Postdoc (2-years): Host-Pathogen-Interactions and Genetic Screening

Umeå universitet, 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.

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 for a temporary position of two years on fulltime. Planned start in Autumn 2021 or as agreed.

Background and description of work tasks

Many pathogens have the capacity to invade human cells and to exploit the interior of their host cell as a replicative niche. While human cells have powerful defense programs that can restrict the growth of such invaders, successful pathogens evolved to counteract these defenses. A profound understanding of the molecular basis of this arms race could pave the way for innovative therapeutics. In this project, we aim to apply high-throughput genetic screening (e.g. CRISPR/Cas9 screening, siRNA screening, bacterial mutant library screening) to identify key players in host-pathogen interaction, cell-autonomous immunity and immune evasion during infection with the obligate intracellular bacterial pathogen Chlamydia trachomatis.

The work tasks include designing and performing 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 molecular biology, cell biology, or infection biology (or equivalent fields) 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.

The ideal candidate should have academic ambitions and should be willing to take on scientific challenges. Candidates must have documented practical experience in working with human cell cultures and intracellular bacterial pathogens. Moreover, previous experience in molecular genetic manipulation of bacteria and human cells, genetic screening approaches and fluorescence microscopy is required.

Candidates must be fluent in spoken and written English. Because the project will be of collaborative nature, candidates need to 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.

Application

You apply through our e-recruitment system latest 30 of September, 2021. Your application must contain the following documents, written in English:

A CV with information on education, a list of previous and current employment, and a list of publications.
A copy of the Ph.D. certificate.
A cover letter describing your experience, match with the required qualifications, research interests,and motivation for applying for the position.
Contact details of two to three references

We welcome your application!

More about us

The Sixt lab is part of the Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS), the Swedish Node of the Nordic EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine, and part of the Umeå Centre for Microbial Research (UCMR), an interdisciplinary research centre devoted to top quality research and novel applications in the field of microbiology. You can find more information about us at https://sixtlab.org/, www.mims.umu.se, www.ucmr.umu.se. For questions regarding the position, please contact the project supervisor: Barbara Sixt (barbara.sixt@umu.se).

For more information about The Department of Molecular Biology please visit our web page www.umu.se/en/department-of-molecular-biology