Karolinska Institutet

We are recruiting a doctoral (PhD) student. For more information regarding doctoral education at Karolinska Institutet (KI), see: http://ki.se/en/phd/about-doctoral-education-at-ki

A doctoral student is admitted to third-cycle/doctoral education. A doctoral education consists of supervised research, combined with courses and other educational activities. An individual study plan is established for each doctoral student. For a doctoral degree, the equivalent of four years of full-time doctoral education is required.

Research group
The doctoral education project will be carried out in Associate Professor Pauliina Damdimopoulou’s research laboratory at the Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology of Karolinska Institutet. Research and education at the Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology are focused on the many aspects of women’s reproductive health as well as fetal physiology and stem cell biology.

Damdimopoulou laboratory is located at the Campus Flemingsberg of Karolinska Institutet and focuses on human ovarian biology as well as effects of toxic chemicals on fertility.

The doctoral student project and the duties of the doctoral student
The doctoral education project will be carried out within the Horizon2020 project FREIA (http://www.freiaproject.eu/), which rises from a concern that environmental factors can affect a woman's chances of becoming pregnant. Hence, the ambition of FREIA is to develop novel identification and screening approaches for endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that target female fertility. The aim of this doctoral education project is to study the effects of EDCs on human ovarian follicle growth in vitro and identify associated adverse outcome pathways. Cross-species validation will be carried out by comparing the findings to rat studies carried out in FREIA. In addition, ovarian transcriptomics datasets will be used to understand possible age-dependent differences in chemical toxicity. The work will require visits to laboratories of co-supervisors in Finland, Denmark and Estonia.

The duties of the doctoral student include cell and tissue culture, gene expression analyses and histological analyses. In addition, the student will assist in collection and analyses of rat ovaries and oocytes. The project also involves analyses of RNA-seq datasets. Techniques utilized will include in vitro culture of human ovarian tissue samples, isolation and culture of primary ovarian cells, immunostaining, fluorescent microscopy and histomorphometric analyses, as well as bioinformatics analyses in R.

Eligibility requirements for doctoral education
In order to participate in the selection for a doctoral position, you must meet the following general (A) and specific (B) eligibility requirements at latest by the application deadline.

It is your responsibility to certify eligibility by following the instructions on the web page Entry requirements (eligibility) for doctoral education.

A) General eligibility requirement

You meet the general eligibility requirement for doctoral/third-cycle/PhD education if you:

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

Follow the instructions on the web page Entry requirements (eligibility) for doctoral education.

*If you claim equivalent knowledge, follow the instructions on the web page Assessing equivalent knowledge for general eligibility for doctoral education.

B) Specific eligibility requirement

You meet the specific eligibility requirement for doctoral/third-cycle/PhD education if you:

  • Show proficiency in English equivalent to the course English B/English 6 at Swedish upper secondary school.

Follow the instructions on the web page English language requirements for doctoral education.

Verification of your documents Karolinska Institutet checks the authenticity of your documents. Karolinska Institutet reserves the right to revoke admission if supporting documents are discovered to be fraudulent. Submission of false documents is a violation of Swedish law and is considered grounds for legal action.

Skills and personal qualities
We are looking for a motivated and talented person with a master degree in suitable medical or natural sciences, preferably in reproductive biology, cell biology or toxicology. The candidate must have hands-on experience from mammalian cell culture, gene expression analysis, reproductive biology and statistical modelling. The following skills are considered as merits: preparation and analysis of histological tissue sections, immunostainings, fluorescence microscopy, chemical toxicity testing, western blot, handling of mammalian oocytes/embryos and bioinformatics analyses.

The research environment is international, and the project involves tight collaboration with several other European research groups and clinicians. Fluency in spoken and written English is therefore a necessity, as well as good social skills. The project will also require meticulous documentation, and the candidate must have a detailed, careful and well-organized work ethic. 

Finally, the successful candidate must be self-driven and motivated, able to work independently and in a team, and capable of trouble shooting and coordinating work between different laboratories. We put great emphasis on personal qualities in the selection of candidates.

Terms and conditions
The doctoral student will be employed on a doctoral studentship maximum 4 years full-time.

Application process
Submit your application and supporting documents through the Varbi recruitment system. Use the button in the top right corner and follow the instructions.

Your application should contain the following documents:

  • A personal letter and a curriculum vitae (Swedish or English) (max 1 page letter, max 2 page CV)  
  • Degree projects and previous publications, if any (Swedish or English)
  • Any other documentation showing the desirable skills and personal qualities described above (Swedish or English)
  • Documents certifying your general eligibility (see A above)
  • Documents certifying your specific eligibility (see B above)

Selection
A selection will be made among eligible applicants on the basis of the ability to benefit from doctoral education. The qualifications of the applicants will be evaluated on an overall basis.

KI uses the following bases of assessment:

  • Documented subject knowledge of relevance to the area of research
  • Analytical skill
  • Other documented knowledge or experience that may be relevant to doctoral studies in the subject.

 All applicants will be informed when the recruitment is completed.

Type of employment PhD placement
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 2-3213/2019
Contact
  • Pauliina Damdimopoulou, Pauliina.Damdimopoulou@ki.se
Published 30.May.2019
Last application date 20.Jun.2019 11:59 PM CEST

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