Postdoctoral position in Multi-Omics

Are you interested in working in one of the world's fastest growing technology areas? Are you looking for an employer that invests in sustainable employeeship and offers safe, favourable working conditions?

We are recruiting a driven postdoctoral researcher to join the Molecular Precision Medicine research group at the Department of Medical Sciences, Uppsala University, located at the Uppsala Biomedical Center (BMC).

The Department of Medical Sciences is a large clinical institution with more than 250 employees and over 900 additional coworkers connected via the Uppsala University Hospital. The Department of Medical Sciences has a broad research profile with strong research groups in a number of different areas. The research carried out at the department is performed in close connection with the clinical activities at the Uppsala University Hospital, which includes both basic studies on the causes of a variety of illnesses and the development and evaluation of improved diagnostics and new treatment methods. More information about the Department of Medical Sciences can be found at https://www.uu.se/en/department/medical-sciences

The research group focuses on various diseases using large-scale genetic methods (current projects can be found on our website: https://www.uu.se/en/department/medical-sciences/research/research-groups/molecular-precision-medicinehttps://www.uu.se/en/department/medical-sciences/research/research-groups/molecular-precision-medicine. Through a close collaboration with clinical researchers at Uppsala University Hospital, our research group has access to unique sample collections and clinical patient information. A close collaboration with the National Genomics Infrastructure (NGI) at the Science for Life Laboratory (SciLifeLab), gives the research group access to cutting-edge sequencing technologies (https://ngisweden.scilifelab.se/).

The project focuses on analyzing blood/bone marrow samples from children with leukemia, healthy controls, and in vitro cell models using various omics techniques. To achieve the overarching goal of advancing precision medicine in pediatric leukemia, we aim to identify circulating biomarkers that can differentiate high-risk patients from low-risk patients. This approach seeks to shorten chemotherapy treatment for low-risk patients, while specifically improving treatment for the high-risk group. We will also conduct drug screens for targeted therapies that are currently in preclinical and early clinical trials by testing these promising new drugs in vitro and ex vivo.

Funded by the transnational European Partnership for Personalised Medicine (EP PerMed), this project is a close collaboration with leading research groups in pediatric hematology at the University of Freiburg, the Technical University of Munich in Germany, and the University of Tampere in Finland. As a postdoctoral researcher in this project, you will play a key role in integrating and analyzing multi-omics data within the consortium to deepen the understanding of pediatric leukemia at the molecular level and contribute to the development of new treatment strategies.

You will be part of Uppsala University’s Molecular Precision Medicine research group, where research focuses on both developing new genomics technologies and applying them to clinically relevant questions in pediatric oncology. In addition to a strong focus on pediatric leukemia, the position offers opportunities to develop your own research questions within the project and to collaborate with bioinformatics and molecular biology experts in a dynamic, interdisciplinary research group environment.

Duties

• Analyze multi-omics data from pediatric leukemia samples and in vitro models, including genomic (WGS), transcriptomic (bulk and scRNA-seq), epigenomic (DNA methylation arrays), and proteomic (Olink Explore PEA) data.
• Develop and apply machine learning models to identify disease subtypes and predict treatment responses.
• Collaborate with pediatric oncologists, bioinformaticians, molecular biologists, and computational biologists, both within the research group and with our international partners.
• Write scientific articles and present the project’s results at scientific meetings and conferences.

Requirements
PhD degree in bioinformatics, computational biology, molecular biology, or a related field or a foreign degree equivalent to a PhD degree in any of these fields. The degree needs to be obtained by the time of the decision of employment. Those who have obtained a PhD degree three years prior to the application deadline are primarily considered for the employment. The starting point of the three-year frame period is the application deadline. Due to special circumstances, the degree may have been obtained earlier. The three-year period can be extended due to circumstances such as sick leave, parental leave, duties in labour unions, etc.

• Experience in large-scale data analysis and programming in relevant languages, such as Python and R.
• Proficiency in handling large datasets in a LINUX/UNIX environment.
• Experience with large-scale DNA or RNA sequencing.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.
• Excellent verbal and written English skills.

Additional qualifications

• Experience with proteomics analysis and multi-omics data integration.
• Proficiency in applying machine learning techniques to biomedical data.
• Strong foundation in immunology.

About the employment
The employment is a temporary position of two years according to central collective agreement, with a possible extension of a maximum of one additional year. Full time position. Starting date as soon as possible or as agreed. Placement: Uppsala.

For further information about the position, please contact: Associate Professor Jessica Nordlund (jessica.nordlund@medsci.uu.se)

Please submit your application by 10 januari 2025, UFV-PA 2024/3911 

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