Postdoctoral studies in the design of bacterial vectors expressing peptides against mucosal pathogens (scholarship) - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

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The Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology (MTC) at Karolinska Institutet conducts research and teaching within immunology, infection biology, cell biology and cancer. MTC have about 40 research groups and our key words are multidisciplinary, bridging, national and international collaborations.

Division

The Center for Translational Microbiome Research (CTMR) started in January 2016 as a collaboration between Karolinska Institutet, Science for Life Laboratory (SciLifeLab) and Ferring Pharmaceuticals. The centre builds on a deep understanding of translational microbiome research and has established a broad technical, biological, clinical, and epidemiological platform for studying complex microbiological communities in well-defined human materials. The centre aims at creating a scientific translational environment with a broad interdisciplinary approach to the interface between clinical epidemiology and the microbiological, immunological, and genetic aspects of the human microbiome and its association to health and disease. Within women’s health, Lars Engstrand’s culturomics team focuses now in moving forward with our knowledge and expertise in microbiome studies and aims to use commensal bacteria as vaccine vectors against mucosal pathogens such as Streptococcal GBS.

Duties

We are looking for a candidate with broad and documented experience in microbiological biotechnology and protein processing for vaccine development. The position requires more than 5 years of relevant experience in either an academic and/or biopharmaceutical research laboratory, but welcome candidates that recently completed their PhD to pursue postdoctoral studies with us as long as the experience matches the project requirements. You must be a careful and detail-oriented person who practices responsible BSL2 laboratory protocols, proper laboratory organization and documentation. You enjoy working together in teams and can collaborate internally and externally with diverse experts from various fields relevant to this research. For this, excellent communication skills are required. You have a strong desire to deliver timely, quality work, and have experience working independently. We expect familiarity with the lab work environment.

The candidate is expected to design, validate, and analyze the development of commensal bacteria as mucosal vaccine carriers to be used as a potential prophylaxis treatment of GBS infection. The right candidate will work closely with experts in cell and molecular biology, bioinformatics and microbial immunology.

Main tasks:

• Responsible for dry and wet lab design, analysis and optimization of epitopes and surface proteins for the potential live bacterial vaccines
• Responsible for the development of bioassays and immunoassays to evaluate the candidates

Knowledge and experience in cell and microbiology techniques include:

• Viral, bacterial and cell-line cultivation for analyzes and maintenance of viral research vectors
• Knowledge and experience in molecular biology techniques include:

1. basic molecular biology techniques such as PCR, qPCR, RT-PCR
2. experience in development and vector construction in lactobacilli
3. Experience in handling and recombinant technology of bacteria (contains anaerobic bacteria)
4. Recombinant vector transformation in bacteria such as electroporation and heat shock
5. Development of bioassays

• Knowledge and experience in protein processing and analysis includes:

1. Protein purification techniques (chromatography) and analysis of protein-protein interactions
2. Knowledge and experience SDS-PAGE and Western Blot
3. Experience of using protein modeling tools such as iTASSER and docking programs such as VMD and Schrödinger

• Merit:

1. Experience in quality analysis of produced bacterial vectors
2. Experience in handling animal experiments

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 a postdoctoral scholarship, 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 post doctoral education.

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

Location: Solna, Stockholm

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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