Doctoral student position PhD in Medical Science

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.

The research group

Our research group conducts world-leading research on the occurrence and progression of inflammatory diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). Our vision is to understand how genetic and lifestyle factors lead to neuroinflammation in persons affected by MS. Our goal is to better understand disease etiology and to improve disease management through personalized treatments and more specific biomarkers. We are integrating large-scale clinical information with molecular genetics and information about environmental exposures, lifestyle, and registry data. We offer a creative and inspiring environment with broad expertise in genetics, epigenetics, neurology, immunology, and epidemiology and close links to clinics.

The doctoral student project and the duties of the doctoral student

The overall aim of this PhD project is to identify molecular targets that predispose for severe disease outcomes in persons affected with MS and characterize the biological mechanisms involved in determining disease progression in affected individuals. Identifying pathological mechanisms will give insights into the molecular causes of neurodegeneration and will also provide potential therapeutic targets to halt disease progression.

The specific aims are to:

1. Identify candidate genes for MS severity for mechanistic studies.
2. Establish the role of hallmark genes in inflamed neurons during MS development.
3. Evaluate the relative contribution of immune versus neuronal processes to MS progression.

To tackle the complex nature of MS and understand the mechanisms of progression, we have built the world’s largest centralized and harmonized multimodal MS data resource with rich clinical information collected for decades, ideal for characterizing progression of disease (Horizon 2020 MultipleMS project coordinated by our group). To carry out this project you will have access to genetic, omics, and clinical data from large patient cohorts. The majority of time will be spent doing computational work, including applying genetic and statistical methods and biological bioinformatics annotation using in-house and public omics data such as IHEC (ihec-epigenomes.org), of which we are a partner. Project work will include implementing computational pipelines for handling, quality control, and analysis of large volumes of data. This will require skills in R programming language, Linux-based software solutions, and high-performance computing using remote facilities. You will be supervised by a group of researchers with expertise in genetics, epigenetics, omics data handling, and biomarker analysis.

The research will be carried out within the NeuroFlame consortium that teams up to understand the sequence of events that determines neuronal outcome in the face of neuroinflammation. There will be opportunities for international collaborations for the student through the Neuroflame, MultipleMS, WISDOM, and the International Multiple Sclerosis Genetics Consortium, in which the supervisors are long-standing active members. In addition, the doctoral student will attend postgraduate courses and participate in the activities of the Neuroimmunology unit at the Department of Clinical Neuroscience.

This PhD project is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and Karolinska Institutet.

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

We are seeking a highly motivated, driven, creative, hardworking, enthusiastic team player with a keen interest in understanding complex neurological diseases. The PhD candidate is expected to take part in experimental design, statistical analyses, development and implementation of computational methods, presentations, and scientific writing. The applicant should be capable of developing good programming skills and to work with open-source software using a command-line interface. The applicant should be committed to maintaining a friendly and productive work environment. 

Applicants are required to:

• Have a deep interest in computational medicine research and possess a master’s degree in computational biology, Bioinformatics, Data Science, or related fields.
• Demonstrate a high-level proficiency in written and spoken English, which is essential to integrate with the members in the research group and our international collaborators.
• Understand basic concepts of statistical analysis.
• Demonstrate good social and communication skills.

Merit is achieved by:

• Demonstrated strong programming skills in R, high-performance computing (HPC), bash, or similar languages.
• Knowledge and experience of neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases.
• Experience with genetic and/or epigenetic research, sequence data, and omic data analysis.
• Application of advanced statistical methods.
• Experience of working within international consortia.
• Strong social skills and the ability to collaborate effectively in a multidisciplinary team.

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.

Read more about the Department of Clinical Neuroscience
Read more about the research group you will be a part of

Want to make a difference? Join us and contribute to better health for all!