Postdocs in Bioinformatics for Proteome-guided Precision Medicine in Lung Cancer (scholarship) - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Do you want to contribute to top quality medical research?

At the Department of Oncology-Pathology basic, translational and clinical research and educational activities related to cancer are carried out. Approximately 300 people from over 40 nations are currently working at the department. About 30 research groups with various cancer research profiles are involved and we have around 110 PhD students. The Department of Oncology-Pathology is responsible for undergraduate courses in Pathology, Oncology and Forensic Medicine for medical students, as well as for Tumor biology courses for biomedicine students and Pathology courses for opticians.

Division

Lung cancer alone is responsible for an estimated two million deaths world-wide every year. New diagnostic and therapeutic strategies are desperately needed to combat this disease and ease the suffering of patients. Precision medicine refers to the tailoring of medical treatment to the individual characteristics of each patient. We are looking for a passionate bioinformatician interested in the concept of precision medicine to work with different types of omics data, with a focus on clinical mass spectrometry (MS)- based proteomics data. The research will include defining and understanding the biology behind different lung cancer subgroups, how they relate to clinical outcomes, and how this information can be used to guide therapy selection.

The postdoc will be placed in the Lung Cancer team headed by Associate Professor Lukas Orre. The team is embedded in the larger research group Cancer Proteomics Mass Spectrometry led by Professor Janne Lehtiö and located at Science for Life Laboratory (SciLifeLab). The overall aim of this research group is to generate and investigate multi-omics tumor data in a translational setting to improve cancer treatment. The group members are from various disciplines working as a team to study genes and proteins in the context of biological networks. The generated knowledge is used to improve our understanding of how molecular changes in a tumor impact the proteome, and to discover new disease biomarkers for prediction of therapy response.

SciLifeLab is a national infrastructure and research center in technology and data driven life sciences and Karolinska Institutet is one of the four founding universities of SciLifeLab. We offer a very stimulating and diverse work in a team of highly motivated co-workers with expertise in cutting-edge technology closely associated with the large data-driven life science community.

Your mission

We seek 1-2 highly motivated postdocs in bioinformatics, interested in clinical cancer ​omics data analysis with an emphasis on mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics. The postdoc position requires solid expertise in genomics, transcriptomics and/or proteomics data analysis, communication skills and the willingness to work in a team environment. The postdoctoral research offers great possibility for innovative research combining proteomics, genomics and clinical data, together with a dedicated group of scientists.

The postdoc education will include integrative and translational analysis of multiple levels of omics data derived from lung cancer cohorts. The focus will be on applying and developing bioinformatics methods to answer biologically and clinically relevant research questions and as well as to validate and expand on the findings using public domain data. This includes both applying established data analysis approaches as well as investigating new strategies and solutions for the analysis of quantitative biological data. Further, the work involves the use of machine learning-based methods for the development of molecular classifiers for stratification of cancer into different treatment groups to support clinical decision-making in the oncology setting.

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

Qualifications

• PhD in biology, medicine, bioinformatics, computer science, mathematical statistics, or another relevant field.
• Strong publication track record with significant own contribution (e.g. first name authorship).
• Documented experience in bioinformatics applied to high-dimensional and/or high-throughput data, for instance NGS, MS-based proteomics.
• Work experience in systems biology/systems medicine, large-scale data analysis, integration and visualization.
• Programming experience in R and/or Python.
• Knowledge and work experience in statistical methods, machine learning and classification methods.
• Understanding of cell- and molecular wet-lab experimental methods.
• Ability to interpret omics data in a biological context.
• Excellent communications skills.
• Fluent in English language

Additional merits

• Knowledge and work experience in MS-based proteomics.
• Knowledge and work experience in the field of cancer biology of solid tumors.
• Knowledge of current translational cancer research.
• Experience in building and handling interactive user-friendly web-based visualization tools.

Since the position involves both independent work and close interaction with several researchers, emphasis is placed on personal skills such as:

• Ability to work independently.
• Very good collaborative skills.
• Excellent communication skills and analytical skills.
• Curious and eager to solve biological questions.

Location: Science for Life Laboratory in Solna

Links: https://lehtiolab.github.io

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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