Job ID: 99935
ERC-Funded Postdoctoral position in the Arenas Lab on Cell replacement for Parkinson’s disease
Position: Post-doctoral Position
Deadline: 28 February 2023
Contract Length: 2-4 years
City: Stockholm
Country: Sweden
Institution: Karolinska Institute
Department: MBB
Description:
We invite applications for a postdoctoral position in the laboratory of Professor Ernest Arenas, http://ernestarenaslab.org/. The Arenas Lab is part of a strong and highly interactive research cluster in the Division of Molecular Neurobiology, within the MBB department, at the Karolinska Institute. The lab is located in Biomedicum, one of the largest and most modern research buildings in Northern Europe, which provides excellent research installations, and attracts top international researchers from multiple disciplines.
As medical University, Karolinska Institutet conducts cutting edge research, holds the largest range of medical research and education in Sweden, is one of the world’s leading medical universities and is home of the Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology.
Your job
We offer a full time (100%) postdoctoral position for 2-4 years, starting in 2023. You will be part of a team addressing fundamental questions about cell identity, you will use cutting edge technologies such as single cell RNA-sequencing or functional genomics, and you will advance experimental therapies to combat neurodegeneration. We offer a creative, inspiring, interactive and international research environment, where you can develop your career, enjoy science, and make a difference. The position is supported by a collaborative project of the EU (Neurostemcell-reconstruct, 2019-2024) and an ERC Advanced Grant (PreciseCell PD, 2021-2026). The project offers excellent training possibilities, outstanding research network and opportunities to interact and collaborate with other laboratories.
As employer, Karolinska Institutet offers several benefits to its employees such as extended holiday, generous occupational pension, free access to a modern gym and reimbursements for medical care.
Your mission
We look for a highly motivated individual interested in cell engineering, cell replacement and Parkinson’s disease. The project is based on previous work from our laboratory providing proof of concept that conversion of somatic cells into midbrain dopamine neurons in vivo can partially rescue motor deficits in a mouse model of PD (Rivetti di val Cervo, 2017, Nature Biotechnology). We now propose to improve this method by engineering somatic cells into subtype-specific dopamine neurons. In this project you will take advantage of our pioneering work defining the developing human midbrain by single cell RNA-seq (La Manno et al., 2016, Cell), and our recent identification of factors important for the development and maintenance of adult midbrain dopaminergic neuron subtypes (Nishimura et al., 2022, Stem Cell Reports; bioRxiv 2022.10.24.513487 and 2022.10.12.511898). Your mission will be to develop a dopaminergic neuron subtype-specific replacement strategy that we expect will transform the cell replacement landscape for Parkinson’s disease. This project will involve work with viral vectors, cell culture, molecular and morphological methods, as well as single cell RNA-sequencing, CRISPR, functional genomics and/or stereotaxic surgery.
Your profile
You are a PhD about to defend your thesis or a Postdoctoral interested in transcriptional networks, cell engineering, dopaminergic neuron development, basal ganglia function, Parkinson’s disease and/or cell replacement/regenerative therapy. You have previous experience in working with one or more of the following: molecular biology, viral vectors, cell culture, immunocyto/histochemistry, electrophysiology, single cell RNA-sequencing, functional genomics, computational biology, stereotaxic surgery, gene therapy, rodent models of Parkinson’s disease. You have good communication skills and you are proficient in spoken and written English. Previous work experience in international environments will be advantageous.
Applications:
Please submit your application online at: https://ki.varbi.com/what:job/jobID:578864/
Applications should include your CV, publications list, 3 references and a letter describing your current work and motivation to apply.
If you have any additional question, please contact: ernest.arenas@ki.se
Deadline: February 28th 2023