‘Excellence by Choice’ Postdoctoral Programme in Life Science

Umeå University is one of Sweden’s largest institutions of higher education with over 35,000 students and 4,200 faculty and staff. The university is characterised by world-leading research in several scientific fields and a multitude of educations ranked highly in international comparison. Recent breakthroughs include deciphering the molecular mechanisms of the bacterial CRISPR-Cas9 system and its repurposing into a tool for genome editing, a method that was awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

The two former Swedish Centres of Excellence – Umeå Centre for Microbial Research (UCMR) and Umeå Plant Science Centre (UPSC) – at Umeå University (UMU) are currently running the ‘Excellence by Choice’ Postdoctoral Programme in Life Science offering a highly interactive and multidisciplinary research environment.

The programme aims to encourage new synergies in life science with a focus on molecular and translational research, training outstanding young researchers, and stimulating cutting-edge research in Umeå. Patron for the programme is Nobel laureate Emmanuelle Charpentier, who discovered the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology during her time as a scientist and group leader in Umeå.

In this call, up to four postdoctoral fellowships are open to all nationalities.

The ‘EC’ Postdoctoral Fellows will:

• Develop a collaborative project under supervision of at least two PIs
• Obtain 2-year full-time fellowship exempt from tax (672,000 SEK), as well as a contribution to career development cost (25,000 SEK)
• Access to UCMR/UPSC-affiliated core facilities and technical platforms such as Chemical Biology Consortium Sweden (CBCS), Protein Expertise Platform, metabolomics, proteomics, X-ray, NMR (850-400 MHz), the Computational Life Science Cluster (CLiC) – a node in NBIS (National Bioinformatics Infrastructure Sweden), Umeå Core Facility for Electron Microscopy (UCEM), and Biochemical Imaging Centre Umeå (BICU) that form a node in the National Microscopy Infrastructure (NMI). Research infrastructures at Umeå University
• Be offered with opportunities to participate in career development activities aiming at developing soft skills and at strengthening networks and collaborations in academics and industry.
• Involve in a strong postdoc community; the Umeå Postdoc Society (UPS) fosters networking, and organizes social and career development events.

In addition, the ‘EC’ postdoctoral project is supported with a grant to cover running costs (320,000 SEK).

Learn more about life as an ‘EC’ postdoc:

Featured article in Nature: Big ideas welcome: postdoc call in Sweden seeks original thinkers

Read interviews with current ‘EC’ postdocs on the Umeå University website:

Gabriel Torrens, Joram Kiriga Waititu, Samuel Agyei Nyantakyi, Jagadish Mangu, Aicha Kriia, Dhruv Agrawal, Baptiste Bogard, and Adrien Heymans.

List of projects:

Candidates are encouraged to consider one of the project ideas listed. The candidates' merits and motivation for choice of project idea will be assessed by the PIs of each project respectively.

1. Investigating the role of bacterial membrane vesicles in modulating enteric virus infections

Main PI: Annasara Lenman, Department of Clinical Microbiology, UCMR, UMU
Co-PI: Sun Nyunt Wai, Department of Molecular Biology, UCMR, UMU

2. The effect of temperature stress on the cell wall-plasma membrane continuum

Main PI: Petra Marhava, Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Umeå Plant Science Centre, SLU
Co-PI: Laura Bacete, Department of Plant Physiology, Umeå Plant Science Centre, UMU

3. Chemosensory Mechanisms Mediating Host-Parasite Interactions in Parasitic Nematodes

Main PI: Changchun Chen, Department of Molecular Biology, UCMR, UMU
Co-PI: Peter Marhavý, Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Umeå Plant Science Centre, SLU

4. T cell-independent B-cell memory; kinetics and cues for generation of B memory- and plasma cells to Francisella tularensis LPS

Main PI: Mattias Forsell, Department of Clinical Microbiology, UCMR, UMU
Co-PI: Anders Sjöstedt, Department of Clinical Microbiology, UCMR, UMU

5. Mapping the ultrastructure of Chlamydia’s parasitophorous vacuole

Main PI: Barbara Susanne Sixt, Department of Molecular Biology, UCMR, UMU
Co-PI: Max Renner, Department of Chemistry, UCMR, UMU

6. Biophysical investigations of endothelial glycocalyx degradation during viral diseases

Main PI: Marta Bally, Department of Clinical Microbiology, UCMR, UMU
Co-PI: Anne-Marie Fors Connolly, Department of Clinical Microbiology, UCMR, UMU

7. Microbial chemical production via synthetic biology

Main PI: Yaowen Wu, Department of Chemistry, UCMR, UMU
Co-PI: Anita Sellstedt, Department of Plant Physiology, Umeå Plant Science Centre, UMU

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. This qualification requirement is usually fulfilled after successfully completing all the requirements of the doctoral programme, including passing their dissertation defence.

Candidates should have completed their doctoral degree, no more than three years before the closing date of the application. If there are special reasons, candidates who completed their degree prior to that may also be eligible. Special reasons include absence due to illness, parental leave, appointments of trust in trade union organizations, military service, or similar circumstances, as well as clinical practice or other forms of appointment/assignment relevant to the subject area.

Candidates who have worked in the lab of the main PI or Co-PI during their PhD and postdoc are not eligible.

Application

The application should include:

1. A Curriculum Vitae
2. A motivation letter including research interests, qualifications, and motivation for applying for the position with the specific project idea selected from the list (max 2,000 characters with space)
3. A publication list including both published papers and preprints with web/DOI
4. A description of up to a total three (3) of your publications and/or preprints that you consider at present to represent your scientifically most valuable work, answering the following questions (max 3,000 characters with space):
   a. Why you consider a particular publication to be the scientifically most valuable?
   b. What was your specific contribution(s) to this published research work?
   c. What was your role in the manuscript writing and publishing of the work?
5. Names and contact details of at least two references
6. A verified copy of doctoral degree certificate or documentation that attests completing all the requirements of the doctoral programme, including passing the dissertation defense. If not available at time of submission, a proof of completion of the doctoral degree must be submitted at the latest together with the pre-interview project plan (early November, see step 2 below).

Step 1:

The application must be submitted electronically. For more details of each project and link to the online application system, please go to the Umeå University website.

Online application deadline: 8 September 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 UCMR and UPSC researchers.

Date of final interview: 20-21 November 2024.

Questions

Questions can be addressed to UCMR research coordinator Ingrid.soderbergh@umu.se

Working at Umeå University

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. Read more about Umeå University as a workplace

Umeå Postdoc Society (UPS) is a strong community for postdocs and works towards improving the postdoc experience in Umeå. Check out their website and do not hesitate to get in contact with them early on!

We welcome your application!

Umeå University wants to offer an environment where open dialogue between people with different backgrounds and perspectives lay the foundation for learning, creativity and development. In each recruitment we aim to increase diversity and the opportunity to affirmative action. We kindly decline offers of recruitment and advertising help.