PhD student in pediatric brain tumor research and treatment resistance

The Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology 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 biology, 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 at the Disciplinary Domain of Science and Technology. The department has a yearly turnover of around SEK 500 million, out of which more than half is made up of external funding. The staff amounts to approximately 345 employees, out of which 100 are PhD-students, and there are in total more than 700 affiliated people. Feel free to read more about the department's activities here: https://www.uu.se/en/department/immunology-genetics-and-pathology

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Duties 
A graduate student position is available in the Rendo, Swartling, and Giraud research groups at the Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology of Uppsala University. For more information see here; www.rendolab.org. We are looking for a highly motivated candidate with an interest in studying malignant pediatric brain tumors, including atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors (AT/RT) and diffuse midline gliomas (DMG). The PhD candidate will utilize multi-omic approaches, including genomic, transcriptomic, and epigenomic profiling, to investigate tumor evolution in pediatric patient samples and characterize resistance mechanisms against multiple standard-of-care regimens and targeted therapies. The candidate will also employ cutting-edge functional genomic approaches (including CRISPR screens) to identify actionable molecular targets within resistant AT/RT and DMG cell populations. 

The doctoral position comprises full-time studies for a maximum of 4 years. Holders of a doctoral employment will primarily devote themselves to their own education and research, but other tasks such as training of students and administrative work may be included with a maximum of 20% of the employment. In this case, the fully employment will be extended to allow for four years of full-time studies. 

Requirements
To meet the entry requirements for doctoral studies, you must

• hold a Master’s (second-cycle) degree in medicine, biomedicine, molecular biology, pharmacy, genetics or biotechnology
• have completed at least 240 credits in higher education, with at least 60 credits at Master’s level including an independent project worth at least 15 credits, or
• have acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way.

Documented experience of experimental research work with cell culture, mouse work (FELASA certificate or similar), flow cytometry, fluorescence microscopy, quantitative PCR, immunoblotting and CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing are strongly encouraged. Previous experience with large-scale data analysis, including bulk and single cell sequencing, is a strong merit. Good oral and written English skills are required. 

Additional qualifications
Previous experience with brain tumor research will be seen as favourable.

You can find information about education at postgraduate level, eligibility requirements and admission regulations at https://www.uu.se/en/disciplinary-domain/medicine-and-pharmacy/study/doctoral-studies   

Selection of applicants is made by the supervisor in consultation with the department's postgraduate education group. The doctoral education committee in the discipline of medicine-pharmacy accepts the doctoral student.  Salary placement takes place according to local guidelines at Uppsala University.

Rules governing PhD students are set out in the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5, §§ 1-7 and in Uppsala University's rules and guidelines.

 About the employment
The employment is a temporary position according to the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5 § 7. Scope of employment 100 %. Starting date is as agreed. Placement: Uppsala.

For further information about the position, please contact: Veronica Rendo, veronica.rendo@igp.uu.se 

Please submit your application by 16 of June 2025, UFV-PA 2025/1062

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