account the interests and experience of the candidate.

The position will be based at Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. We work in collaboration with academic partners, vaccine companies as well as funding agencies such as the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation. Thus, the candidate will have the opportunity to interact with and learn various scientific and technical expertise from leading researchers in the vaccine field.

The candidate is expected to learn and take part in experimental design, experimentation, presentation, and publication of results. In addition, he or she is expected to join research-related activities such as group meetings, departmental seminars, national/international meetings, as well as take part in routine work within our research team and help supervise students within the group.

Entry requirements

We are seeking a highly motivated individual passionate about exploring the principles of immune system function through cutting-edge bioinformatics approaches. The candidate applying must have a PhD degree in (bio)informatics, computer science, biochemistry, or a related discipline. Proven experience with some of the relevant bioinformatics approaches (such as R and Python programming, basic Bash scripting) and deep knowledge in the analysis of adaptive immune receptor repertoire (AIRR) sequencing are required. Additional assets include well-annotated and well-documented code, use of version control (Git/GitHub), experience working with high-performance computing clusters, good practices for handling sensitive or regulated datasets as well as knowledge of immunology.

Emphasis will be placed on personal suitability and compatibility with lab members. Applicants must have good communication skills in English and ability to collaborate and work productively in a team.

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.

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

The position is located within the Department of Medicine, Solna. The department consists of twelve divisions and each division consists of several research groups. The position is located within the research group of Karin Loré at the Division of Immunology and Respiratory Medicine. A range of preclinical as well as clinical studies in allergy, infections and immune modulation are being conducted within the division. The successful candidate will join an international team. Stockholm is a vibrant international megapolis with high quality of living standard. English is the working language of the group. The Karolinska Institutet is one of the centers of excellence for biomedical research in the world (ranked as 8th in the world in Life Sciences and Medicine by QS World University Ranking). It possesses cutting edge infrastructure.

https://ki.se/en/meds/research-group-karin-lore.

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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