Research specialist at Karolinska Institutet

The Department of Oncology-Pathology conducts basic, translational, and clinical research together with educational activities related to cancer. We are recruiting a Research Specialist to be placed within the group of Assistant Professor Sean Rudd, housed in SciLifeLab, who will develop a research program centred upon identifying and developing approaches to personalise antimetabolite chemotherapeutics for the treatment of human disease.

Antimetabolites remain standard-of-care for most common cancers in addition to being important antivirals. However, their efficacy can vary and the underlying mechanisms can often remain unclear. In the Rudd group we aim to further our basic understanding of how chemotherapeutic agents exert their therapeutic effects, understanding why in some instances they work and in others they do not, and leveraging this information to design therapy improvements. The successful candidate will build upon this approach and develop a research program focused upon antimetabolite-based therapies, in particular nucleoside analogues, both in the context of anti-cancer and anti-viral therapy. This will entail an array of biochemical, biophysical, molecular and cell biology, as well as virology-focused methodologies, together with cross-disciplinary collaborations, to fulfil the translational research goals of this program.
The successful candidate will lead projects (involving project development and management) and present the project outcome in academic settings (e.g., manuscripts, conferences etc.), supervise student(s)/team members involved in the project, as well as prepare/facilitate grant applications. 

To be eligible for employment as a Research Specialist, in addition to holding a Degree of Doctor, PhD, or having equivalent scientific expertise, the applicant must have demonstrated research expertise as well as have documented research experience after defending their doctoral dissertation.

Assessment criteria

Scientific expertise will be the most important aspect when assessing applicants for this position.

It is particularly meritorious that the applicant has shown

• Documented research experience in nucleoside-based therapeutics (e.g., first author publications or pre-printed manuscripts)
• Documented research experience in nucleotide metabolism enzymes and the relevant chemical probe development (e.g., first author publications or pre-printed manuscripts)

Documented research experience in viral and cancer biology, with particular focus on coronaviruses and hematological cancers, respectively (e.g., first author publications or pre-printed manuscripts).  

• Documented experience in biochemical, biophysical, viral, as well as molecular and cellular assays relevant to the project. Example techniques include biochemical enzymatic assay development, high throughput screening, in vitro and cellular thermal shift assays, circular dichroism spectroscopy, viral infectivity assay, high-content imaging, DNA damage response study.
• Ability to secure independent research funding.

It is meritorious that the applicant has shown

• Project management experiences
• Student supervision experiences
• Effective communication skills – written and oral. Fluency in English.
• Working in an interdisciplinary research environment

After an overall assessment of the expertise and merits of the applicants in relation to the subject area, Karolinska Institutet will determine which of them has the best potential to contribute to a positive development of the activities at KI.

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 successful medical research and hold the largest range of medical 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. Karolinska Institutet is also a state university, which entitles you to several benefits through our collective agreement.

Location: Solna

Choose to work at KI - Ten reasons why

We prefer that Your application is written in English, but You can also apply in Swedish.
An application must contain the following documents: Resumé, qualifications and description of planned research, presented in accordance with Karolinska Institutet's qualifications portfolio.

Welcome to apply at the latest 24th march. 

The application must be submitted through the Varbi recruitment system.

Permanent position is initiated by a six months trial period.