Postdoctoral scholarship in systems biology of CO2-fixing bacteria

KTH Royal Institute of Technology

Application deadline

September 10, 2020



The workplace

The successful candidate will work at the SciLifeLab, Solna. Science for Life Laboratory (SciLifeLab, www.scilifelab.se/) is a national center for large-scale life science research with an advanced technological infrastructure. At SciLifeLab, multidisciplinary research is carried out based on DNA sequencing, gene expression analysis, proteomics, bioinformatics, biostatistics and system biology. The goal of SciLifeLab is to enable Swedish researchers to analyze genes, transcripts and proteins in different organisms in order to map molecular mechanisms related to health and the environment. Examples of thematic research areas that are currently being processed within SciLifeLab are clinical genomics/proteomics, cancer genome and the genomics of complex diseases as well as ecological and environmental genomics.

Project description

The Paul Hudson laboratory at KTH/SciLifeLab studies and engineers CO2-fixing bacteria for potential applications in biosustainability, such as production of fuels and chemicals. An overall theme of the research is to perform systems biology analysis of these bacteria under various growth or production regimes. This data can include quantitative proteomics, so as to account for enzyme abundances, interaction proteomics to uncover regulation of enzymes, and metabolomics to measure driving forces of metabolic reactions. Systems biology data is used to inform computational models, which in turn guide genetic engineering to enhance CO2 fixation or the productivity of a chemical of interest. For information, see www.kth.se/profile/huds

We are offering two postdoc scholarship projects that aim to improve understanding of how the Calvin cycle in bacteria is regulated. Both projects are based on the use of LC-MS. The projects will characterize various strains of CO2 fixing bacteria, such as cyanobacteria, which have been perturbed in their central metabolism. A first project is focused on the use of LC-MS methods for quantifying metabolites, and measuring in vivo metabolic rates (e.g. using 13C-labeled standards and pulse-chase experiments). A second project is focused on the development of novel LC-MS proteomics methodologies.

The applicants will work in the Paul Hudson group, along with experts in bacterial physiology and synthetic biology, and with close collaboration with Fredrik Edfors group, with expertise in quantitative systems biology (both experimental and analysis). The project makes use of state-of-the-art equipment at SciLifeLab.

Qualifications

A doctoral degree in biochemistry, molecular biology, biotechnology or related field, or an equivalent foreign degree, obtained within the last three years prior to the application deadline.

For these positions, experience in use of LC-MS for metabolomics or proteomics is necessary. A strong merit is skill in processing pipelines for mass-spectrometry data. A strong merit is skill in data plotting packages such as MatLab or R. An additional merit is previous experience in cultivation of bacteria. The project requires a very good command of written and spoken English.

Application

Apply to this scholarship by e-mail HR representative Jenny Söderborg (jennso@kth.se). You are the main responsible to ensure that your application is complete according to the ad. Your complete application must be received at KTH no later than 2020-09-10. Mark the e-mail subject line and application with reference number C-2020-1089.

The application must include the following documents:

  • Curriculum vitae
  • Cover letter (detailing both your previous scientific work experience and your interest in this position)
  • Contact information for three references

Please observe that you apply for a scholarship, not an employment.

About the position/positions

Period: From October 2020 to September 2022 (flexible start)

Extent: Full-time

Amount of scholarship: Payment according KTH policy for scholarship

Location: Science for Life Laboratory, Solna, Stockholm, Sweden

Contact

Paul Hudson, Associate Professor huds@kth.se

University

Last updated: 2020-07-01

Content Responsible: David Gotthold(david.gotthold@scilifelab.se)