The Postdoctoral Programme is funded by the Kempe Foundations and aims to encourage new synergies in interdisciplinary research, train outstanding young researchers, and stimulate cutting-edge research in Umeå. In this call, four (4) postdoctoral fellowships are open to all nationalities. The application deadline is 9 April 2024.
The Postdoctoral Fellows will: Develop a collaborative project under the supervision of two PIs; Obtain a 2-year full-time fellowship exempt from tax (350,000 SEK/year), supported by grants to the PIs for project running costs (150,000 SEK/year);
Have access to core facilities and technical platforms such as Chemical Biology Consortium Sweden (CBCS), Protein Expertise Platform, metabolomics, proteomics, X-ray, NMR (850-400 MHz), Umeå Centre for Electron Microscopy (UCEM), and Biochemical Imaging Centre Umeå (BICU) that form a node in the National Microscopy Infrastructure (NMI);
Participate in activities to strengthen networks and collaborations in academics and industry; Be involved in the strong postdoc community, Umeå Postdoc Society (UPS), which fosters networking and career development and organises social events.
Qualification
To qualify as a postdoctoral fellowship holder, the candidate is required to have completed a doctoral degree or a foreign degree deemed equivalent to a doctoral degree in the relevant field. This requirement is usually fulfilled after successfully completing all the requirements of the doctoral programme, including passing their dissertation defence. This qualification requirement must be fulfilled no later than the application closing date.
Candidates should have completed their doctoral degree no more than three years before the application closing date. If there are special reasons, candidates who completed their doctoral degree prior to that may also be eligible. Special reasons include absence due to illness, parental leave, appointments of trust in trade union organisations, military service, or similar circumstances, as well as clinical practice or other forms of appointment/assignment relevant to the subject area.
The candidate is expected to have a strong track record in a relevant field of research, documented by first authorships in peer-reviewed original publications. The ability to take the initiative and function independently and as part of an international team is required. The candidate should also desire to work in a diverse, inclusive, interdisciplinary, and highly collaborative environment. Good oral and written communication skills in English are essential.
Application
The application should include:
- A Curriculum Vitae (max 2 pages)
- A motivation letter including research interests, qualifications, and motivation for applying to the particular project idea selected from the list (max 2,000 characters with spaces). Each applicant can only apply to one of the advertised projects.
- A complete publication list including both published papers and preprints accessible via online archives. Please include DOI information. Journal impact factors (Ifs) and information about citations or reads should not be included.
- A detailed description of up to three (3) publications/preprints that you consider your scientifically most valuable work, answering the following questions (max 3,000 characters with spaces):
a. Why do you consider these publications to be the scientifically most valuable?
b. What were your specific contribution(s) to each publication?
c. What was your role in the writing and publication process? - Names and contact details of at least two reference persons.
- A verified copy of the doctoral degree certificate or documentation that attests completing all the requirements of the doctoral programme, including the date for passing the dissertation defence.
Step 1
Submit your application as a PDF marked with the reference number FS 2.1.6-489-24, both in the file name and in the subject field of the email, to medel@diarie.umu.se. The application can be written in English or Swedish. Application deadline is 9 April 2024.
Step 2
A short list of candidates will be invited to submit a short research proposal based on the project idea and to participate in the final interview. The interviews are performed by a panel of PI researchers. Final interviews will be completed by early-mid May 2024.
Further information
For more information, please contact Professor Bernt Eric Uhlin, Coordinator for the evaluation committee (bernt.eric.uhlin@umu.se) or Professor Stefan Björklund, Scientific coordinator of KBC (stefan.bjorklund@umu.se)
We welcome your application!
Research environment
Umeå University is one of Sweden’s largest institutions of higher education, with over 37,000 students and 4,700 faculty and staff. The University offers a diversity of high-quality education and world-leading research in several fields. Notably, the groundbreaking discovery of the mechanism for the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing tool, which was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, was made here.
At Umeå University, everything is nearby. The cohesive campus environment makes it easy to meet, collaborate and exchange knowledge, which promotes a dynamic and open culture where we rejoice in each other’s successes. The Chemical Biological Centre (in Swedish “Kemiskt Biologiskt Centrum”, KBC) is an interdisciplinary centre for basic science-oriented research in life/natural sciences, technology, medicine and forest sciences at Umeå University (UmU) and the Swedish University for Agricultural Science (SLU). The centre is unique in its collaborative structure and offers an advanced scientific infrastructure with several state-of-the-art technical facilities. Our goal is to promote a positive, creative and interdisciplinary environment for research combined with an excellent graduate and undergraduate education.
Umeå University also offers a strong postdoc community with the Umeå Postdoc Society (UPS), which fosters networking amongst postdocs, organises social and career development events and works towards improving the postdoc experience at Umea campus.
List of projects
Candidates are encouraged to apply to one of the project ideas listed below. The candidates’ merits and motivation for the choice of project idea will be assessed by the PIs of each project respectively. For more details about the research, please visit the home pages of each PI (see below).
- 1. Exploring Host Cell Uptake of Bacterial Membrane Vesicles (BMVs)
Main PI: Madeleine Ramstedt, Department of Chemistry, Umeå University.
https://www.umu.se/en/staff/madeleine-ramstedt/
Co-PI: Sun Nyunt Wai, Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå University.
https://www.umu.se/en/staff/sun-nyunt-wai/
This interdisciplinary project aims to investigate how the chemical composition and physicochemical properties of bacterial membrane vesicles (BMVs) influence their uptake by eukaryotic host cells.
2. Dissection of the cell shape acquisition mechanisms in plants by cell biology, genomics and biophysics approaches
Main PI: Stéphanie Robert, Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Umeå Plant Science Centre, SLU. https://www.upsc.se/researchers/6171-robert-stephanie-regulation-of-plant-cell-shape-acquisition.html, https://srobertgroup.com/
Co-PI: Nicolò Maccaferri, Department of Physics, Umeå University. https://www.umu.se/en/staff/nicolo-maccaferri/, https://www.umu.se/en/research/groups/nicolo-maccaferri-lab/
We hypothesise that the morphogenesis of the plant epidermis (the skin of the plant) is regulated by mechanical and/or chemical signals emerging from the outermost hydrophobic layer known as the cuticle. Our aim is to unravel crucial aspects of cell shape determination by investigating the roles of mechanical and chemical signals derived from the cuticle in the Arabidopsis leaf epidermis, employing a unique combination of cutting-edge genetics, cell biology (Robert – SR) and advanced optical spectroscopy (Maccaferri – NM).
3. Role of mitochondrial dysfunction in host cell-autonomous immunity against Chlamydia
Main PI: Barbara Susanne Sixt, Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå University. https://sixtlab.org/
Co-PI: Paulina Wanrooij, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Umeå University. https://pwanrooijlab.com/
This project aims to shed light on the strategies that allow the obligate intracellular bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis to maintain its host cell as a functional replicative niche and to evade host cellular defences through its interplay with host mitochondria. The specific aims are: (1) to reveal how C. trachomatis impacts on the function and integrity of host mitochondria and their DNA, and (2) to uncover the consequences of mitochondrial changes on intracellular bacterial growth and on host innate immune and stress programs.
4. Light for life: detect light penetration in tissue and design light-emitting devices
Main PI: Lena Gunhaga, Department of Medical and Translational Biology, Umeå Centre for Molecular Medicine (UCMM), Umeå University. https://www.umu.se/en/research/groups/lena-gunhaga/, https://www.umu.se/en/staff/lena-gunhaga/
Co-PI: Ludvig Edman, Department of Physics, Umeå University. https://opeg-umu.com/, https://www.umu.se/en/staff/ludvig-edman/
Define light penetration in various tissue types in mouse by constructing microprobes to detect photon flux, with a goal to better understand how light can be used as future prevention and treatment of relevant medical conditions partly by developing and testing novel light-emitting devices.
5. Deciphering the Role of Specialized Mitoribosomes in Proteotoxic Stress and Aging
Main PI: Verena Kohler, Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå University. https://www.vkohler-lab.com
Co-PI: Andreas Kohler, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Umeå University. https://www.kohler-mitolab.com
This project seeks to investigate the impact of stress and ageing on mitochondrial ribosomes (mitoribosomes), hypothesising that these conditions induce the formation of specialised mitoribosomes for optimal production of mitochondrially-encoded proteins. Utilising yeast as a model, the project will employ advanced methodologies to explore mitoribosome composition, protein production profiles, and the signalling mechanisms involved in maintaining a balance between mitochondrial and cytosolic ribosomes.
6. CW-e: Tracing the Evolution of Cell Wall Integrity Mechanisms
Main PI: Laura Bacete, Department of Plant Physiology, Umeå Plant Science Centre, Umeå University. https://www.upsc.se/researchers/6376-bacete-laura-plant-cell-wall-dynamics.html
Co-PI: Christiane Funk, Department of Chemistry, Umeå University. https://www.umu.se/en/staff/christiane-funk/
The project aims to explore how cell wall integrity (CWI) mechanisms have evolved across various photosynthetic organisms, from microalgae to higher plants, in response to environmental challenges. It seeks to develop an integrated model of CWI dynamics, utilising multidisciplinary approaches, including computational biology, biophysics, and advanced molecular biology techniques.
7. Organellar transcripton in plants: Why so complex?
Main PI: Peter Kindgren, Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Umeå Plant Science Centre, SLU. https://www.upsc.se/researchers/6128-peter-kindgren-coding-versus-non-coding-transcription-in-plants.html
Co-PI: Olivier Keech, Department of Plant Physiology, Umeå Plant Science Centre, Umeå University. https://www.upsc.se/researchers/5942-olivier-keech-stress-induced-senescence-and-its-subsequent-metabolic-regulations.html
Chloroplast and mitochondrial transcription respond rapidly to stressful situations in plants, but we scarcely know anything of how this regulation occurs. This project aims to elucidate the function of multiple subunits within the transcriptional machinery to gain a molecular understanding of organellar transcription dynamics during stress.
8. Understanding alternative stable states by using a genes-to-ecosystem approach
Main PI: Judith M. Sarneel, Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University. https://www.umu.se/en/staff/judith-sarneel/
Co-PI: Nathaniel R Street, Department of Plant Physiology, Umeå Plant Science Centre, Umeå University. https://www.upsc.se/researchers/5850-nathaniel-street-a-systems-genetics-approach-to-understanding-natural-variation.html
Climate change is exposing ecosystems to rapid environmental shifts and as humans are dependent on ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, water safety and nutrient cycling, it is important to determine the functional drivers of alternative stable ecosystem states. In a long-term experiment (25yr), we will use an interdisciplinary approach integrating ecological (community assembly, soil functioning) and genomics (gene expression, metatranscriptomics) methods to assess the role of flooding history for the resilience and resistance of above- and below ground community and to identify functional mechanisms associated with the established alternative stable states.
9. Carbon Quantum Dots Derived from Lignocellulosic Biomass
Main PI: Jia Wang, Department of Physics, Umeå University. https://www.umu.se/en/research/groups/jia-wang-lab/
Co-PI: Leif J. Jönsson, Department of Chemistry, Umeå University. https://www.umu.se/en/research/groups/leif-jonsson-lab/
The increasing demand for inorganic quantum dots in optoelectronic products raises sustainability concerns relating to resource depletion, heavy metal toxicity, and electronic waste. To tackle these problems, this project aims to synthesise carbon quantum dots from woody biomass, to realise the specific functionality of carbon quantum dots via designed pretreatments to woody biomass, and finally, to provide sustainable alternatives to inorganic quantum dots for environmentally friendly optoelectronic applications.
10. CROSS-COMM: Cross-Kingdom Communication via Microproteins
Main PI: Stephan Wenkel, Department of Plant Physiology, Umeå Plant Science Centre, Umeå University. http://www.upsc.se/stephan_wenkel
Co-PI: Felipe Cava, Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå University. https://thecavalab.com
This postdoctoral position will focus on investigating the role of microproteins in Plant-Bacteria cross-kingdom communication, with an emphasis on cell wall biology. Using advanced computational, proteomics, and genetic techniques, the candidate will uncover key candidate microproteins and investigate their biological role in plant-bacteria interactions, contributing to improved agricultural strategies.
11. Resolving mRNA-Protein Level Uncertainty to Identify Targets for Novel Antimicrobials
Main PI: Kemal Avican, Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå University. https://avicanlab.org/
Co-PI: André Mateus, Department of Chemistry, Umeå University. https://mateuslab.com/
This project aims to resolve mRNA-protein level uncertainty in multiple pathogenic bacteria when they are under different types of stress. Through RNA-seq and protein mass spectrometry, we will explore post-transcriptional and -translational regulations, potentially leading to this uncertainty and identifying targets for new antimicrobials.
12. Discovery of biologically relevant targets of epigenetic lysine methyltransferases by computational chemistry and molecular genetics
Main PI: Anna Linusson, Department of Chemistry, Umeå University. https://www.umu.se/personal/anna-linusson/
Co-PI: Yuri Schwartz, Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå University. https://www.umu.se/en/staff/yuri-schwartz/
The project aims to identify biologically relevant non-histone targets of two evolutionarily conserved clinically relevant lysine methyltransferases, Ash1 and Trx, through a synergy of computational chemistry and molecular genetics. The anticipated outcomes of this computational work will have the potential to transform the field and become a breakthrough in understanding the biology of lysine methyltransferases.
13. Photosynthetic water oxidation in trees, in the cryo-EM era
Main PI: Wolfgang Schröder, Department of Chemistry, Umeå University. https://www.upsc.se/associate-researchers/6185-schroeder-wolfgang-p-structure-and-function-of-photosystem-ii-from-higher-plants.html
Co-PI: Stefan Jansson, Department of Plant Physiology, Umeå Plant Science Centre, Umeå University. https://www.upsc.se/researchers/5992-jansson-stefan-how-do-trees-survive-the-winter.html
We have recently found that conifers modify the structure of their photosynthetic apparatus in the winter to allow the needles to be green during the boreal winter. To understand the molecular details behind, we will use function and structural (cryo-EM) analysis to study this process.
14. Fluorine-Free Cation Exchange Membrane for Fuel cells and Electrolyzers
Main PI: Naser Tavajohi, Department of Chemistry, Umeå University. https://www.umu.se/en/staff/naser-tavajohi/?flik=forskning
Co-PI: Eduardo Gracia-Espino, Department of Physics, Umeå University. https://www.umu.se/en/staff/eduardo-gracia/
Dominant cation exchange membranes used in proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells and electrolysers, such as Nafion, are fluoropolymers with drawbacks including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) emissions, cost, durability, and water uptake issues. This project aims to explore the feasibility of substituting these with fluorine-free membranes capable of operating at high temperatures and high current densities required by PEM fuel cells and electrolysers.
14. Fluorine-Free Cation Exchange Membrane for Fuel cells and Electrolyzers
15. Adsorption of organic pollutants on carbonised materials derived from agricultural and forestry biomasses
Main PI: Jerker Berglund Fick, Department of Chemistry, Umeå University. https://www.umu.se/en/staff/jerker-fick/
Co-PI: Christoffer Boman, Department of Applied Physics and Electronics, Umeå University. https://www.umu.se/en/staff/christoffer-boman/
Remediation of environmental pollutants using low-cost carbonised materials has been suggested to be a cheap and efficient way to decrease pollution loads globally, but especially in developing countries. This project’s aim is to investigate how to valorise biomass to biochar and optimise its surface characteristics to increase adsorption.
16. Cryo-electron tomography of aquatic microbial communities: 3-dimensional structure and interactions
Main PI: Linda Sandblad, Department of Chemistry, Umeå University. https://www.umu.se/en/staff/linda-sandblad/, https://www.umu.se/en/research/infrastructure/umea-centre-for-electron-microscopy-ucem/
Co-PI: Johan Wikner, Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University. https://www.umu.se/en/staff/johan-wikner/, https://www.umu.se/en/umea-marine-sciences-centre/
Develop a cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) preparation method to visualise 3-dimensional structure, interaction and communication in the native aquatic microbial community. With a direct visualisation of Baltic Sea and Arctic Ocean microbial communities, with nanometre resolution, we will examine changes in molecular structure and organisation depending on seasonal environmental conditions and climate change projections.
17. Unravelling the Helicobacter attachment protein causing Tiger disease
Main PI: Karina Persson, Department of Chemistry, Umeå University. https://www.umu.se/en/research/groups/karina-persson-lab/
Co-PI: Thomas Borén, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Umeå University. https://www.umu.se/en/research/groups/thomas-boren/
Tigers, lions and cheetahs in captivity often develop the bad Tiger disease. Our joint project aims to examine the structure, function and antigenicity of the key attachment protein causing chronic stomach inflammation and Tiger disease.
18. Direct-contact drying of biomaterial powders using ultrasonics
Main PI: David A. Agar, Department of Forest Biomaterials and Technology (SBT), SLU. https://www.slu.se/cv/david-a.-agar/
Co-PI: Florian M. Schmidt, Department of Applied Physics and Electronics, Umeå University. https://www.umu.se/en/research/groups/als/
The project investigates the use of ultrasonics for drying biomaterial powders. The aim is to (i) better understand the interaction between pressure waves and submillimetre porous particulates, (ii) describe/model the water-shedding mechanisms at play, (iii) evaluate the effectiveness of ultrasonic piezoelectric transducers (e.g. in terms of energy expenditure, drying rate and scalability) and (iv) produce high quality proof-of-concept data for further investigation.
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