Postdoctoral studies in functional epigenetics in metabolic disorders (scholarship) - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

The Department of Biosciences and Nutrition performs research and education in several areas of medical science including aging, Alzheimer, bioorganic chemistry, biomaterial, molecular endocrinology, cancer biology, functional genomics, systems biology, epigenetics, structural biochemistry, immunology, and nutrition. It offers an excellent international research and working environment, including around 250 scientists, students, administrative and technical personnel. The Department resides in Neo at Campus Flemingsberg, a biomedical research building, aimed at being a creative and open environment that enables meetings, synergies, and exploration of areas of mutual interest across disciplines.

Do you want to contribute to top quality medical research?

Our research is devoted to exploring the epigenetic mechanisms underlying metabolic disorders. We are seeking a highly motivated postdoc to join our efforts to better understand the role of cis-regulatory enhancers and silencers controlling metabolic tissue functions. A strong emphasis will be on identifying and modulating potentially causal alterations associated with type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Division

The position will be placed at the Department of Biosciences and Nutrition at the Karolinska Institutet South Campus. Our research team (led by Principal Investigator Rongrong Fan) conducts pre-clinical research to better understand how key components of the epigenome, such as transcription factors, corepressors and cis-regulatory elements, control metabolic and inflammatory pathways in the context of obesity, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease and atherosclerosis (Nat Med 2016, Cell Rep 2018, Nat Comm 2019, Mol Cell 2021). For a detailed description of our laboratory and projects, please see our website https://ki.se/en/bionut/liver-and-monocyte-remodelling-in-non-alcoholic-fatty-liver-disease-and-cardiovascular

Project and Duties

The candidate will investigate epigenetic mechanisms involving enhancer and silencer functions in human metabolic disorders. The postdoc candidate will explore new methods, and in combination with our existing epigenetic analytical techniques, he/she will explore the molecular features and disease-relevance of enhancer and silencer remodeling in both human samples and animal models. This project involves collaborations with clinicians from the adjacent Huddinge Hospital. The postdoc candidate is also expected to perform combinative analysis to extract the clinical-relevant information from the multi-omics data.

The project is well pre-defined but the candidate will have enough freedom to express their preferences and own ideas and explore all advanced techniques and possibilities with the world class infrastructure support at Karolinska Institute and SciLife laboratory.

Qualifications

We are inviting applications of highly motivated and talented candidates with a successful PhD (publications) in molecular biology, biomedicine, biochemistry, genetics or related fields. A thorough understanding of transcription, chromatin and epigenetic mechanisms along with documented lab-wet skills in genomics and epigenomics approaches are essential. Additionally, biocomputational expertise to analyze -omics data is desired or expected to be acquired within the initial project stages (with help from more experienced lab members). Previous experience in working with human primary cells and/or mouse models would be an advantage. Above that, the successful candidate will have excellent communication and organizational skills and can work both independently and as a team player.

Entry requirements

Scholarships for postdoctoral qualification can be established for foreign researchers who place their qualifications in Sweden. 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.

The head of the department determines whether their previous training and scholarly qualifications correspond to a Swedish doctorate or higher.

Location: Karolinska Institutet South 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:

• A complete curriculum vitae, including date of the thesis defence, title and brief summary of the PhD thesis, previous and current academic positions, academic title, academic distinctions, and committee work
• A complete list of publications (with highlighting up to three most significant papers and explaining your individual contribution to each of them with 3-4 sentences)
• A personal motivation letter with expressing your choice of the project and some ideas (no more than one A4 page)

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

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