PhD student in Chemistry - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

The department of Chemistry – BMC is located within Uppsala University Biomedical Centre. We conduct teaching and outstanding research in areas of Analytical Chemistry, Biochemistry, Organic Chemistry and Physical Chemistry. Research education is given within these subjects. We have interfaces towards preclinical biomedicine and the clinic, pharmacy, physics and materials science. The department has approximately 140 employees, and of them around 40 PhD students and 10 Professors.  You can find more information about us at www.kemi.uu.se/research/.

In addition to having outstanding research, we offer one of the country's best educations in chemistry, strongly linked to world-leading research. The teaching is characterised by an extensive range of courses, a strong research connection and a large proportion of laboratory elements. The creative and research-intensive environment contributes to both broad knowledge and cutting-edge expertise.

We are looking for a PhD student in Chemistry for research in Chemical Biology, Metabolomics and Gut Microbiota Analysis

Project description: This PhD position in Chemical Biology is available in the laboratory of Associate Professor Daniel Globisch and is part of 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie ITN project COLOTAN (https://colotan-etn.eu). The Globisch laboratory is an international and multidisciplinary research group (www.ilk.uu.se/research-groups/biomarker-discovery/) and the laboratory will move to the Department of Chemistry – BMC. The project is a part of the international innovative training network COLOTAN which focuses on better understanding of absorption of drugs from colon (see description of COLOTAN at end of this text). Our research focus lies on the development of new methodologies to enhance the scope of quantitative and qualitative metabolomics-based research to simplify the discovery of disease-specific small molecule biomarkers in human and bacterial samples. (Example literature: Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2020, 59, 14342-14346; Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2018, 57, 13805-13809; Chem. Sci. 2018, 9, 6233-6239; Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 2013, 110, 4218-4223). The project will aim for the discovery of disease biomarkers and identification of bioactive molecules in human and bacterial samples using chemoselective metabolite modification methods and mass spectrometric analysis. This highly interdisciplinary project in this cutting-edge research area will include techniques at the interface of Chemistry and Biology with a combination of Chemical Biology techniques, Organic Chemistry, analysis of human samples, mass spectrometric analysis of metabolites, and the investigation of metabolic pathways. As part of the ITN consortium, an internship (secondment) of 6 months will be performed at the company Dynamic Biosensors (Munich, Germany) to develop diagnostics. Our team is currently searching for a highly motivated PhD student with passion and enthusiasm for science to support our interdisciplinary projects to elucidate microbiome metabolism, using mass spectrometry and the development of new chemoselective tools.

Duties: As a PhD student in our team you will perform graduate studies within the subject and is expected to carry out advanced research in analytical chemistry and to broaden your perspective and knowledge of analytical chemistry by taking relevant graduate courses.

Doctoral students employed by us are normally expected to teach and participate in general departmental service, such as instrument maintenance, at a level that corresponds to a maximum of 20% of the employment period.

If you want to know more about what it is like to be a doctoral student with us, you can read here: www.teknat.uu.se/education/postgraduate/

Qualifications required: To be eligible for a PhD student position the applicant must hold a master degree (or equivalent) in Chemical Biology, Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry or other related research area. Very good language skills in English are required to interact, write and publish internationally. Levels corresponding to IELTS: overall mark of 6.5 and no section below 5.5; TOEFL: Paper-based: Score of 4.5 (scale 1-6) in written test and a total score of 575, internet-based: Score of 20 (scale 0-30) in written test and a total score of 90; Cambridge: CAE, CPE are acceptable.

We place great emphasis on your personal qualifications. You need to have a strong motivation for the research project and to be able to contribute with creative ideas. This project requires that you are able to work independently, but that you also have excellent collaborative skills as the project will include scientific collaborations. Highly motivated and enthusiastic candidates interested in interdisciplinary research with strong interpersonal skills are preferred.

Qualifications desired: In addition to degrees, the successful candidate would preferably have documented laboratory experience in at least three of the following areas: Chemical Biology, Organic Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry as well as mass spectrometric analysis of human samples.

To be employed as a PhD student, you must be accepted in the postgraduate program. Information concerning doctoral education, requirements and rules of admission can be found here: www.teknat.uu.se/education/postgraduate/ and the study plan for postgraduate studies in analytical chemistry/biochemistry/organic chemistry can be found here www.teknat.uu.se/digitalAssets/395/c_395084-l_1-k_curriculum-kemi-inr-analytisk-kemi-20141119.pdf

To qualify for a PhD position, you must have special eligibility for third-cycle studies in chemistry if you have passed courses of at least 90 higher education credits (or equivalent), of which at least 40 higher education credits are from courses at advanced level (second cycle).

Criteria for ranking: The ranking of applicants will be based on undergraduate grades, on the undergraduate education profile and on any additional experience of research in areas of relevance for the research project. Such additional experience should be documented and included in your application, e.g. through articles published in international peer-reviewed journals or by employment at companies or other institutions active in the field of research. Emphasis will also be put on personal qualifications required for the project.

In filling this position, we aim to recruit the person who, in a combined evaluation of competence, skills and documented qualifications, is most suitable to carry out and develop the project-in-hand and to contribute to a positive development of the department of chemistry. Interviews will be performed with the top candidates through on-site visits or by electronic means.

Application: Your application must include the following documents:

1) Motivation letter with research interests and experience as well as one paragraph on recent developments in mass spectrometric Chemical Biology or microbiota research

2) Curriculum Vitae

3) All university transcripts

4) Contact information for at least two references

Specific requirement for the application: At the time of selection by the host organization, the selected candidate must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of their host organisation for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to their recruitment.

In order for the application to be considered, it is also required by the regulations that the application for ESR 8 is also submitted to: https://colotan-etn.eu

Description of COLOTAN: This position is one (ESR8) out of 13 PhD positions (”Early stage researchers, ESRs) within COLOTAN, a network for “Boosting advanced doctoral training in innovative colon targeting drugs”. Its overarching goal is to provide high-level training to 13 early stage researchers in drug delivery, drug disposition and gastrointestinal (GI) (patho)physiology to improve targeting of drugs to the colon and to provide them with the transferable and scientific skills necessary for a successful career. This international training program, combining 10 countries, focuses on innovative technological and scientific developments across a range of interdisciplinary fields such as (physical, analytical and organic) chemistry, drug delivery, drug disposition, cell biology, gastroenterology, microbiology and modelling and simulation. The aim of this project will be achieved by a unique combination of intersectoral research training facilitated by 10 beneficiaries (7 academic and 3 non-academic) and 6 partner organisations. The COLOTAN consortium consists of leading research groups from universities and from innovative pharmaceutical companies.

Each of the 13 ESRs will be supported by a carefully chosen supervisory team that maximizes both scientific excellence as well as interdisciplinary and intersectoral collaboration. The 13 COLOTAN ESRs will not only receive state-of-the-art science/technology training but will also benefit from a unique soft-skills training program. The interdisciplinary and inter-domain training will make COLOTAN ESRs highly employable in various industries or academia.

Salary: According to local agreement for PhD students.

Starting date: 2020-03-01 or as otherwise agreed.

Type of employment: Temporary position according to the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5 § 7. The graduate program covers four years of full-time study. The position can be combined with teaching or other duties at the department (maximum 20%), which prolongs the employment with the corresponding time. 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.

More information about postgraduate studies at Uppsala University is available at www.teknat.uu.se/education/postgraduate/.

Scope of employment: 100%                                        

For further information about the position please contact: Associate Professor Daniel Globisch, Daniel.globisch@scilifelab.uu.se, phone: +46 18 471 4287

You are welcome to submit your application no later than December 8, 2020. UFV-PA 2020/3873.

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.