Postdoctoral studies in tumor immunology and immunotherapy (scholarship) Full-time NEW

Postdoctoral Studies In Tumor Immunology And Immunotherapy (Scholarship)

Do you want to contribute to top quality medical research?

We are seeking one or two skilled experimental immunologists to join the Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy Group led by Senior Lecturer Dhifaf Sarhan at Karolinska Institutet. You will connect findings from human tumors with mechanistic studies in experimental models to investigate immune regulation and develop approaches to immunotherapy. The postdoctoral training offers opportunities to lead a project, develop scientific independence and collaborate with researchers and clinicians across disciplines.

The group is part of the Division of Pathology at the Department of Laboratory Medicine, Karolinska Institutet.

Our research investigates how interactions between innate and adaptive immune cells, together with sex differences, shape the organization and function of the tumor microenvironment. We examine why immune cells control tumors in some settings but become excluded or suppressed in others, and how these processes can be redirected for therapy. Our research spans immune cell crosstalk, sex-dependent immune regulation and immune memory. We combine studies of patient-derived material with experimental tumor models, functional immune assays, single-cell analyses and spatial profiling to connect observations in human tumors with their underlying mechanisms.

The group works closely with clinicians and researchers at Karolinska University Hospital and with national and international collaborators. These collaborations provide access to patient material, clinical expertise and complementary experimental and analytical approaches. Core facilities support advanced flow cytometry, imaging, single-cell and spatial profiling.

You will develop and lead a mechanistic project investigating how immune cells interact with tumor and stromal cells to regulate cancer progression and antitumor immunity. The project will build on your expertise and the group's ongoing research, with particular opportunities to investigate immune exclusion, innate-adaptive immune interactions and sex differences in tumor immunity. A central part of your work will be to translate findings from patient material, single-cell analyses and spatial studies into experimentally testable hypotheses. You will investigate candidate mechanisms through functional assays and genetic or pharmacological perturbation in mouse tumor models and human culture systems. Outcomes may include changes in tumor growth, immune infiltration, immune cell function and treatment response.

You will take responsibility for experimental design, implementation, data interpretation and manuscript preparation. You will work closely with colleagues in experimental immunology, computational biology and clinical pathology, contribute to student supervision and present your findings at scientific meetings. The position provides scope to develop an independent research direction within the group's program.

A creative and inspiring environment with wide-ranging expertise and interests. Karolinska Institutet is one of the world's leading medical universities. Here, we conduct innovative medical research and provide the largest range of biomedical education in Sweden. At KI, you get to meet researchers working with a wide range of specialisms and methods, giving you ample opportunity to exchange knowledge and experience with the various scientific fields within medicine and health. It is the crossover collaborations, which have pushed KI to where it is today, at the forefront of global research. Several of the people you meet in healthcare are educated at KI. A close relationship with the health care providers is important for creating groundbreaking top quality education and research. Students and employees have free access to our modern gym facilities with trained staff on site.

The position is based in the Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy Group at ANA Futura, Karolinska Institutet, Flemingsberg Campus, within the Department of Laboratory Medicine, Division of Pathology.

The amount is tax free and it is set for twelve months at a time, paid out on a six months basis. In exceptional cases, shorter periods may be acceptable. The postdoctoral training is funded by a scholarship for one year, with the possibility of extension subject to available funding and KI's scholarship rules. The scholarship is awarded for twelve months at a time. This is a scholarship-funded affiliation and does not constitute employment. Start date: by agreement.

The application should contain the following documents in English or Swedish:

• Proof of doctoral degree.
• A complete CV, including the date of thesis defense, thesis title, previous and current academic positions, academic distinctions and supervision experience.
• A complete publication list, highlighting up to three original research articles relevant to the position. For each highlighted article, briefly describe your experimental and intellectual contribution.
• A summary of your current research and motivation for joining the group, explaining how your expertise relates to our research program and what you would like to develop during the postdoctoral period (maximum one page).

The application is to be submitted through the Varbi recruitment system by November 20th, 2026.