PhD candidate to develop translational approaches to reveal novel mechanisms and biomarkers in Peripheral Vascular Disease

Do you want to contribute to top quality medical research?

To be a doctoral student means to devote oneself to a research project under supervision of experienced researchers and following an individual study plan. For a doctoral degree, the equivalent of four years of full-time doctoral education is required.

Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery

The Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery (MMK) carries out both preclinical and clinical research within numerous fields. Linked to the Department are approximately 450 researchers, postgraduate students, teachers and technical and administrative staff and we currently have about 150 PhD students. The Department is conducting undergraduate courses for medical, biomedical and biomedical laboratory students.

The research group

The prospective PhD candidate will be recruited to the group Translational Vascular Medicine led by Assoc Prof Ljubica Matic, MSc, PhD, who will also act as the main supervisor for the student. This Team is integrated within the large Vascular Surgery research Unit, at the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery (MMK), KI, which is dedicated to translational and clinical research on vascular diseases and pathological vascular conditions in general. The group Translational Vascular Medicine is specialized in mechanisms underlying atherosclerosis and vascular injury. This Unit is situated at the BioClinicum building, in the KI North Campus, it belongs also to the Center for Molecular Medicine and gathers about 15 other PhD students, postdocs, technical and administrative staff.

The vascular diseases and conditions addressed in the broader research context of the Vascular Surgery Unit are atherosclerosis, aortic aneurysms, peripheral arterial disease (PAD) as well as restenosis after vascular interventions. Altogether these conditions contribute to the high overall cardiovascular mortality, dominated by complications of atherosclerosis such as myocardial infarction or stroke. To better understand the development and progression of vascular disease, over the past decades we have, together with the Vascular Surgery Clinic, Karolinska Hospital, assembled several large biobanks of human and murine vascular tissues and patient data. Our platform enables large-scale, multi-variate and multi-modal analyses of genes, proteins and metabolites expression from vascular lesions and blood, combined with genetic, clinical/epidemiological and imaging parameters from patients. We also perform in depth functional studies in animal and cell culture models of vascular injury and disease.

The doctoral student project and the duties of the doctoral student

The overall goal of this doctoral project is to develop essential knowledge about the differences and commonalities in mechanisms, clinical features and outcomes comparing patients with carotid, cerebral and lower limb arterial disease. Vascular Surgery at Karolinska treats the highest volume of PAD patients in Sweden and has all routines, knowledge and infrastructure for ethical permit writing, clinical sampling, human material and data biobanking with GDPR-compliant procedures, etc. already in place, which will also be part of this doctoral student training. It is anticipated that the insights from this project will be the key for future developments of effective translational tools for risk prediction and personalized medicine in PAD.

With respect to research, the projects that constitute this doctoral training will involve bioinformatic analyses of human omics data, biostatistics and clinical data analyses, epidemiological data and outcome modelling using AI-assisted algorithms, as well as multi-modal data integrations. An established data infrastructure with expertise and computational pipelines for these analyses are already present in the group and the student will have support from senior researchers permanently employed in the group. Our group also runs the histological core facility and has the necessary expertise for systematic, large-scale stainings of biobanked tissues with detailed histopathological analyses, which will be an important experimental part of the project.

The project holds translational potential in opening new opportunities for improved treatment of patients with peripheral arterial disease, but also carries considerable novelty in the research field. We offer a position in one of the leading groups in the field of vascular disease with an excellent network of international and industrial collaborators, and longstanding experience in translational science. The project will be conducted in a multidisciplinary environment at the interface between academia, clinic, pharma industry, where resources and expertise in human biobanking, omics data, imaging, animal surgery and molecular biology methods will be available.

What do we offer?

A creative and inspiring environment full of expertise and curiosity. Karolinska Institutet is one of the world's leading medical universities. Our vision is to pursue the development of knowledge about life and to promote a better health for all. At Karolinska Institutet, we conduct successful medical research and hold the largest range of medical education in Sweden. As a doctoral student you are offered an individual research project, a well-educated supervisor, a vast range of elective courses and the opportunity to work in a leading research group. Karolinska Institutet collaborates with prominent universities from all around the world, which ensures opportunities for international exchanges. You will be employed on a doctoral studentship which means that you receive a contractual salary. Employees also have access to our modern gym for free and receive reimbursements for medical care.

Eligibility requirements for doctoral education

In order to participate in the selection for a doctoral position, you must meet the following general (A) and specific (B) eligibility requirements at latest by the application deadline.

It is your responsibility to certify eligibility by following the instructions on the web page Entry requirements (eligibility) for doctoral education.

A) General eligibility requirement You meet the general eligibility requirement for doctoral/third-cycle/PhD education if you:

1. have been awarded a second-cycle/advanced/master qualification (i.e. master degree), or
2. have satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits of which at least 60 credits were awarded in the advanced/second-cycle/master level, or
3. have acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad.*

Follow the instructions on the web page Entry requirements (eligibility) for doctoral education.

*If you claim equivalent knowledge, follow the instructions on the web page Assessing equivalent knowledge for general eligibility for doctoral education.

B) Specific eligibility requirement

You meet the specific eligibility requirement for doctoral/third-cycle/PhD education if you:

– Show proficiency in English equivalent to the course English B/English 6 at Swedish upper secondary school.

Follow the instructions on the web page English language requirements for doctoral education.

Verification of your documents Karolinska Institutet checks the authenticity of your documents. Karolinska Institutet reserves the right to revoke admission if supporting documents are discovered to be fraudulent. Submission of false documents is a violation of Swedish law and is considered grounds for legal action.

(A) and (B) can only be certified by the documentation requirement for doctoral education .

Skills and personal qualities

The suitable candidate should have basic understanding of the medical vascular disease context, work with human biomaterial and data collection, and biobanking principles. The suitable candidate should also have both theoretical and empirical background in big-data analysis, bioinformatics, statistics, etc. The candidate should have an interest to investigate the interplay between the clinical patient presentation and the complex underlying molecular pathophysiology of vascular disease.

We are looking for a highly motivated person that should be dedicated to full time research, have the potential to work both independently and within a translational team, and manage the close collaboration between our research group, the clinic, and collaborations with Pharma partners. The daily work is office/laboratory based and situated in modern BioClinicum facilities.

The selected person will be expected to plan, perform, analyze and interpret research results independently and within the Team, present at congresses, and participate in various national/international collaboration networks. Willingness to work flexibly in order to achieve project demands and targets as agreed within the Team is necessary. Being able to organise and prioritise own work, as well as organising research within the project timetable and planned deliverables is essential. Maintaining accurate and up to date electronic notebook records for projects is mandatory. Fluency in English is a requirement, knowledge of Swedish is not necessary, but will be considered an advantage. Good social, organisational and analytical skills are essential. Ability to travel to other countries is essential and possibilities will exist for conducting research visits abroad. Ability to undertake teaching and pedagogical activities will be considered as an advantage.

Terms and conditions

The doctoral student will be employed on a doctoral studentship maximum 4 years full-time.

Application process

Submit your application and supporting documents through the Varbi recruitment system. Use the button in the top right corner and follow the instructions. We prefer that your application is written in English, but you can also apply in Swedish.

Your application must contain the following documents:

– A personal letter and a curriculum vitae – Degree projects and previous publications, if any – Any other documentation showing the desirable skills and personal qualities described above – Documents certifying your general eligibility (see A above) – Documents certifying your specific eligibility (see B above)

Selection

A selection will be made among eligible applicants on the basis of the ability to benefit from doctoral education. The qualifications of the applicants will be evaluated on an overall basis.

Karolinska Institutet uses the following bases of assessment:

– Documented subject knowledge of relevance to the area of research – Analytical skill – Other documented knowledge or experience that may be relevant to doctoral studies in the subject.

All applicants will be informed when the recruitment is completed.

https://ki.se/en/people/ljubica-matic https://www.ljubicamaticgroup-translationalvascularmedicine.eu https://ki.se/en/research/research-areas-centres-and-networks/research-groups/vascular-surgery-ulf-hedins-research-group#tab-start

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