Karolinska Institutet, NVS

The Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society (NVS) conducts world leading research in aging, dementia, epidemiology and care sciences. This research extends from basic molecular and cell levels to clinical research and societal studies. NVS educates almost a third of KI students at basic and advanced levels. The Department has approximately 540 employees and a revenue 2023 of 530 million SEK. It comprises seven divisions, located at Campus Flemingsberg and Campus Solna.

Division and research group
The research at the division of Neurogeriatrics is focused on neurodegenerative diseases, in particular Alzheimers disease and is strongly oriented towards translating findings from basic research into clinical practice.
The research group is located at Karolinska Institutet, campus Flemingsberg, and at SLU in Uppsala. We are currently five PhD students, two technicians, six post docs, two assistant professors, and two professors. We have developed the first biomimetic spinning method for production of artificial spider silk fibers. Now we aim to spin artificial silk fibers that match the native silk in terms of mechanical properties in a project that is funded by an ERC consolidator grant. To reach this goal we will use state-of -the art sequencing methods and protein engineering. We have recently published several articles in high ranked journals (Andersson et al. Nat Chem Biol. 2017; Kronqvist et al. Nat Commun. 2017; Rising&Johansson. Nat Chem Biol. 2015).
We now want to expand the group with a one year postdoc position with possiblility of extension. 

The project and duties
Spiders spin the toughest fiber known to man, but producing fibers that match the mechanical properties of the native fiber has been challenging. Furthermore, the relationships between protein primary structure, secondary structure content of the fiber and fiber mechanics are poorly understood. In this project we will generate an array of different artificial silk proteins and screen for candidates that express well in E.coli and that are water soluble. The soluble proteins will be characterized by commonly used spectroscopic methods and will be spun into fibers. The fibers will be subjected to secondary structure content analyses and tensile testing.
The successful candidate is expected to have a large interest in biotechnology and protein biochemistry and is expected to enjoy practical lab work and independently generate and analyze data. The applicant will supervise doctorial students and master students in the lab. We work in collaboration with other groups and very interdisciplinary, which demands the applicant to be independent, creative, have a positive attitude and be collaborative. The applicant is expected to work at both KI campuses as well as in Uppsala.

Entry requirements
A person is eligible for a position as postdoctoral research fellow if he or she has obtained a PhD no more than seven years before the last date of employment as postdoc. The applicant should have a doctoral degree in biotechnology, molecular biology, biomedicine or similar topic. The successful candidate is expected to have a strong drive to pursue research, be organized and structured and have an ambitious and innovative attitude. The project is cross-disciplinary and pursued in collaboration with several research groups, and good collaborative skills are necessary. Previous documented and extensive practical experience of cloning, expression in E.coli, protein purification and characterization is required. Emphasis will be put on personal skills in the evaluation process. Very good ability to speak and write English is a requirement.

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

  1. 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
  2. A complete list of publications
  3. A summary of current work (no more than one page)

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

Type of employment Temporary position
Contract type Full time
Number of positions 1
Full-time equivalent 100%
City Huddinge
County Stockholms län
Country Sweden
Reference number 2-7477/2018
Contact
  • Anna Rising, Senior Researcher , + 46 (0) 70 410 69 97, anna.rising@ki.se
  • Ulla Cronfalk-Hernlund, Head of Administration, + 46 8 524 868 18, ulla.cronfalk-hernlund@ki.se
  • Maria Staiger, HR officer, + 46 8 524 837 79, maria.staiger@ki.se
Union representative
  • Carina Eklund, OFR, 08-585 826 65, carina.eklund@ki.se
  • Henry Wölling, SEKO, henry.wolling@ki.se
  • Agneta Öhlen, SACO, 08-524 837 53, agneta.ohlen@ki.se
Published 21.Dec.2018
Last application date 27.Jan.2019 11:59 PM CET

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