Assistant Professor in inflammatory diseases

Join a global community of excellence

Are you a bold, creative researcher ready to shape the future of medical science? Karolinska Institutet (KI), one of the world’s foremost medical universities, is launching a major recruitment initiative in 2026. KI is looking for up to 21 outstanding early- career researchers to join us as Assistant Professors in a wide range of subject areas.

At KI, we foster a vibrant and international academic environment that values curiosity, collaboration, innovation, and high quality research. We are looking for inspiring scientists who are motivated to contribute to and further develop strong research and education environment, and who demonstrate high quality science and potential for academic leadership.

We can supply outstanding infrastructure with large, well-described clinical cohorts of several inflammatory diseases with longitudinally collected biological samples in close proximity to SciLifeLab with a wide array of advanced imaging and molecular techniques. Through access to both supervision and mentorship, we ensure a thriving and highly successful next generation of researchers. 

What do we offer?

If you meet our requirements and propose a groundbreaking research project, we are prepared to employ you as an Assistant Professor for six years and support you with a generous funding package of 9 MSEK to cover your salary and other research costs. KI offers the opportunity to be promoted from a time-limited (six-year) position as Assistant Professor to permanent employment as Senior Lecturer. You can read more about it here.

At KI, you will be part of an interdisciplinary research community. Our researchers work across a wide range of fields and methodologies within medicine and health, creating rich opportunities for knowledge exchange and cross-disciplinary collaboration. You will also benefit from close connections with healthcare providers, ensuring your research remains closely aligned with real-world clinical practice.

As a governmental authority, KI offers a comprehensive benefits package governed by collective agreements. These include annual salary reviews, supplementary insurance, and opportunities to participate in institutional decision-making.

A successful research career is supported by a strong personal foundation. Sweden is known for being a family-friendly country, offering a high quality of life, generous parental leave, and excellent childcare and education systems — creating a welcoming environment for both researchers and their families.

At KI, we value differences in backgrounds and perspectives, and diversity, equity and inclusion are parts of our core values. KI is dedicated to our work for equal opportunities and rejects all forms of discrimination.

Learn more about what KI and Sweden can offer, and the different calls!

Location: Solna

Description of the subject area 

Diseases and non-malignant conditions involving inflammation—such as allergic, cardiovascular, dermatological, endocrine, gastroenterological, infectious, pulmonary and rheumatic disorders— affect a significant proportion of the population. Entirely new and revolutionary treatment principles are on the horizon for these patient groups.

Your mission 

This Assistant Professor position offers excellent opportunities to build a strong academic profile—primarily by developing your independence as a researcher, while also gaining valuable teaching and pedagogical experience.

We are now searching for an early career scientist to work within the disease areas stated above using human biological samples and clinical phenotypes. You have the ability to make the outmost use of the unique opportunities we can offer to identify molecular targets for diseases where such targets are lacking, or to identify biomarkers that determine which patients should be offered which treatment, or to follow up and evaluate interventions and outcomes in clinical studies.

You are expected to lead a research team performing high-quality and independent research within the subject area, take part in educational activities and supervise PhD students and postdocs, as well as collaborate nationally and internationally and apply for external funding. You are also expected to interact with local clinical and basic scientists and actively contribute to the academic discussion and environment at the department.

Eligibility requirements 

To be eligible for an appointment as Assistant Professor, you must demonstrate good scientific skills according to KI’s eligibility criteria as follows:

• A PhD (or equivalent degree) in a relevant subject area
• At least two peer-reviewed original scientific publications as first or last author, in addition to the doctoral thesis

Priority is given to those who were awarded a PhD (or attained equivalent competence) no more than seven years prior to the expiry of the deadline for the application.

Those who have been awarded a doctoral degree or attained equivalent research competence earlier will also be considered if there are special circumstances for absence from research (deductible time), such as: parental leave, long-term illness, positions of trust in trade union organizations or mandatory service in total defence.

The circumstances, dates and extent must be clearly specified in the application and verified by relevant documentation.

For this call, exceptions are made from all pedagogical requirements specified in the instructions regarding the Appointment procedure for teachers at KI. However, you must complete three weeks of higher education pedagogical courses in accordance with the Association of Swedish Higher Education Institutions’ recommendations, no later than two years after starting your employment as an Assistant Professor (unless you can certify that you have completed equivalent training before starting the position). 

Assessment criteria

Candidates will be evaluated based on both scientific and pedagogical qualifications,

with greater emphasis placed on scientific excellence. The full set of assessment criteria is outlined in the instructions regarding the Appointment Procedure for Teachers at KI.

Particularly meritorious is:

• the scientific quality, originality, and feasibility of your research plan within the relevant subject area
• documented experience in research environments outside KI, with special consideration given to international research experience
• supervision experience (first, second and third-cycle education)
• documented success in obtaining research grants in national or international competition
• experience of and interest in performing translational research bridging basic science with clinical relevance and application
• experience in using disease-specific biobanks or using human specimens in combination with clinical data

These criteria reflect our commitment to fostering university with diverse and globally recognised researchers who contribute to high quality science and excellent academic citizenship.

The criteria listed will form part of the overall assessment of the applicant. All criteria will be assessed but they should not individually be seen as requirements.

Offers will be extended to the best candidate based on an overall assessment of the applicant’s expertise and merits in relation to the subject area.

Application guidelines

All applicants are expected to follow the application instructions carefully. Failure to comply with the guidelines or misrepresentation of qualifications may negatively impact on the evaluation of your application.

The application shall consist of the following documents, written in English:

• A personal letter (maximum 1 page)
• Application form, including your research project (Application form)
• Up to ten published papers and optionally one manuscript, in PDF format
• PhD certificate
• If you have a PhD that is older than seven years and want to claim deductible time, you must attach a certificate of deductible time in Swedish or English.

Welcome to apply no later than August 31, 2026 (time 23.59 CEST).

KI applies individual and differentiated salary setting in accordance with our collective agreements RALS and RALS-T.

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

1. Vivianne Malmström, [email protected]

1. Louisa Cheung, SACO, [email protected]
2. Maria Eldh, OFR/ST, [email protected]
3. Farzad Hedayaty, SACO-s, [email protected]