Postdoc position, 2-years, Intestinal barrier function

Umeå University, Medicinska fakulteten

Umeå University is one of Sweden’s largest higher education institutions with over 37,000 students and about 4,700 employees. The University offers a diversity of high-quality education and world-leading research in several fields. Notably, the groundbreaking discovery of the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing tool, which was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, was made here. At Umeå University, everything is close. Our cohesive campuses make it easy to meet, work together and exchange knowledge, which promotes a dynamic and open culture.

The ongoing societal transformation and large green investments in northern Sweden create enormous opportunities and complex challenges. For Umeå University, conducting research about – and in the middle of – a society in transition is key. We also take pride in delivering education to enable regions to expand quickly and sustainably. In fact, the future is made here.

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The Faculty of Medicine, which consists of 13 departments, is responsible for biomedical research and courses in the field of nursing and health care and has an extensive research and graduate education in more than 80 subjects.

The Department of Molecular Biology

The department provides a vibrant interfaculty research environment and there is access to a wide range of state-of-the-art imaging, metabolomics, genomics and screening facilities.

We are looking for a postdoctor to the project "Gut bacterial modulation of intestinal mucosal barrier function" for a temporary position for two years on full time with start 1 February 2020 or as agreed. Last day to apply is 5 December 2019.

Background and description of work tasks

The intestine is one of the most densely populated habitats on our planet and trillions of bacteria live in our gut in a relationship from which both sides benefit. However, the high density of the gut bacteria is a permanent threat to the body and efficient defense mechanisms are required to protect the body against infection by this intestinal bacterial community.

This project aims to identify and characterize the mechanism of how specific gut bacteria modulate function of the intestinal mucus layer. Furthermore, we aim to identify dietary and other factors that affect the quantity of selected microbes that modulate mucus function.

The project is expected to provide deeper insights into the molecular mechanisms of host-microbe interaction in the intestine. These results can be the starting point for the development of new probiotic approaches.

Specific aims of the project include:

Reveal how dietary fibre and other factors affect mucus penetrability.
Identify which gut bacteria affect mucus growth rate.
Decipher the mechanism of how specific gut bacteria affect mucus growth rate.

The selected candidate will use a combination of animal and in vitro studies to reach these aims. Work tasks also include designing, performing and documenting experiments, presenting research results at conferences, and writing publications under supervision by the group leader.

Qualifications

Candidates must hold a University degree equivalent to a European University PhD degree in microbiology or food biotechnology at the time of the recruitment. To be eligible you should have completed your PhD degree a maximum of three years before the end of the application period, unless special circumstances exist.

Candidates must have documented practical experience in gut microbiota research, including anaerobic culturing techniques and work with probiotic bacteria. Furthermore, experience in bioinformatics (whole genome sequencing and/or 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing) and with animal models are required. Previous experience in the fields of food-microbe interactions, first-author publications in internationally peer-reviewed journals as well as international working experience are strong merits.

You need to be fluent in spoken and written English, be highly motivated and be able to work productively in a team as well as independent. Great emphasis will be placed on personal suitability.

How to apply

The application should be written in English (preferably) or Swedish. You apply through our recruitment system. The deadline for application is 5 December 2019. The application should include:

A personal cover letter explaining why you are interested in the position, how you can contribute to the project and in which direction you may want to develop it (no more than 2 A4 pages).
A curriculum vitae that documents academic education and past and previous employments.
Your publication list.
A copy of the PhD certificate and other relevant degree certificates.
A copy of the doctoral thesis
Names and contact details with e-mail addresses of two or three academic references.
Other relevant documentation you wish to include in support of your application.

We look forward to your application!

More about us

The Schröder lab is part of the Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS) and the Umeå Centre for Microbial Research (UCMR), an interdisciplinary research center with more than 50 research groups devoted to top quality research and novel applications in the field of microbiology.

You can find more information about us at www.mims.umu.se/groups/bjorn-schroder; www.ucmr.umu.se, and www.umu.se/en/department-of-molecular-biology/. For questions regarding the position contact Björn Schröder, bjorn.schroder@umu.se