Postdoctoral researcher in bioinformatics in Rheumatology

Do you want to contribute to top quality medical research?

The Rheumatology Division at the Department of Medicine, Solna performs translational research to dissect the molecular mechanisms leading to severe chronic rheumatic diseases. It comprises several independent groups involved in research and doctoral education and working in a collaborative atmosphere towards a better understanding of rheumatic diseases. The proximity and close collaboration of the clinics and the immunology laboratory makes our division unique. Katerina Chatzidionysiou´s research focuses on immune related arthritis, a new form of chronic arthritis that is caused by treatment with checkpoint inhibitors, a form of immunotherapy in the cancer field. The research projects will be done in collaboration with Karine Chemin´s team at the Centre for Molecular Medicine. You will get a unique opportunity to work on a new filed of rheumatology related to oncoimmunology, in one of the leading rheumatology/immunology labs in the world.

Your mission

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) targeting inhibitory receptors have shown clinical efficacy against a variety of cancers. Treatment with ICI is however associated with immune adverse events (ir-AEs) that are very common and can target any type of tissue. Here, the research work will focus on ir-AE targeting the synovial joint and leading to arthritis, which very often become chronic and requires chronic immunosuppressive treatment. The aim of your research work will be to analyze immune cell subsets and signatures in the synovial joint and blood in these patients. The candidate will be responsible to oversee and perform the single cell sequencing analysis (10X genomics) using appropriate control steps. The mission will include figure and manuscript preparation, electronic lab book reports, lab presentations. The candidate is expected to provide bioinformatic support for additional projects within the group. Depending on the candidate profile, cell sorting, and validation experiments will be part of the post-doc mission.

Your profile

The candidate should have previous knowledge in bioinformatics applied to single cell sequencing data using R and or Python. The candidate should have first-authorship publication (s) in peer-reviewed journal(s) demonstrating her/his bioinformatic skills. Experience with single cell datasets integration, velocity and whole genome sequencing analyses are a plus. The candidate should be able to work in an interdisciplinary group, be rigorous and interested in translational immunology. 

To be eligible for employment as a postdoctor a doctoral degree or a foreign degree deemed to be equivalent to a doctoral degree is required. This eligibility requirement must be fulfilled at the latest at the time of the employment decision. It is considered as an advantage if you have completed your doctoral degree within the last three years, if there are special reasons, your degree may have been completed earlier.

What do we offer?

A creative and inspiring environment with wide-ranging expertise and interests. Karolinska Institutet is one of the world's leading medical universities. At Karolinska Institutet, we conduct successful medical research and hold the largest range of medical education in Sweden. At KI, you get to meet researchers working with a wide range of specialisms and methods, giving you ample opportunity to exchange knowledge and experience with the various scientific fields within medicine and health. It is the crossover collaborations, which have pushed KI to where it is today, at the forefront of global research. Several of the people you meet in healthcare are educated at KI. A close relationship with the health care providers is important for creating groundbreaking top quality education and research. Karolinska Institutet is also a state university, which entitles you to several benefits through our collective agreement.

Location

The position is located within the Department of Medicine, Solna. The department consists of eleven divisions and each division consists of several research groups. The position is located within the research group of Katerina Chatzidionysiou (https://ki.se/en/people/aikaterini-chatzidionysiou) and in collaboration with Karine´Chemin´s team at CMM (https://ki.se/en/people/karine-chemin). Katerina Chatzidionysiou is a rheumatologist and clinical researcher, responsible for the clinical trial unit at Karolinska University hospital and responsible for the cohort of patients with rheumatic ir-AEs.

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Application

An employment application must contain the following documents in English or Swedish:

• A complete resumé, including date of the thesis defence, title of the thesis, previous academic positions, academic title, current position, academic distinctions, and committee work
• A complete list of publications
• A summary of current work (no more than one page)

The application is to be submitted through the Varbi recruitment system.

Want to make a difference? Join us and contribute to better health for all

1. Katerina Chatzidionysiou, 0762119018

1. Afsar Rahbar OFR, Afsar.Rahbar@ki.se
2. Louisa Cheung, SACO, Louisa.Cheung@ki.se
3. Farzad Hedayaty, SACO-s, farzad.hedayaty@ki.se