Postdoctoral Researcher in new treatments and preexposure prophylaxis against viral infections

Do you want to contribute to top quality medical research?

We are looking for an ambitious researcher with solid skills in immunovirology with special reference to HIV to join our highly accomplished team. We offer a stimulating environment in  a rapidly moving research frontier. The successful candidate will be part of a research team working on similar topics.

Your mission

We are seeking one Postdoc with PhD and laboratory research experience with focus on viral immunology, who will work as an integrated researcher in our team while maintaining significant research independence, being involved in several ongoing projects.

You will be a member of the experimental research group of  Senior Professor Anders Sönnerborg at the Centrum for Infectious Medicine (CIM), subunit Clinical Infectious Diseases (CID), Department of Medicine, Huddinge, which is nationally and internationally competitive center for infectious diseases research. The research group conducts innovative studies on the interaction between the immune system and chronic viral infections; HIV, HSV, HBV, with special emphasis on HIV. The studies are translational in nature and involve the usage of cutting-edge bulk- and single cell technologies, including high-parameter flow cytometry, gene-expression, RNA-seq, proteomics analysis and HIV isolation/cultivation in BSL3 labs to dissect the interaction between the immune system and HIV as well as the development and characterization of new antivirals. Through these platforms, we study different aspects of the interaction between HIV, antivirals and the immune system.  For more information about the reserach group see website https://ki.se/en/research/research-areas-centres-and-networks/research-groups/translational-research-on-human-microbial-infections-and-its-consequences-anders-sonnerborgs-group

The Postdoc will work in close collaboration with all members of the team to continue the successful line of investigations. The laboratory is situated at top modern facilities at ANA Futura Laboratory, Campus Flemingsberg.  Your primary focus will be the groundbreaking EU project NatProLub, where you'll collaborate with international consortium partners to develop and evaluate novel biomaterial-based gels and evaluate their biosafety and efficacy against HIV-1 and other sexually transmitted infections. You'll also have opportunities to pursue independent research within Professor Sönnerborg's broader research portfolio, with significant autonomy in experimental design and project direction. 

Several clinical researchers from the Department of Infectious Diseases, Karolinska University Hospital, are affiliated with the research group. Thereby the research group has access to a large patient material and collaborates with many similar centers around the world. 

The position is a Postdoc employment for 2 years.

Your profile

To be eligible for employment as a postdoctor, a PhD or a foreign degree deemed to be equivalent to a Swedish PhD is required. This eligibility requirement must be fulfilled at the latest at the time of the employment decision. Completion of your doctoral degree within the last three years is considered an advantage. If there are special reasons, your degree may have been completed earlier.

The candidate should have:

• Been trained in immunology and viral infections during her/his master- and PhD studies.
• Full mastery of (requirement) cell culture (cell lines, primary immune cells), cloning, cytotoxicity assays, DNA/RNA isolations, ELISA, multi-colour flow cytometry, immunofluorescence, immunoprecipitation, luciferase reporter assays, PCR, protein purifications, quantitative PCR, reverse transcriptase PCR, SDS PAGE, size exclusion chromatography, lentiviral transductions, transfections, virus infection assays, and western blotting.  
• Good communications skills and be self-motivated 
• A proven ability to interact effectively and work productively in an interdisciplinary  team
• Excellent knowledge in English, written and spoken, is a requirement. 

In addition, it is an advantage if you have experience with proteomics and RNA-seq. Experience with tissue cultures and ex-vivo work will also be highly evaluated. Ability to formalize biological questions into experimental model systems to consult and advise on experimental design for team members before data generation is  another merit.
Experience of European academical system is an added value.  

It is particularly meritorious that the applicant has:
   

• Profound knowledge in immunological and biotechnological techniques
• Handled immunology data sets
• Experience of research in BSL-2 and BSL-3 laboratory facilities
• Experience of independently establish immunological and virological assays to evaluate antiviral efficacy
• Publications in the field of immunology and virology with special reference to HIV
• Profound knowledge in HIV immunology, virology and pathogenesis
• Experience handling tissue samples and ex-vivo culture
• Skills in flow cytometry analysis; discriminating immune cell subsets, cell surface and intracellular protein stainings, cell death assays; 
• Skills in viral assays; virus propagation, viral infectivity experiments
• Skills in assays of antiviral efficiency;
• Statistical knowledge

We place great emphasis on personal suitability.

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. At Karolinska Institutet, we conduct successful medical research and hold the largest range of medical 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. Karolinska Institutet is also a state university, which entitles you to several benefits through our collective agreement.

Location: Campus Flemingsberg

Links:
Department of Medicine, Huddinge
Choose to work at KI – Ten reasons why

Application

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

• PhD certificate
• A complete resumé, 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)

Welcome to apply at the latest 17 August 2025

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

Permanent position is initiated by a six months trial period.

Want to make a difference? Join us and contribute to better health for all!