Postdoctoral studies in vaccinology (scholarship)

A position are now open in Professor Karin Loré’s group to study mechanisms of action of vaccines. The overall focus of the research group is to investigate immune functions by which different vaccine formulations regulate immunity. The successful candidate will join an enthusiastic team at the Department of Medicine, Solna at Karolinska Institutet and study timely questions in close collaboration with the vaccine industry.

The group is part of the Division of Immunology and Allergy. The areas of research in this division are vaccine development, basic and clinical immunology, allergy and infections.

The studies focus on the generation of high quality and durable B cell and T cell responses by vaccination. This includes assessments of the early innate immune profile locally and systemically after vaccination as well as the development of antigen-specific responses. This involves high resolution analyses of both early cell activation and gene modulation as well as of the B cell and antibody response such as single cell isolation, sequencing and mapping of antibody specificities. The projects will have a special focus on mRNA vaccines and nanoparticle vaccines with different adjuvants. The studies will employ clinical samples, non-human primate models and several standard immunological and molecular techniques.

The position will be based at Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. We work in collaboration with academic partners, vaccine companies as well as funding agencies such as the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation. Thus, the candidate will have the opportunity to interact with and learn various scientific and technical expertise from leading researchers in the vaccine field. The candidate is expected to learn and take part in experimental design, experimentation, presentation, and publication of results. In addition, he or she is expected to join research-related activities such as group meetings, departmental seminars, national/international meetings, as well as take part in routine work within our research team and help supervise students within the group.

We are seeking a highly motivated postdoctoral researcher with a strong desire to study principles of immune system functions and interaction between immune cells and vaccines. The candidates applying must have a PhD degree in biomedicine, immunology, vaccinology or a related discipline. Knowledge of immunology and vaccinology and experience with some of the relevant experimental approaches (e.g. sample processing, flow cytometry, single cell sorting, ELISA, flow cytometry-based neutralization test (FNT), AIM assay, molecular biology techniques, antibody characterization, bioinformatical analyses) are preferred. Emphasis will be placed on personal suitability and compatibility with lab members. Applicants must have good communication skills in English and ability to collaborate and work productively in a team

Scholarships for postdoctoral qualification can be established for foreign researchers who place their qualifications in Sweden. 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 from KI. 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.

The head of the department determines whether their previous training and scholarly qualifications correspond to a Swedish doctorate or higher.

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 Karin Loré at the Division of Immunology and Allergy. A range of preclinical as well as clinical studies in allergy, infections and immune modulation are being conducted within the division. The successful candidate will join an international team. Stockholm is a vibrant international megapolis with high quality of living standard. English is the working language of the group. The Karolinska Institutet is one of the centers of excellence for biomedical research in the world (ranked as 8th in the world in Life Sciences and Medicine by QS World University Ranking). It possesses cutting edge infrastructure.

https://ki.se/en/meds/research-group-karin-lore

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.

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.