PhD student in Biochemistry

PhD student in Biochemistry
The Department of Chemistry – BMC conducts research and education in analytical chemistry, biochemistry and organic chemistry. More than 100 people, including around 45 PhD students, work at the department. New employees and students are recruited from all over the world and English is the main working language. The department is located at the Biomedical Centre in Uppsala, which facilitates collaborations with research groups in biology, pharmacy, medicine and SciLifeLab and gives access to advanced infrastructure for experimental and theoretical studies. The international environment and good opportunities for interdisciplinary collaborations enables PhD students at the department to participate in relevant research projects and prepare for an international research career.

Read more about the research at The Department of Chemistry – BMC at our website. 

Project description
The position is one of eleven PhD positions in the Horizon Europe-funded Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action (MSCA) Doctoral Network IDPro, Intrinsically disordered proteins in health and disease: mechanisms, molecular context and opportunities for drug discovery. For more information see https://idpro.elte.hu/.

IDPro is an exceptional network of nine beneficiaries (eight academic and one industrial) and five partner organizations (four industrial and three academic) from seven different countries, with excellent track records in protein research and supervision. Together, we will train eleven doctoral candidates, with distinct competencies of relevance for the field of intrinsically disordered proteins, to secure future scientific breakthroughs in a rapidly developing field. In particular, we will investigate how disordered proteins interact, how interaction is affected by disease-related mutations, and assess how disordered proteins cause aberrant cellular signaling in relevant human disease models. Furthermore, we will design ligands that can be further developed into molecular probes, which could represent lead structures for the development of drugs. The goal of IDPro is to strengthen an emerging field in biology and medicine with implications for both academia and industry in the European union.

In this part of the project, we will explore fundamental questions concerning how shorter and longer intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) interact with folded globular domains, how these interactions have evolved, and how they are influenced by disease-associated variations. The research will involve heterologous protein expression and purification, along with the identification and characterization of these interactions using a combination of biochemical and biophysical techniques, supported by bioinformatics analysis.

Duties
The main duties of PhD students are to devote themselves to their research studies, which includes participating in research projects and third cycle courses. The work duties can also include teaching and other departmental duties (not more than 20 % of full time. 

Requirements

• To be eligible for doctoral education, a basic higher education equivalent to at least 240 ECTS credits, including at least 60 ECTS credits at Master’s level, including an independent project equivalent to at least 15 credits, or has acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way, more information about the general requirements can be found here.
• A person has special eligibility for a doctoral program in biochemistry if he/she has passed examinations in courses in biochemistry (or other subjects relevant to biochemistry) comprising a total of at least 120 higher education credits or the equivalent. The courses shall comprise at least 90 credits in chemistry, including at least 45 credits in biochemistry of which at least 15 credits shall consist of a project in biochemistry. More information about the subject specific requirements can be found here.
• Very good English proficiency in speech and writing.

Great emphasis will be placed on personal qualities such as good collaborative skills, motivation and independence, as well as how the applicant through his/her experience and competence is judged to have the abilities necessary to develop within and acquire the doctoral education.

Additional qualifications
This MSCA Doctoral Network grant aims to promote mobility within the EU. Applicants must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Sweden for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before their date of recruitment.

We are seeking a highly motivated individual with the ability to work both independently and collaboratively within multidisciplinary teams. The candidate is expected to take initiative in driving their project forward, while also actively engaging with other members of the doctoral network.

Applicants should have a strong interest in pursuing a PhD in protein science, with a particular focus on intrinsically disordered proteins. Ideally, the candidate will have experience in recombinant protein expression and purification in E. coli, along with basic protein characterization techniques.

Experience of experimental analysis of protein structure and function relationships are of added value, as well as experience of cell based methods and/or basic programming skills in Python and/or R.

Doctoral students are normally engaged for some teaching at undergraduate and graduate level. Previous experience from teaching/mentoring, even from environments outside the school/university, as well as other outreach activities may therefore be meritorious.

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 1/10 2025 or as agreed. Placement: Uppsala

For further information about the position, please contact: Ylva Ivarsson, (+46)-018-471 4038, ylva.ivarsson@kemi.uu.se.

Please submit your application by  August 5th, 2025, UFV-PA 2025/2058.

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