PhD student position in the research group of Dr. Xingqi Chen - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

The Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology at Uppsala University (www.igp.uu.se) 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 400 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.

Project description: A PhD student position is available for highly motivated individuals with interest in single cell biology join the unit of molecular tools at Uppsala University, Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology.  The PhD student would be supervised under Dr. Xingqi Chen. Research in the this project is to develop state-of-art single cell technology and understand the cell fate decision during human disease. There are more than thousands cell types in our body, and each cell type plays critical role in our metabolism. Any error in controlling the cell function could affect our healthy. At the same, there are big heterogeneities within same cell type. In the solid tumor, different cell types communicate with each other and form the unique tumor microenvironment in a three-dimensional space. The spatial coordination of the cell in the tumor microenvironment strongly influences its fate and function. Thus, the cell fate in the solid tumor is not only determined by its own molecular events in the cells, but it is also affected by the interplay with its neighbor cells and microenvironment. To understand the molecular mechanism of tumorigenesis and design better target therapies for the solid tumor, we need to decipher the single cell spatial epigenetic maps of the solid tumor microenvironment. We will use a novel strategy to develop new technology and decipher the single cell spatial chromatin accessibility profiling in the solid tissue. Eventually, we will generate a user-friendly toolbox and platform for the scientific community to understand the cell fate decision in the basic solid tumor research as well as for use in future clinical diagnosis.

Further information on the activity of the research group can be accessed at http://igp.uu.se/research/molecular_tools/xingqi-chen/

The successful candidate will devote most of the time towards his/her 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 bioinformatics, biotechnology or similar field. Strong merits would be experience in single cell or bulk ATAC-seq data mining, functional genomics, Linux terminal programming, R and Python or other computer language programming and good knowledge of mathematics, biology and computer science. Very strong merit would be good record in main author or co-author publication in functional genomics. Excellent skills in oral and written English are required. Students who don’t have a Nordic university degree or English as their native language must take a "Test of English as a Foreign Language", (TOEFL), alternatively an IELTS test (”International English Language Testing System”), before they can be admitted to the postgraduate education program.

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 Programmes Committee at the Disciplinary Domain of Medicine will formally approve the student's admission.

Rules governing PhD students are set out in the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5, §§ 1-7 and in Uppsala University's rules and guidelines http://regler.uu.se/?languageId=1.

Salary: According to local agreement for PhD students.
 
Starting date: As agreed.

Type of employment: Temporary position according to the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5 § 7.

Scope of employment: 100 %

For further information about the position please contact: Dr. Xingqi Chen, email: xingqi.chen@igp.uu.se.

Please submit your application by 3 November 2020, UFV-PA 2020/3527.

Are you considering moving to Sweden to work at Uppsala University? If so, you will find a lot of information about working and living in Sweden at www.uu.se/joinus. You are also welcome to contact International Faculty and Staff Services at ifss@uadm.uu.se.