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PhD student in sleep, circadian, and metabolic research

A four-year fully funded position as a PhD student is available at the Department of Medical Cell Biology, Uppsala University, Sweden. We are seeking a highly motivated candidate who wants to study how lifestyle factors – particularly diet – shape sleep, circadian physiology, and cardiometabolic regulation in humans.

The doctoral project will focus on crossover intervention studies related to sleep and circadian rhythms in healthy adults, in which participants undergo multimodal phenotyping. These include nocturnal EEG, continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) and actigraphy, complemented by standardized in-lab blood sampling for downstream molecular analyses. The work will carry out analyses objective sleep biomarkers, 24-hour cardiometabolic physiology, and blood-based molecular signatures, with opportunities to extend findings to complementary cellular and molecular readouts.

The project is hosted within a highly interactive and collaborative environment, with close links to the adjacent university hospital and to the Uppsala Diabetes Center, and with access to facilities for sequencing, proteomics, bioinformatics, and in vitro-based studies.

The Department of Medical Cell Biology at Uppsala University is a strong and international research environment. The department has more than 110 employees, of which about 25 are doctoral students, 10 postdoctoral fellows, and 40 researchers, teachers and professors.

Job duties

The main tasks of the PhD candidate are to contribute to the implementation of advanced clinical research trials, including in-field and in-lab monitoring of participants, biological sample handling, and downstream molecular and physiological data analysis. Experienced supervisors will guide the candidate throughout the process, from study implementation through data analysis to manuscript writing. The PhD programme comprises four years of full-time studies. Other meritorious duties at the institution relating to education and administrative work may take place (max. 20%). These would extend the employment by up to one year. The candidate will be supervised by one main supervisor and at least one co-supervisor.

Qualification requirements

Eligible applicants have completed a degree at an advanced level, with course requirements of at least 240 higher education credits, of which at least 60 at advanced level, or have otherwise acquired essentially equivalent knowledge within or outside the country. The applicant must have basic university-level education in medicine, biomedicine, biology, bioinformatics, or related subjects. The applicant must be able to work independently as well as in a team, and should be highly motivated, careful, and goal-oriented. Applicants must be able to express themselves in English well, both orally and in writing. Emphasis will be placed on documented experience of experimental work, statistical and bioinformatics analyses, and previous publications.

Desirable skills

Particular emphasis will be placed on individual suitability. Documented experience with interventional clinical sleep and/or dietary studies, and with longitudinal monitoring of study participants, is meritorious. Prior wet-lab experience – including molecular biology techniques and ELISA-based protein quantification – is also meritorious. Prior documented research or interest in sleep, circadian biology, metabolism, or bioinformatics; experience with processing larger physiological or molecular datasets; basic knowledge in molecular biology and biostatistics; and knowledge of Swedish, are all advantageous.

Application procedure

The application should be written in Swedish or English and should contain a curriculum vitae, any prior project theses and scientific publications, and a personal letter with a brief description of the applicant, their motivation, and their suitability for the position, including the names, e-mail addresses, and telephone numbers of two reference persons. Copies of relevant diplomas and course transcripts should be attached. Applications are assessed according to eligibility, previous experience, and individual suitability. Regulations for doctoral students can be found in the Higher Education Ordinance ch. 5, §§ 1–7, as well as in the university's rules and guidelines.

About the employment

The employment is a temporary position of two years according to central collective agreement. Full time position. Starting date as agreed. Placement: Uppsala

For further information about the position, please contact: Jonathan Cedernaes,  jonathan.cedernaes@mcb.uu.se

Please submit your application by June 11 2026, UFV-PA 2026/1726.