Postdoc position in structure biology for cryo electron tomography - ,

The Department of Chemistry invites applicants for a postdoctoral employment for a highly motivated electron microscopist, with the dedication to research with correlative light and electron microscopy (CLEM), focused ion beam (FIB) volume imaging and cryo-lamella preparation, cryo-electron tomography and 3D image processing. The postdoc is funded by the Swedish Research council (Tage Erlanders visiting professor, together with Professor Irina Gutesche) and Umeå Centre for Electron Microscopy. The employment is full time for 2 years and starts according to agreement.

Project description

This project is focused on resolving the architecture of protein complexes, cytoskeleton polymers, membranes in cellular volumes. The aim is to make use of and further develop cryo-electron tomography methods to study cell biology and infection diseases.

The postdoc will join a research group associated to Molecular Infection Medicine in Sweden (MIMS) and Umeå Centre for Electron Microscopy (UCEM) at the Department of Chemistry at Umeå University. Available for this project is a Titan Krios instrument with Selectris energy filtered Falcon 4i electron detector, Scios DualBeam FIB-SEM and a Leica Thunder fluorescence microscope with cryo-stage, as well as full access to all further instruments and sample preparation equipment at UCEM and Biochemical Imaging Centre Umeå (BICU), see homepage links:

http://www.mims.umu.se/

https://www.umu.se/en/research/infrastructure/umea-core-facility-for-electron- microscopy-ucem/

https://www.umu.se/en/research/infrastructure/biochemical-imaging-centre-umea-bicu/

Work tasks

As a Postdoc fellow you will work within the research project, by independently plan and perform cell culture, specimen preparation, electron microscopy image analysis and visualisation, also prepare summery of project research results in scientific publications and conference contributions. You will be involved in teaching shorter methodology courses at postgraduate level and provide user training on EM methods. Work assignments include maintenance of instruments and method development together with UCEM facility staff. The work is planned together with the research groups and the facility's staff. Our working language is English.

Qualifications

To be eligible, a doctoral degree or a foreign degree deemed equivalent to a doctoral degree is required. This qualification requirements must be fulfilled no later than at the time of the appointment decision. To be appointed under the postdoctoral agreement, priority should be given to candidates who completed their doctoral degree, according to what is stipulated in the paragraph above, no later than three years prior. If there are special reasons, candidates who completed their doctoral degree prior to that may also be eligible. Special reasons include absence due to illness, parental leave, appointments of trust in trade union organizations, military service, or similar circumstances, as well as clinical practice or other forms of appointment/assignment relevant to the subject area. Postdoctoral fellows who are to teach or supervise must have taken relevant courses in teaching and learning in higher education.

The required qualification is a doctoral degree in cell, molecular, structural biology or equivalent. It is required to have documented experience in one, or several, fields related to the project such as: cell, molecular and structural biology, electron microscopy, 3D visualization and image processing. Candidates must be able to conduct independent scientific research, present results at meetings and to write scientific reports. Fluency in written and spoken English is a requirement. Emphasis will be placed on personal suitability such as technical skills, ability to collaborate with department, group members and research infrastructure staff. Also, a genuine enthusiasm for cell and structure biological research is essential.

Application
The application should include:

(1) CV containing personal contact details, earlier employments, education and list of publications.

(2) Your motivation for applying, describing your suitability for the position including earlier research experiences, max 1 page.

(3) A project description including a research question in infection biology and methods to apply, max 1 page.

(4) Doctoral degree certificate and other relevant degree certificates and grades.

The application must be written in English or Swedish. The application is made through our electronic recruitment system. Documents sent electronically must be in Word or PDF format. Log in to the system and apply via the button at the end of this page. The closing date is September 5th, 2023.

Information

For further information please contact Linda Sandblad, linda.sandblad@umu.se, phone: +46-709-324936. https://www.umu.se/en/research/groups/linda-sandblad/

We look forward to receiving your application!

Information about the department 

Department of Chemistry is the largest department in the Faculty of Science and Technology, with approximately 200 employees, including about 40 doctoral students, and with a strong and expanding research. Three major areas of research; Biological Chemistry, Environmental and Biogeochemistry and Technical Chemistry, represents the research and chemistry education of our department. We are also a strong partner in KBC, The Chemical-Biological Centre. For more information about working at Umeå University: www.umu.se/en/work-with-us/