Karolinska Institutet, Dept of Medicine/Center for Infectious Medicine(CIM)

Description of research group and project
We are looking for an ambitious postdoc with solid molecular biology skills to join our highly accomplished team of immunologists.

The Mjösberg group studies the development, regulation and function of a particular immune cell, innate lymphoid cells (ILCs), in humans, and how these cells contribute to pathology in mucosal organs such as the lung and gut. The studies are translational as they involve advanced basic molecular and cellular immunological investigations of precious human tissue samples to discover novel disease mechanisms and therapy targets in inflammatory bowel disease, colorectal cancer, allergy and asthma. The Mjösberg group consists of 2 PhD students and 3 postdocs working closely together with clinical partners at several Swedish hospitals and laboratory facilities at Science for Life Laboratories (SciLifeLab), Karolinska Institutet and abroad. The group is internationally recognized as a leader in the field through several high impact publications in recent years (Nat Immunol 2016, JACI 2018, JACI 2018). The postdoc will continue the successful line of investigations utilizing single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and ATAC-seq to dissect human ILC biology in health and disease. In particular, the successful candidate will perform follow-up studies to address the functional importance of novel findings in our whole-genome investigations.

The postdoc will be a part of the Center for Infectious Medicine (CIM), Karolinska Institutet, which is a nationally leading and internationally competitive center for human translational immunology and infectious diseases research. The center consists of approximately 25 graduate students and 20 postdocs organized around 17 independent research groups, which has fostered many young and competitive researchers.

Duties
The project is based on our already collected large sets of high-throughput sequencing data including scRNA-seq (SMARTseq2 and 10X genomics) and ATAC-seq data as well as multicolor flow cytometry data of human mucosal ILCs, which are being analyzed by other team members in close collaboration with bioinformaticians at SciLifeLab. We are seeking a postdoc that can be integrated into these ongoing studies by performing follow-up investigations on the functional role for ILCs in mucosal inflammation. The work will entail isolation of lymphocytes from human tissues, molecular manipulations of lymphocytes using siRNA/CRISPR-Cas9/lentiviral approaches as well as functional vitro assays. As this is a team effort, excellent communication skills and fluency in English is essential, as is proven ability to work in multidisciplinary teams. It is expected that the postdoc also supervise students and other researchers if necessary, as well as contribute to common lab duties.

Entry requirements
The candidate must hold a PhD equivalent to a Swedish doctoral degree in the field of immunology or molecular biology. If the candidate is an immunologist, he/she should have been trained in molecular biology during her/his bachelor-, master- or PhD degree, and vice versa. The candidate must fully master multidimensional flow cytometry analysis and sorting, as well as molecular gene silencing and overexpression techniques (such as siRNA/CRISPR-Cas9/lentiviral approaches). Experience in in vitro culturing of primary immune cells is a requirement, as is basic functional in vitro assessments of immune cell function such as intracellular cytokine stainings, ELISA etc. The candidate should have a strong publication track-record. The candidate should be self-motivated, have good communications skills and a proven ability to interact effectively and work productively in an interdiciplinary team. Fluency in English is a requirement.

Application process
An employment application must contain the following documents in English:

  1. A personal letter explaining the interest in the position
  2. 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
  3. Contact details for two referees
  4. A complete list of publications
  5. A summary of current work (no more than one page)

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

The Center for Infectious Medicine, the Department of Medicine Huddinge, Karolinska Institute
The Department of Medicine at Huddinge comprises of seven units, three research centers, and a total of around 70 independent research groups. Our ambition is to be a leading department within medical research and education. At the Center for Infectious Medicine (CIM) (http://www.ki.se/cim) research focuses on studies of the human immune system. The vision is to be a world leading translational research center within immunology.

Type of employment Temporary position
Contract type Full time
First day of employment According to agreement
Number of positions 1
Full-time equivalent 100 %
City Huddinge
County Stockholms län
Country Sweden
Reference number 2-1663/2019
Contact
  • Jenny Mjösberg, jenny.mjosberg@ki.se
Union representative
  • Carina Eklund, OFR, 08-585 826 65
  • Belinda Pannagel, SACO, belinda.pannagel@ki.se
Published 14.Mar.2019
Last application date 12.Apr.2019 11:59 PM CEST

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