Project assistant position at 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 is looking for a project assistant for 6 months to the project "Multimodal data generation and integration to study bacterial pathogenesis". Supervisor: Kemal Avican.

Background and description of work tasks

Bacterial pathogenesis is a complex process that requires a deep understanding of the interactions between bacteria and their host. The rise of antibiotic resistance has made the study of these interactions even more critical. This project, ‘Multimodal data generation and integration to study bacterial pathogenesis’, aims to expand our understanding of these interactions by generating and integrating multimodal data including transcriptome. Proteome, and growth under stress conditions. The project will identify key determinants in bacteria that are essential for pathogenesis and could potentially be targeted for new antimicrobials. By studying these determinants, we hope to reveal mechanisms that are critical for bacteria to cause infection in humans. This project is part of an ongoing research program funded by the Swedish Research Council. The program aims to combat human bacterial infections by investigating bacterial transcriptome, proteome, and growth phenotypes bacterial pathogens. This project will leverage the PATHOgenex (www.pathogenex.org) dataset and use biocomputational analyses to gain insights into bacterial pathogenesis. The work tasks for the project assistant include designing and performing experiments, integrating and analyzing multimodal data, and writing reports under the supervision of the group leader. This position offers a unique opportunity to contribute to a vital area of research and to develop skills in data generation and integration. We look forward to receiving your application.

As project assistant you will work under supervision to:

1) Identify different mRNA and protein expression patterns in pathogenic bacteria under variety of stress conditions.

2) Distinguish different colony formation capacity of diverse human bacterial pathogens with automated colony screening system under stress conditions.

The selected candidate will work with various scientific methods related to tmicrobiology, biochemistry, and molecular biology. This includes preparing libraries for Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) and proteomics. The candidate will also manage data transcriptomics, proteomics, and imaging data from these experiments and perform bioinformatics and document and present the findings.

Qualifications

You must hold a University degree equivalent to a European University degree in Life Sciences or Computer Engineering (or equivalent fields) at the time of the recruitment. A master's degree (240 ECTS) in one of the above fields is highly meritorius. 

You should have documented experience with Microbiology and Molecular Biology technics, Bioinformatics towards NGS and proteomics, and imaging data. Coding experience in R and Matlab is a must. Experience in using the Machine learning algorithms on NGS data is an advantage. You need to be fluent in spoken and written English, and should be highly motivated and able to work productively in a team.

Excellent communication skills for interacting effectively with senior colleagues and peers are required.

How to apply

You apply through our recruitment system. Your application must contain the following documents written in English or Swedish:

• A CV with information on education, a list of previous and current employments, and a list of publications.

• A cover letter describing your research experience and interests and motivation for applying for the position

• Contact details of one to three references.

For questions regarding the position contact Kemal Avican, kemal.avican@umu.se

More about us

The Kemal Avican’s lab is part of the Umeå Centre for Microbial Research (UCMR), an interdisciplinary research center devoted to top quality research and novel applications in the field of microbiology and Icelab, an interdisciplinary hub that actively promotes various events and activities where researchers from different disciplines meet to identify and discuss connections.

You can find more information about us at www.ucmr.umu.se, www.icelab.se, and www.molbiol.umu.se .

We look forward to receiving your application!