Postdoctoral studies in bioinformatics and translational breast cancer (scholarship)

Do you want to contribute to top quality medical research?

The research group of Professor Johan Hartman at the Oncology-Pathology department performs clinical and translational studies for breast cancer, with a special focus on precision cancer medicine and diagnostics. The aim is to better predict individual patients' unique treatment response, as well as to understand the role of tumor heterogeneity and tumor-stromal interactions in breast cancer disease progression. We have well-established research lines that use a multitude of methods, including AI-assisted clinical and molecular pathology, genetic analysis, and population registry-based statistics, in a concerted effort to identify key factors contributing to current breast cancer treatment hurdles, as well as to identify novel biomarkers for further development into new diagnostic and therapeutic opportunities. The successful candidate will have access to our unique patient datasets and is expected to conduct top-level breast cancer studies in collaboration with our collaborators at KI, KTH, and the Science for Life Laboratory.

Division

At the Department of Oncology-Pathology (OnkPat), we conduct advanced cancer research to develop new ways of preventing and treating a wide range of cancers. We also educate the next generation of researchers and clinicians at all levels, from undergraduate to doctoral training. In addition, we are responsible for key research infrastructures in precision medicine and proteomics, as well as Sweden’s national biobank for childhood cancer research.

Duties

We are looking for a highly motivated postdoc with a strong bioinformatic data analysis background to join our multidisciplinary team of clinicians, bioinformaticians, computer scientists, and biologists. The postdoc candidate's main tasks will include analysis of genomic, transcriptomic, and DNA methylation data, including somatic mutation and copy-number alteration calling, gene expression, signature and pathway analyses, and multi-omics integration using machine-learning methods.

The position also involves developing and maintaining computational pipelines for genomic and transcriptomic data analysis, including datasets generated from single-cell and spatial omics technologies. In addition, the candidate may contribute to the analysis of large-scale clinical and population-based registry data, applying biostatistical methods to investigate clinically relevant research questions.

The ideal candidate will be passionate about data-driven biomedical research, enjoy working in a collaborative environment, and be eager to contribute to innovative projects at the intersection of cancer biology, genomics, and computational science.

Entry requirements

Postdoctoral scholarships may be established for foreign researchers who pursue their merit in Sweden. A foreign researcher is a person living in another country who comes to Sweden with the intention of only staying in Sweden for all or part of their postdoctoral education at KI. Persons who are resident in Sweden and/or have carried out all or part of their academic education at KI or some other educational institution in Sweden cannot be considered for scholarships. The purpose of scholarships for postdoctoral qualification is to promote internationalization and contribute to research qualification after a doctorate or equivalent.

A scholarship for carrying out postdoctoral research can be granted for a maximum of two years within a four-year period following the receipt of a doctoral degree or equivalent.

To be eligible for a postdoctoral scholarship, the person must have obtained a doctorate, or a foreign degree deemed to be equivalent to a doctorate. Applicants who have not completed a doctorate at the end of the application period may also apply, provided that all requirements for a completed degree are met before the (intended) start date of the post-doctoral education.

Essential requirements:

• A Ph.D. degree in bioinformatics, computational biology, molecular biology, computer science, or an equivalent quantitative area.
• Proficiency in a scripting language like R/Python, as well as the ability to work efficiently in a Linux command-line environment.
• Prior experience with sequencing data (DNA/RNA/methylation etc.) analysis supported by publications. Experience with spatial transcriptomic, single-cell sequencing, multi-omics data integration, and/or computational pathology tools is advantageous.
• Basic knowledge of molecular biology and/or cancer and interest in learning more.
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills (written and verbal English).
• Good data management and documentation skills.

Desirable competencies:

• Experience in biostatistics is a big plus.
• Experience in prospective and/or retrospective analyses of clinical cohort data.
• Experience in oncology research.
• Experience in using relevant AI softwares.
• Experience in genomic databases and cancer data resources, such as TCGA, COSMIC, dbSNP, etc.

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. Here, we conduct innovative medical research and provide the largest range of biomedical 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. Students and employees have free access to our modern gym facilities with trained staff on site.

Location: The position is located within the Oncology-Pathology department, mainly at BioClinicum in Solna.

Type of scholarship

The amount is tax free and it is set for twelve months at a time, paid out on a six months basis. In exceptional cases, shorter periods may be acceptable.

Application process

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

• A complete curriculum vitae, 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 on the Varbi recruitment system.
Apply at the latest 22^nd September.

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

1. Johan Hartman, [email protected]
2. Xinsong Chen, [email protected]

1. Helen Eriksson, OFR, [email protected]
2. Sara Jalali, OFR, [email protected]
3. Robert Lindberg, Seko, [email protected]
4. Per Hydbring, SACO, [email protected]
5. Nick Tobin, SACO, [email protected]