PhD student position in the research group of Sven Nelander - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

The Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology (www.igp.uu.se)
at Uppsala University has a broad research profile with strong research groups focused on cancer, autoimmune and genetic diseases. A fundamental idea at the department is to stimulate translational research and thereby closer interactions between medical research and health care. Research is presently conducted in the following areas: medical and clinical genetics, clinical immunology, pathology, neuro-oncology, vascular biology, radiation science and molecular tools. Department activities are also integrated with the units for Oncology, Clinical Genetics, Clinical Immunology, Clinical Pathology, and Hospital Physics at Akademiska sjukhuset, Uppsala. The department has teaching assignments in several education programmes, including Master Programmes, at the Faculty of Medicine, and in a number of educations at the Disciplinary Domain of Science and Technology. The department has a yearly turnover of around SEK 375 million, out of which more than half is made up of external funding. The staff amounts to approximately 340 employees, out of which 100 are PhD-students, and there are in total more than 600 affiliated people.

Science for Life Laboratory, SciLifeLab, (scilifelab.se) is a national center for molecular biosciences with focus on health and environmental research. The center combines frontline technical expertise with advanced knowledge of translational medicine and molecular bioscience.

Project description:
Cancers of the nervous system expand through a broad range of cellular processes, such as cell proliferation, cell migration and alteration of metabolic state. A central tenet of cancer pharmacology is that such tumor-driving processes can be suppressed by chemical compounds, to yield a therapeutic effect. But it remains a hard problem in practice to identify which compounds act on which processes, and how such interventions affect net tumor growth in individual patients.

In this PhD project, we will construct computational models of drug response in patient derived cells from three nervous system cancers: glioblastoma (GBM), neuroblastoma (NB) and medulloblastoma (MB). The modeling will be based on data generated on a powerful platform for RNA sequencing, capable of analyzing hundreds of compounds and thousands of individual cells. The goal of the PhD project will be to organize these unique data, as well as other sources, into a computational (statistical) model. The model will serve to (i) understand how a broad spectrum of compounds perturb the transcriptional and metabolic state of neural cancer cell lines, (ii) predict and understand differences in response between individual patients and diagnoses, (iii) serve as a tool to integrate public data further gain predictive power. Addressing these challenges will require considerable problem solving and conceptual synthesis. You will work in close collaboration with experienced colleagues with expertise in cancer systems biology, pharmacology, single cell profiling and data mining (nelanderlab.org). Bridging new technology, high quality patient materials and innovative computational methods, this project aims to improve our understanding of drug effects in neural cancers.

The successful candidate will devote most of her/his time towards research level education. Other service activities within the department, e.g. education and administrative work can be included within the framework of the employment (maximum 20%). The position will be extended with the time devoted to teaching to allow four years of full time graduate studies.

Qualifications:
The applicant should have MSc degree in a relevant area (e.g. Biotechnology, Systems/computational biology, Applied Mathematics, Physics, Medicine, Molecular Biology). Strong merits would be experience in computational biology, big data research or simulation of biological systems. Strong programming skills are important for the project, as well as an interest in addressing biological problems through data analysis and mathematics. Very strong merit would be experience in cancer systems biology or experience of nervous system cancers. Excellent skills in oral and written English are required.

Your application should include a CV, copies of exams, degrees and grades, contact details of two references and a short description of the applicant and his/her experience. Letters(s) of recommendation can be included. If the applicant has published scientific papers, they can also be included.

Information about education at the postgraduate level, admission requirements and admission decisions can be found at http://www2.medfarm.uu.se/utbildning/forskarniva/vill_du_borja/

Selection of applicants will be done by the future tutor for the selected student in consultation with the postgraduate study group of the Department. The Postgraduate Program Committee at the Disciplinary Domain of Medicine will formally approve the student's admission.

Setting the salary will be according to local guidelines at Uppsala University.

For further information about the position please contact:
Assoc Prof. Sven Nelander at sven.nelander@igp.uu.se

You are welcome to submit your application no later than 2018-06-08, UFV-PA 2018/1726.