Postdoctoral Researcher in DNA Nanostructures for Cell Targeting – Karolinska Institutet, Solna

Job Description

The Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology (MTC) at Karolinska Institutet conducts research and teaching within immunology, infection biology, cell biology and cancer. Our key words are multidisciplinary, bridging, national and international collaborations.
Join a SciLifeLab-based research group that builds self-assembled DNA nanostructures and uses directed evolution to discover carriers that enter specific cell types. We recently established a selection platform in which libraries of DNA nanostructures are folded, incubated with cells, recovered from lysates and sequenced over repeated rounds (Rajwar et al., Advanced Materials, 2026) – and we are now taking it from proof of concept towards cell-specific delivery of therapeutic payloads. You will work at the interface of DNA nanotechnology, cell biology and high-throughput sequencing, with access to state-of-the-art imaging, flow cytometry and sequencing infrastructure at Karolinska Institutet and SciLifeLab. We offer an open, collaborative and international environment where you are encouraged to drive your own ideas and build an independent research profile.

Your mission
You will develop and apply our selection platform for DNA nanostructures that are preferentially taken up by defined cell types. The work builds directly on our recent study, in which iterative rounds of cellular uptake selection, combined with nanopore and Illumina sequencing, identified individual nanostructures with cell-type-specific internalization. Your main tasks will be to extend the selection to disease-relevant cell models, characterise selected candidates in detail including adding therapeutic payloads such as nucleic acid therapeutcis.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, assemble and purify DNA nanostructures and nanostructure libraries
• Perform cellular uptake and selection experiments in mammalian cell culture, including cancer cell lines and more complex models
• Quantify and localise internalised structures using flow cytometry and confocal microscopy, including studies of uptake routes and endosomal escape
• Functionalise structures with targeting groups and therapeutic payloads, such as oligonucleotides for gene silencing, and evaluate their activity in cells
• Analyse high-throughput sequencing data from selection experiments in close collaboration with computational colleagues in the group
• Present results at international conferences, write scientific manuscripts and contribute to supervision of students in the group

Qualifications

• To be eligible for employment as a postdoctoral researcher, a PhD or a foreign degree deemed to be equivalent to a Swedish PhD is required. This eligibility requirement must be fulfilled at the latest at the time of the employment decision. Completion of your doctoral degree within the last three years is considered an advantage. If there are special reasons, your degree may have been completed earlier.
• Requirements:
• A PhD in cell biology, molecular biology, biochemistry, biomedicine, nanotechnology or a related field
• Documented experience of mammalian cell culture and cell-based assays, demonstrated through publications in international peer-reviewed journals
• Documented hands-on experience of confocal microscopy and/or flow cytometry, including independent sample preparation, acquisition and quantitative image or data analysis
• Experience of working with nucleic acids and standard molecular biology techniques, such as PCR, enzymatic modification of DNA and gel electrophoresis
• Ability to plan, carry out and report experimental work independently, and to document it rigorously
• Very good command of spoken and written English

Skills Required

• Experience of gene silencing experiments, for example siRNA, antisense oligonucleotides or CRISPR-based approaches, including transfection and readouts of target knockdown
• Experience of studies of endocytosis, intracellular trafficking or endosomal escape of nanoparticles or nucleic acid delivery systems
• Experience of DNA nanotechnology, oligonucleotide design or self-assembled nanostructures
• Experience of work with cancer cell lines, primary cells or three-dimensional cell models such as spheroids
• Experience of high-throughput sequencing and basic data analysis, and of scripting in Python or R
• Experience of working in interdisciplinary projects and of collaboration across research fields

Additional Information

Always verify vacancy details and availability on the employer’s official website. Jobs Bio Help Learning is an independent job-discovery platform and does not process applications.