Postdoctoral position in Structural Biology

Published: 2022-11-28

Uppsala University is a comprehensive research-intensive university with a strong international standing. Our ultimate goal is to conduct education and research of the highest quality and relevance to make a long-term difference in society. Our most important assets are all the individuals whose curiosity and dedication make Uppsala University one of Sweden’s most exciting workplaces. Uppsala University has over 54,000 students, more than 7,500 employees and a turnover of around SEK 8 billion.

The Department of Cell and Molecular Biologyis organized into seven research programmes which all focus on different areas of cell and molecular biology: Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Microbiology and Immunology, Molecular Biology, Molecular Biophysics, Molecular Evolution, Molecular Systems Biology and Structural Biology. The scientific basis of what we do lies in biology, but our research overlaps with other areas such as medicine, computer science, mathematics, chemistry, engineering sciences and physics. In total, we are over 200 staff and ~60 Ph.D. students. Please read more about the department’s work at https://icm.uu.se .

The position is with the research group of Anna Sundborger-Lunna in the ICM Program in Structural Biology, https://www.icm.uu.se/structural-biology/ . The Sundborger-Lunna lab uses a combination of molecular biology, biochemical and structural biology techniques, including cryo-electron microscopy, to study how membrane-remodeling proteins regulate critical cell death processes. Our goal is to understand the interplay between proteins and membrane lipids in the control of cell fate and neurodegeneration. Uppsala University recently installed a 200kV Glacios cryo-electron microscope with a Falcon III direct electron detector and another facility housing a 300kV Titan Krios equipped with a K3 detector with an energy filter is located nearby, at the SciLifeLab campus in Solna, less than 60 min from Uppsala: https://www.scilifelab.se/units/cryo-em/.

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Duties
The candidate will use cryo-EM to characterize protein complex with the end goal of solving the 3D structure of protein complexes and protein fibrillar structures. The candidate will also perform associated biochemical experiments and contribute to publication of results in scientific journals. The candidate is expected to be able to take charge of this NINDS-funded project, and be responsible for establishing and maintaining a workflow for sample screening at the local cryo-EM facility at ICM and data collection at the SciLifeLab in Solna (Titan Krios och Talos Arctica), including support for other lab members. 

Requirements
The applicant must have a PhD in biochemistry, structural biology or an equivalent area that the employer assesses as equivalent. The applicant’s Ph.D. degree should have been obtained no more than three years prior to the application date; periods of sick leave or parental leave are deduced from the three-year period.

The applicant should also have experience with cryo-EM sample preparation, microscopy operations, image processing and model building. Experience of Linux-based computational clusters and using Relion, CryoSparc or similar software packages is also required. Great emphasis will be placed on personal skills and characteristics, such as great interpersonal skills. The applicant should also have excellent communication skills in English, which is a prerequisite for the service, due to the international environment, and the ability to work independently or in a group. 

Additional qualifications

• Previous work with amyloids.
• Previous work with chaperones.
• Experience of cryo-EM analysis of amyloid proteins and fibrils (amyloid/helical image processing).
• Experience of protein expression and purification.

About the employment
The employment is a temporary position of 2 years according to central collective agreement. Scope of employment 100%. Starting date January 1 2023 or as agreed. Placement: Uppsala 

For further information about the position, please contact: Anna Sundborger-Lunna, [email protected].

Please submit your application by 2 December 2022, UFV-PA 2022/4073.

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Submit your application through Uppsala University's recruitment system.

Placement: Department of Cell and Molecular Biology

Type of employment: Full time , Temporary position longer than 6 months

Pay: Fixed salary

Number of positions: 1

Working hours: 100%

Town: Uppsala

County: Uppsala län

Country: Sweden

Union representative: Seko Universitetsklubben [email protected]
ST/TCO [email protected]
Saco-rådet [email protected]

Number of reference: UFV-PA 2022/4073

Last application date: 2022-12-02

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