PhD Student in Pharmaceutical Science with a focus on automated phenotypic drug profiling

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 45,000 students, 7,000 employees and a turnover of SEK 7 billion.

The Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences has 135 employees as well as a number of guest researchers and fellows. The department has fifteen research groups / research areas with a joint administration and we conduct research and teaching in pharmaceutical cell biology and biotechnology, biochemistry, immunology, protein drug design, biological drugs / biotechnology, pharmacology, pharmaceutical and drug addiction , pharmacognosy, galenic pharmacy, bioinformatics, imaging mass spectrometry, molecular neuropharmacology, as well as toxicology and drug safety. More information about the department and its activities can be found at www.farmbio.uu.se

Duties/Project description: We are currently looking for an ambitious and highly motivated PhD student with a good background in cell biology as well as interest in molecular biology, high-throughput screening and bioinformatics, to join the research group of Prof. Ola Spjuth (group website: https://pharmb.io). The position includes both laboratory experiments using our robotized cell profiling laboratory, and data analysis of primarily images from high-content imaging of cells. The successful candidate will join an active and interdisciplinary team of researchers, and participate in a project to build up an intelligent, automated laboratory for cell profiling, with applications in precision cancer medicine. For more information on the project, see https://pharmb.io/project/autonomous-phenomics/. The project is a collaboration with the Kallioniemi group (https://ki.se/en/onkpat/olli-kallioniemis-group) at Karolinska Institutet. This is a 5 year position that includes 20% teaching.

Requirements: The highly motivated candidate should have a MSc in cell/molecular biology/biotechnology or equivalent field and previous laboratory experience.

Familiarity with standard lab techniques is required, including:

Cell culture of cancer cells and other cellular models, including primary cells
Molecular biology, including among others western blotting, CRISPR/Cas9, cloning, siRNA and DNA transfections, RNA/DNA extraction, PCR and quantitative real-time PCR techniques
Cell viability, proliferation and apoptosis assays.
Immunofluorescence staining and immunoprecipitation techniques.
Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS)
Liquid handling and automation
Fluorescent microscopy imaging

Experience with data analysis and image analysis is meriting, and the candidate should be highly interested to learn/deepen the competence to automate lab operations with robotics and scripting.

The candidate should have excellent communication skills and be keen on actively interacting with other team members including biologists, software engineers, and researchers in AI/ML. Excellent skills in oral and written English are required, as well as the ability to work both independently and as part of a highly interdisciplinary team.

Information about research-level education, eligibility requirements, and admission regulations can be found at http://www2.medfarm.uu.se/utbildning/forskarniva/.

Applicants will be ranked by the supervisor in consultation with the Department Research Education group. The Committee for Research Education at the Disciplinary Domain of Medicine-Pharmacy will admit the PhD student. Salaries will follow local guidelines at Uppsala University.

Rules governing PhD candidates are set out in the Higher Education Ordinance Chapter 5, §§ 1-7 and in Uppsala university’s rules and guidelines http://regler.uu.se/?languageId=1

The holders of PhD student position primarily devote their time to own research-level education. Other duties at the Department involving teaching and administrative tasks maybe included in the framework of the position (max 20%). The PhD program normally lasts for 4 years research, plus maximally one year of teaching.

Salary: According to local agreement for PhD students.

Starting date: 01-03-2021 or as otherwise agreed.

Type of employment: Temporary position according to the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5 § 7.

Scope of employment: 100 %

For further information about the position please contact: Professor Ola Spjuth, email Ola.Spjuth@farmbio.uu.se or administrative coordinator Marina Rönngren, e-mail marina.ronngren@farmbio.uu.se

Please submit your application by 28 january 2021, UFV-PA 2021/5037.

Are you considering moving to Sweden to work at Uppsala University? If so, you will find a lot of information about working and living in Sweden at www.uu.se/joinus. You are also welcome to contact International Faculty and Staff Services at ifss@uadm.uu.se.

Please do not send offers of recruitment or advertising services.

PhD Student in Pharmaceutical Science with a focus on automated phenotypic drug profiling

Uppsala University

Application deadline

January 28, 2021

PhD Student in Pharmaceutical Science with a focus on automated phenotypic drug profiling