Postdoctoral Position 2 years: Anaerobic metabolism of Vibrio cholerae

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.

Are you interested in learning more? Read about Umeå university as a workplace

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 Deparment of Moleculary 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. You will join a research team that is part of the Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS), which is internationally well-connected through the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) Nordic Partnership for Molecular Medicine.

Project description and work tasks

The Cava lab are an interdisciplinary team of microbiologists, geneticists and chemists who work together closely to address important questions of Vibrio cholerae physiology and infection. We are now looking for a biochemist to identify V. cholerae gene functions in anoxia. In the study you will perform state of the art UPLC-MS assays coupled to chemometric tools, live microscopy and transposon-sequencing screenings amongst other biochemical, cell and molecular biology techniques to discover genetic networks and mechanisms of V. cholerae adaptation to low oxygen concentrations that can be targeted to combat this pathogen. The project is funded by the Swedish research council.

The position as a Postdoctor is temporary for two years on full time and is placed at the Department of Molecular Biology. The position is expected to start in May 2020 or as otherwise agreed.

Qualifications

Successful candidates will hold a PhD degree in agricultural biology or biochemistry. Priority should be given to candidates who have completed their doctoral degree no more than three years before the closing date of the application unless special circumstances exist. You must be experienced in studying anaerobic metabolism in bacteria such as nitrate respiration and/or fermentation in vitro and in vivo. You also must be experienced in genome scale genetic approaches including Tn-sequencing, phenotypic analysis of arrayed mutant libraries of Vibrio cholera and have previous experience in NGS technologies (i.e. MiSeq). You will have evidence of a strong relevant research output, as evidenced by first authorship on publications presenting ground-breaking new research findings in bacterial anoxic metabolism.

You must have very good ability in spoken and written English and be highly motivated. You should be able to work productively not only independently, but also in a team. Excellent communication skills are required for interacting effectively with senior colleagues and peers, including colleagues from complementary research fields.

Desirable qualifications

Knowledge of molecular bacteriology and gastrointestinal pathogens is an advantage as is evidence of productive work in an interdisciplinary environment. Awareness of methods to manipulate bacteria under anoxic or hypoxic conditions is highly desirable.

Application

Your application should be written in English. You apply through our recruitment system. The deadline for application is 8 April 2020.The 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 one A4 page).
A curriculum vitae that documents academic education and past and previous employments.
Your publication list, including a brief description of your contribution to your most important papers.
Copy of PhD certificate.
Names and contact details with e-mail addresses of two to three academic references.
Other relevant documentation you wish to include in support of your application.

We welcome your application!