Karolinska Institutet, Institutionen för mikrobiologi, tumör- och cellbiologi

Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology (MTC) at Karolinska Institutet conducts research and teaching in immunology, infection biology, cell biology and cancer. MTC has about 430 active employees, including 100 PhD students, 50 postdoctoral researchers and 26 professors. Key words are multidisciplinary, bridging, translational, national and international collaborations

A doctoral position is an available doctoral education project to which a PhD student is to be recruited. After the selection process the process for admission to doctoral education will commence. An admission decision will not be taken until an individual study plan has been approved by the departmental admission board.

For more information regarding doctoral (PhD) education, see: http://www.ki.se/doctoral

Research group
We search for a PhD student that together with Professor Birgitta Henriques Normark and her collaborators will work on a project on pneumococcal meningitis.

The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies infectious diseases as one of the greatest global health threats. Pneumococci are a major contributor to morbidity and mortality world-wide. They are one of the most common causes of respiratory tract infections such as otitis media and sinusitis as well as of severe diseases such as pneumonia, septicemia and meningitis. However, pneumococci are also common colonizers of the upper respiratory tract of healthy children. It is still not totally clear what determines whether the bacteria will cause a disease or just stay colonizing healthy individuals.

The doctoral education project and the duties of the student
In this project, partly funded by a KID grant from Karolinska Institutet, we aim at unravelling bacterial, host and environmental factors important for development of pneumococcal meningitis. Goals are to understand mechanisms for pneumococcal entry from the blood to the brain. Moreover we aim at characterizing metabolic conditions allowing bacterial growth in the brain and spread to cause meningitis and if bacterial presence in the brain affects brain function. Both in vitro cell culture models and imaging methods will be used, as well as in vivo models and different omics approaches (genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics etc).

The project will be done together with researchers in Singapore, NTU (Nanyang Technological University), and visits to this university to perform certain experiments will be important for the success of the project.

The PhD studies correspond to 4 years of full-time studies. This includes lab work, courses, seminars, and presentation of results at meetings. Other responsibilities include development of methodology and work routines, literature review, statistical analysis and draft scientific manuscripts.

Entry requirements for doctoral education at KI
To be eligible for doctoral education following requirements has to be met:

General entry requirements
A person meets the general entry requirements for doctoral/third-cycle/PhD education (according to Higher Education Ordinance Chapt 7, section 39) if he/she:

  1. has been awarded advanced/second-cycle/master qualification (i.e. master degree) or
  2. has satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits of which at least 60 credits were awarded in the second-cycle/master level, or
  3. has acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad.

Specific entry requirements
Proficiency in English equivalent to the course English B/English 6 at Swedish upper secondary school:
Proficiency in the English language can be documented by an internationally recognized test such as TOEFL or IELTS, see web-link below for more information.
Applicants who meet the general entry requirements (1 or 2 above) from a university in one of the Nordic countries fulfill the requirements in English.

For more information regarding general and specific entry requirements: http://ki.se/en/education/entry-requirements-eligibility-for-doctoral-education

Skills and personal qualities
To qualify, the applicant must apply to the rules for becoming a PhD student at the Karolinska Institutet, be without a PhD, and must have less than 4 years of experience in research. Previous experience in relevant subject areas for the project will be prioritized. Personal competence including social skills and relevant competences in languages such as English and /or Swedish is favorable. The employment as PhD student will be fixed to up to four years.

Assessment criteria
A selection will be made among qualified applicants on the basis of the ability to benefit from doctoral education. Karolinska Institutet uses the following bases of assessment:
- Documented subject knowledge of relevance to the area of research
- Analytical and personal skills
- Other documented knowledge or experience that may be relevant to doctoral studies in the subject 

The qualifications of the applicants will be evaluated on an overall basis.

Terms and conditions
All doctoral students at KI receive financial support during their doctoral education and employment on a doctoral studentship is the most common sort of support. During the time between recruitment and admission a short-term employment can be offered for up to 6 months.

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

  • A personal letter and curriculum vitae
  • A copy of degree certificates and associated certificates
  • A copy of degree projects and any previous publications

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

Type of employment PhD placement
Contract type Full time
First day of employment Enligt överenskommelse
Number of positions 1
Full-time equivalent 100%
City Stockholm
County Stockholms län
Country Sweden
Reference number 2-384/2017
Contact
  • Birgitta Henriques Normark, Birgitta.Henriques@ki.se
Union representative
  • Cecilia Björkdahl, SACO , 08-524 872 65
  • Nasrin Bavand-Chobot, OFR, Nasrin.Bavand@ki.se
  • Henry Wölling, SEKO, 08-524 840 80, henry.wolling@ki.se
Published 20.Feb.2017
Last application date 20.Mar.2017 11:59 PM CET

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