Postdoctoral position (2 years) to the Department of Molecular biology - Befattningen är under tillsättning eller redan tillsatt, och det är inte längre möjligt att lämna in en ansökan

The Department of Molecular Biology seeks a postdoc to a project in Cancer Metastasis and Combinational Treatment using Artificial Intelligence Models. The position is full-time and for two years, access as soon as possible upon agreement.

Project description and work tasks

The final step of cancer metastasis is when the metastatic lesions take over the normal tissue in distant organs, resulting in organ failures. The initiation of metastatic growth in distant organs may require the action of both tumor-specific factors and signals from host organs which may differ from that of primary sites. Thus, the colonization and outgrowth of metastatic descendants may depend on both oncogenic factors from tumor cells and signaling molecules from tumor-associated microenvironment. 

The project will be to identify the metastatic signatures and drug resistant signatures by using primary tumors and metastatic lesions from large patient cohorts. The functional and mechanisms underlying the metastatic signatures will be further investigated by using cell line-models, organoid and animal models for testing for targeted drug validation and characterization for metastatic cancer. The focus will be to study the oncogenic genes related to KRAS, PI3K/AKT and PIP5K1α pathways and factors from the tumor-microenvironment. The bioinformatics and laboratory skills are essential. Our establish and utilize xenograft mouse models that recapitulate growth of primary tumors and formation of distant metastasis Investigate the prognostic values of tumor-specific signatures in primary tumours and metastatic lesions will be used. We will further apply Artificial Intelligence Predictive models to validate on the large data from clinical data bases of various types of metastatic cancer which share the similar oncogenic pathways and mutations in particular, KRAS pathways.

Our goal is to develop artificial intelligence predictive model based on genomic, epigenomic and proteomic data at single cell level to predict disease progression and design tailored treatment strategies. 

The findings will translate our knowledge to effectively treatments by using AI model to subgroup cancer patients with risk to develop metastatic diseases and treatment resistance. 

Qualifications

A person who has been awarded a doctorate or a foreign qualification deemed to be the equivalent of a doctorate in cancer biology (or equivalent fields) is eligible for appointment as postdoctoral researcher. This eligibility requirement must be met no later than the time at which the appointment decision is made.

The ideal candidate should have academic ambitions and independent research skills and critical thinking and leadership quality. The candidate should have strong drive in research and teaching. Candidates must have documented theoretical and practical experience in broad areas including tumor biology, patho-biology, bioinformatics, biochemistry, animal models and fluorescence microscopy.

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.

The Position

The appointment is a full-time, fixed-term position for 2 years in accordance with the terms of contract for fixed-term employment as a postdoctoral researcher.

For questions regarding the position contact Jenny Persson, Professor of Basal Tumor Biology, jenny.persson@umu.se

The Jenny Persson lab is specialized in Cancer, Artificial Intelligence in Oncology at the Department of Molecular Biology. Partnership including EU_GlycoImaging, EU_ REVERT, University of Nottingham, Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York. You can find more information about us at https://www.umu.se/en/staff/jenny-persson/.

Application

The application must include:

• A cover letter describing your research experience and interests and motivation for applying for the position
• A CV with information on education, a list of previous and current employments, and a list of publications.
• Degree certificate from doctoral studies and other relevant degrees
• Names and contact details of two to three references.

The application must be written in Swedish or English. The application must be received latest October 8 2023.

We welcome your application!