Research Specialist in Maternal-fetal interactions for epigenetic inheritance of disease

Research in germ cell biology and maternal-fetal interactions for epigenetic inheritance of disease is conducted in Qiaolin Deng’s lab, at Dept. Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet. The group works in an inspiring and interactive research environment in Biomedicum at Campus Solna (see https://staff.ki.se/biomedicum-for-staff ) and has on-going collaborative projects with national and international colleagues.

We are focusing on several endocrinological and reproductive diseases such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), obesity and type I diabetes (T1D) and aiming to investigate how the germline and maternal condition play role in fetal programming and epigenetic inheritance of disease. Our research aims to achieve in-depth knowledge of maternal-fetal interactions, transcriptional and metabolic regulations of key organ functions with link to offspring phenotypes. To achieve this, we use in vitro differentiation of germ cells from pluripotent stem cells, primary trophoblast organoids, genetic and non-genetic mouse modeling and phenotypic analyses, and single-cell sequencing

As a research specialist, you will be be involved in developing and running new and ongoing projects and methods in close collaboration with the rest of the team. The work also includes methodology development, literature review, statistical analysis and drafting scientific reports and manuscripts. The successful applicant will join and enhance ongoing efforts in characterizing tissue crosstalk, with focus on identifying secreted factors mediating maternal-fetal communication. For that, a combination of techniques will be used, including in vitro pluripotent stem cells differentiation, development of placenta organoid culture, microfluidics and co-culture experiments, and several other molecular and functional analyses of mouse models in fetal development and adult pathophysiology. 

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.

The applicant must have deep theoretical knowledge on gene regulation and metabolism, molecular biology and physiology, with special focus on metabolic diseases and tissue crosstalk. The applicant must be skilled at multidisciplinary techniques including cell culture (both primary and stable cell lines), transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics analysis, molecular biology, animal physiology and mouse genetics. The applicant should demonstrate ability to deal with multiple projects simultaneously, solve problems independently and interact well with group members. The person should be a positive team player and will be involved in supervision of master, PhD students as well as postdocs in the group. Moreover, good communication skills and good proficiency in spoken and written English are necessary and Swedish is a strength. 

It is particularly meritorious that the applicant has shown

• Demonstrated competence in animal research
• Demonstrated experience with human and mouse cell culture
• Experience with metabolic phenotyping of mice
• Expertise in designing and running respirometry assays
• Experience handling viral vectors.
• Experience writing grant applications
• Data QC, data management and archival storage

It is meritorious that the applicant has shown

• Project coordination skills
• Experience in supervising students
• Experience in writing ethical permit applications
• Experience in mouse colony management

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: Biomedicum, Campus Solna

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 the February 28, 2024.

The application must be submitted through the Varbi recruitment system.