Umeå University, 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.

Project description

The Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics is looking for a postdoctoral fellow for 2 years to study the composition of the Mediator Complex in S.cerevisiae in response to various types of stress. The research group is part of the Chemical Biological Center (https://www.umu.se/en/kbc) and is affiliated to the Umeå Plant Science Center (www.upsc.se); two stimulating research environments at Umeå University. We are looking for a motivated candidate to do research within the project "Evolutionarily conserved mechanisms for stress that converge on Mediator and chromatin structure" funded by the Foundation for Strategic Research.

Mediator is an evolutionarily preserved multiprotein complex that is essential for transcriptional regulation and plays an important role in the acclimatization of plants to stress. Mediator integrates external signals from different receptors and signal transduction pathways, by transmitting signals from promoter-bound transcription factors to RNA polymerase II (Pol II), leading to a balanced transcriptional stress response. Mediator is also involved in structural changes in chromatin structure. Several aspects of the function of the Mediator are still unknown, in particular questions about how specific Mediator subunits integrate different signaling pathways and how they transmit these signals to Pol II to regulate the expression of specific target genes. To understand the regulatory mechanisms of Mediator and to define plant stress response at several organizational levels, we will construct a holistic model of plant stress response to generate a dynamic and overall model of the signaling networks that control plant stress response.

The postdoctoral project is part of a larger interdisciplinary project, "Evolutionarily preserved mechanisms for stress that converge on Mediator and chromatin structure”. The project provides the opportunity for a challenging postdoctoral training where you will solve problems by using methods from biology and physics, use advanced technical platforms in the environment and by conducting research with other scientists and students in a dynamic and multidisciplinary environment.

The postdoctoral project is part of a larger interdisciplinary project, "Evolutionarily preserved mechanisms for stress that converge on Mediator and chromatin structure”. The project provides the opportunity for a challenging postdoctoral training where you will solve problems by using methods from biology and physics, use advanced technical platforms in the environment and by conducting research with other scientists and students in a dynamic and multidisciplinary environment. The specific project for this position refers to studies of structural and molecular mechanisms of the transcriptional coactivator Mediator to gain increased knowledge about how transcriptional regulation in response to different types of stress is controlled via the Mediator Complex in Yeast, S.cerevisiae.

Tasks

The tasks include:

• molecular biological and biochemical techniques such as cloning, expression and purification of proteins from S. cerevisiae,

• analysis of how the Mediator complex in S. cerevisiae binds to chromatin in a global perspective and how this binding change in response to stress,

• identification of other proteins and protein complexes with which the Mediator complex interacts in chromatin.

Qualifications

The candidate has a doctoral degree or equivalent in biochemistry or a related discipline. Eligible to be employed as a postdoctoral fellow is a person who has completed a doctoral degree or a foreign degree that corresponds to a doctoral degree. The degree should not be older than three years before the end of the application period. If there are special reasons, a candidate may be considered even if the doctoral degree is older than three years.

Practical experience of protein purification and different types of global methods for studying gene expression and interaction of proteins with chromatin, for example RNAseq and ChIP-seq, both in terms of the laboratory steps and bioinformatics analysis is a requirement. Applicants must also have previous experience of working with S. cerevisiae as a model organism. Experience of working with transcription and transcription factors is a requirement. Previous experience of cloning, expression and purification of recombinant proteins in E. coli is an advantage. The applicant must also have the ability to do research independently as well as in groups. Good knowledge of the English language is important.

Application

The application must contain:

·       A letter describing your scientific background (max. An A4 page),

·       A CV with a complete list of publications,

·       Copies of relevant diplomas,

·       Names and contact details of at least two reference persons.

The application must be received via our e-recruitment system Varbi at the latest on 27th of June 2021. We welcome your application!

Terms

The employment is full-time and limited in time to 24 months. Access from October 1st 2021, or by agreement.

Information

For further information about this project, please contact Stefan Björklund at stefan.bjorklund@umu.se.

Type of employment Temporary position
Contract type Full time
First day of employment By agreement
Salary Monthly
Number of positions 1
Full-time equivalent 100%
City Umeå
County Västerbottens län
Country Sweden
Reference number AN 2.2.1-835-21
Contact
  • Stefan Björklund, +4670-216 28 90
Union representative
  • SACO, 090-786 53 65
  • SEKO, 090-786 52 96
  • ST, 090-786 54 31
Published 20.May.2021
Last application date 27.Jun.2021 11:59 PM CEST

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