Postdoctoral fellowship: The structural basis of transthyretin amyloidosis and significance for amyloid cardiomyopathy (PA2024/214)

Description of the workplace

You will be based at the medical faculty in Lund. The group for Molecular Biophysics is located at the Biomedical Center (BMC) at Lund University and is led by Professor Trevor Forsyth.

You will have good access to state-of-the-art facilities both within the medical, science and engineering faculties and close proximity to the nearby MAX-IV synchrotron and ESS neutron beam facilities as well as access to the ILL and ESRF sources in Grenoble, France.

Description of the AMBER project 

This post-doctoral position is part of the EU cofund research project AMBER, Advanced Multiscale Biological imaging using European Research infrastructures, will address scientific and sectoral gaps in biological imaging ranging from molecular, through cellular, to tissue, organ and organism levels of organization, and is coordinated by LINXS Institute of advanced Neutron and X-ray Science.

AMBER is funded by the EU Marie Skłodowska-Curie (MSCA) COFUND scheme.

Around 14 postdocs will be recruited in the first call, with each fellowship lasting 36 months.

AMBER has six core partners: Lund University/MAX IV, Sweden, the European Spallation Source (ESS), Sweden, the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL), France, the International Institute of Molecular Mechanisms and Machines, (IMOL), Poland, and the Leicester Institute of Structural and Chemical Biology, United Kingdom.

Your work will include clinical and biomedical projects. It will also include technique development work aimed at combining imaging techniques and data analysis to provide a more integrated picture of life processes in the context of health and disease. To be a postdoc fellow at the AMBER programme you will get unprecedented medical, biological, and methodological capabilities, with a profound potential impact for Europe’s next generation of research and researchers. When you have completed the AMBER programme you will be extraordinarily well equipped to further your career in academia, at infrastructures, in the health and MedTech sectors, and beyond.

For more information about the total announced post-doctoral positions within in the AMBER co-fund project please visit  EURAXESS

The interviews will start in April. For more information about AMBER, application and evaluation process etc please visit: AMBER

Project description within the research group

The main focus of the work will be transthyretin amyloidosis Read more here

Human transthyretin (TTR) is protein that transports thyroxine and retinol-binding protein (RBP) in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid. Wild-type TTR is intrinsically amyloidogenic, but a large number of TTR mutants have been identified, having remarkable tissue specificities.  This project seeks to deepen molecular-level understanding of amyloidosis as well and will involve detailed comparative studies of amyloid material derived from in vitro and ex vivo sources. It will make extensive use of X-ray and neutron diffraction, cryo-EM, and a wide range of other biophysical techniques, using the MAX-IV and ESS facilities in Sweden as well as the ESRF and ILL X-ray/neutron sources in Grenoble, France. The project will have good access to state-of-the-art facilities within the medical, natural science and engineering faculties, as well as being located in close proximity to the nearby MAX-IV synchrotron and ESS neutron beam facilities.

Duties and responsibilities

The tasks as a postdoctoral researcher mainly include conducting research. Teaching may be part of the work duties, but no more than a fifth of the working time. Within the framework of the employment, there must be an opportunity for three weeks of university pedagogical training.

• Sample preparation and data collection and analysis work as agreed during regular meetings.
• Participate in regular laboratory tasks within the research group as part of normal day-to-day operations in a team-driven laboratory environment.
• The work may require travel to institutes including ILL in France and other centers as needed for the project.
• Participation in national and international conferences as agreed.
• The work will also include at least one secondment outside Lund University.
• Research within the subject area, according to the project description
• Participation in AMBER's educational programs and activities

Minimum requirements are:

• candidate needs to have a maximum 8 years after a doctoral degree (PhD), as required by the Commission, in accordance with the Horizon-Europe MSCA cofund project Grant Agreement
• at least one original publication in a peer-reviewed journal,
• a background in the relevant methods,
• a complete application package submitted through the AMBER portal (including CV and detailed research plan), and finally,
• strict compliance with the MSCA mobility rule that the researcher must not have resided or carried out his/her main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the host organization's country for more than twelve months in the three years immediately prior to the call deadline.

The employment also requires:

• Undergraduate and doctoral degrees in physics, biological sciences or other relevant fields of science.
• Basic knowledge of protein expression and purification
• Basic knowledge of protein crystallisation and crystallogenesis
• Basic understanding of diffraction – X-ray/neutron crystallography, small angles X-ray/neutron scattering (SAXS/SANS) and corresponding data processing /analysis.
• Ability to develop and conduct good quality research
• Femonstration of motivation and ability to work independently and as part of a team.

Meritorious for the employment

• Ability to perform basic programming tasks expected for routine data handling and interpretation.
• Ability to clearly formulate scientific results and to prepare reports as needed/demanded.
• Evidence of interpersonal skills befitting a researcher working in a highly interactive and collaborative environment.
• Demonstration of experience/competence beyond basic understanding of techniques mentioned in previous section

Consideration will also be given to good collaboration skills, drive and independence, as well as how the applicant, through his experience and competence, is judged to complement and strengthen ongoing research within the department and the AMBER program, as well as project partner laboratories and how they should contribute to its future development.

Basis of assessment
This is a qualifying position primarily focused on research. The appointment is intended as an initial step in the career and the assessment of the applicants will primarily be based on their scientific merits and potential as a researcher.
When hiring a postdoctoral fellow, the following must form the basis for assessment:
• Good ability to develop and carry out research of good quality
• Independent thinking and ability to drive own research in the field
• Good cooperation skills

For more information please visit ambercofund.eu.

If you are interested in applying for more than one position (maximum 3) you must be prepared to make a full application for each individual position.

Applications shall be written in English and compiled into a PDF-file containing:

Additional texts to include in the PDF are:

iii) Letter of Commitment from any additional secondment partners the candidate wishes to bring onboard.

vii) Any additional documents to support the application.

viii) Ethical questionnaire (HE ethics checklist + research ethics commitment) link will be provided at the “For applicants” page, here: ambercofund.eu/for-applicants

In addition, the application will require:

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