Postdoctoral Studies in Human Uterine NK Cell Biology (Scholarship) – Karolinska Institutet

Job Description

Do you want to contribute to top quality medical research? 
We are looking for a highly motivated postdoctoral fellow to join the research group of Professor Niklas Björkström at the Center for Infectious Medicine (CIM), Department of Medicine, Huddinge, Karolinska Institutet. The group studies human tissue-resident natural killer (NK) cells, and the position focuses on uterine NK cells: how they arise, how they adapt to the cyclically regenerating endometrium, and what they do in early pregnancy. Through close collaborations with clinical units at Karolinska University Hospital, you will work directly with unique human material, including endometrium, decidua, menstrual blood and samples from uterus transplantation, and apply cutting-edge single-cell and spatial technologies to answer fundamental questions in human reproductive immunology.
Division
The Björkström group performs translational immunology research on human lymphocytes in tissues, with a focus on the uterus and the liver. In the uterus, our work has shown that uterine NK cells continuously differentiate in response to endometrial regeneration and pregnancy, that the endometrial immune system varies far more between individuals than the blood immune system, and that immune cells arriving after uterus or stem cell transplantation can acquire uterine characteristics and rebuild the spatial organization of the endometrium. The group is international, has postdocs, PhD students and computational researchers, and works with high-dimensional flow cytometry, single-cell and spatial omics, imaging and functional assays on primary human cells.
CIM is a research center of approximately 150 researchers focusing on immunology and infectious diseases, located in the ANA Futura building at Campus Flemingsberg. The center offers state-of-the-art flow cytometry, single-cell and imaging infrastructure and a collaborative environment with close ties to clinical research.
Duties
You will lead your own project on human uterine NK cell biology. Depending on your profile and interests, the project may address:
The origin, differentiation and tissue residency of uterine NK cells in the human endometrium and decidua
How uterine NK cell phenotype and function change across the menstrual cycle and in early pregnancy Interactions between uterine NK cells and stromal, vascular and trophoblast cells in the tissue
Alterations of the uterine immune milieu in reproductive disorders
You will collect and process human tissue samples, design and perform experiments using high-dimensional flow cytometry, cell sorting and functional assays, and generate and analyse single-cell and spatial omics data. You are expected to write manuscripts, present your work at international meetings, collaborate with clinicians and other research groups, and take part in supervising students in the group

Qualifications

• Required
• :
• A PhD in immunology, reproductive biology, cell biology or a related field
• Solid knowledge of NK cell or innate lymphocyte biology Hands-on experience with multicolour flow cytometry and primary human cell or tissue work
• Ability to drive a project independently while working well in a team
• Excellent communication skills and proficiency in spoken and written English
• Meritorious
• :
• Experience with human reproductive tissues (endometrium, decidua, placenta) or reproductive immunology
• Experience with single-cell RNA sequencing, spatial transcriptomics or spectral flow cytometry
• Computational analysis of high-dimensional data in R or Python
• Experience with tissue dissociation, imaging or in vitro differentiation and co-culture models
• Experience supervising students 
• Entry requirements
• Postdoctoral scholarships may be established for foreign researchers who pursue their merit in Sweden. A foreign researcher is a person 
• living in another country who comes to Sweden with the intention of only staying in Sweden for all or part of their postdoctoral education at KI. Persons who are resident in Sweden and/or have carried out all or part of their academic education at KI or some other educational institution in Sweden cannot be considered for scholarships. 
• The purpose of scholarships for postdoctoral qualification is to promote internationalization and contribute to research qualification after a doctorate or equivalent.
• A scholarship for carrying out postdoctoral research can be granted for a maximum of two years within a four-year period following the receipt of a doctoral degree or equivalent.
• To be eligible for a postdoctoral scholarship, the person must have obtained a doctorate, or a foreign degree deemed to be equivalent to a doctorate. Applicants who have not completed a doctorate at the end of the application period may also apply, provided that all requirements for a completed degree are met before the (intended) start date of the post-doctoral education.

Additional Information

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