PhD position in Molecular Biology - Befattningen är under tillsättning eller redan tillsatt, och det är inte längre möjligt att lämna in en ansökan

A PhD position to The Department of Molecular biology at Umeå University. The project involves identification of bacterial and host factors essential to Borrelia persistence. The position is temporary for four years and starts immediately or by appointment. Last application date is 2016-02-01.

Project description

Certain bacterial pathogens, establish persistent infections in mammalian hosts despite activating inflammatory and antimicrobial responses. Recent data suggest that persistent infection is a specific phase in infection pathogenesis. This thesis project aims to reveal mechanisms involved in establishment of persistent infections. The phenomenon of persistent borreliosis infection has divided the scientific community for decades and is a major cause of antibiotics overuse. In this project we aim to explore the mechanisms involved in Borrelia persistence, and to identify potential inhibiting factors to these mechanisms. The ultimate goal is to identify new bacterial targets that can be explored for development of new antibiotics. The work involves mutagenesis and phenotypic characterization of Borrelia spirochetes, RNA-seq, bioinformatics analyses and animal infection models.

Qualifications

Applicants must hold a University degree equivalent to a European University Master degree in the field of medicine.

Qualified are also those who completed eight semesters of medical or dental program, including medical chemistry, cell and molecular biology, genetics, physiology, microbiology and independent work and those that have acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in Sweden or abroad.

Applicants need to be skilled in both oral and written communication in English, be able to work independently as well as in collaboration with others and be highly motivated. Applicants should have a true interest in the field of molecular infection biology and be willing to take on a scientific and technical challenge. Prior hands on experience in infection biology parasitology, and microbiology is highly desirable and experience from previous experimental work with microbial pathogens is considered a particular merit.

How to apply


You apply through the e-recruitment system MyNetwork. The assessments of the applicants are based on their qualifications and their ability to benefit from the doctoral-level education they will receive.

The application should include following

• An introductory letter with a statement of research interest why you are interested in the position,
• A CV
• Copies of degree certificates including documentation of completed academic courses and their grades and
• Copies of thesis work and publications
• Contact information to two persons willing to act as references

Documents sent electronically should be in MS Word or PDF format.

A selection will be made among qualified applicants on the basis of their qualifications and their ability to benefit from doctoral-level education.

After the selection process the process for admission to doctoral education will commence.

Basis of assessment

The evaluation of the ability and potential to perform well is based primarily on:

1. Knowledge and skills relevant to postgraduate studies within the research area,
2. The ability to formulate and solve scientific questions.
3. Skills in written and oral communication in English.
4. Other experience relevant to postgraduate studies, such as professional experience.

Good collaborative skills, drive and independent work ability are considered as positive merits.

An admission decision will not be taken until an individual study plan has been approved by the departmental admission board.

The position is temporary for four years and starts immediately or as agreed.

Salary/type of position
MD/PhD position. The salary successively increases during the 4 years according to a stipulated scale.

More about us

The Department of Molecular Biology, which is part of both the Faculty of Science and Technology and the Faculty of Medicine, has about 200 employees. The department’s main tasks are research, postgraduate and undergraduate education and interaction with society. For more information, www.molbiol.umu.se

The project will be part of MIMS (www.mims.umu.se), which is the Swedish node in the Nordic EMBL partnership in Molecular Medicine and hosted with the multidisciplinary Umeå Centre for Microbial Research (UCMR, www.ucmr.umu.se).

Welcome with your application!