The Department of Molecularbiology is offering a postdoctoral scholarship in medical science with an orientation towards bacterial genetics and cell wall biology, within the project "Bacterial cell wall systems biology”. The scholarship is full-time for two years with access 1 June, 2025 or by agreement.
Departmental specific information
The Cava lab, situated at the Laboratory of Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS) and the Department of Molecular Biology (Umeå University), is a dynamic and stimulating multidisciplinary research environment.
Project description
The Cava lab, focus on exploring bacterial cell wall biology and genetics. The research spans the intersection of basic and clinical investigations.
We leverage pioneered transformative systems-level analytical approaches that are instrumental in answering these questions. Our preliminary results supporting this proposal represent a paradigm shift highlighting that cell wall assembly is a concerted effort controlled by a large and understudied proportion of the bacterial genome, a scale far greater than we ever imagined. The primary goal is to unveil the complete repertoire of genetic determinants of peptidoglycan biogenesis and remodelling in diverse pathogenic bacteria, elucidating their roles within functional networks. By doing so, we seek to deepen our understanding of the fundamental principles governing cell wall homeostasis and plasticity and ultimately promote new and more effective therapies for the treatment of infectious diseases.
Qualifications
The post-doctoral fellow is required to have completed a doctoral degree or a foreign degree deemed equivalent to a doctoral degree in Biology or Molecular Biology. This qualification requirement must be fulfilled no later than at the time of the decision about scholarship recipient.
Priority should be given to candidates who completed their doctoral degree, according to what is stipulated in the paragraph above, no later than three years prior. If there are special reasons, candidates who completed their doctoral degree before that may also be eligible. Special reasons include absence due to illness, parental leave, appointments of trust in trade union organizations, military service, or similar circumstances, or other forms of appointment/assignment relevant to the subject area.
You should be highly motivated, have very good communication skills, both oral and written communication in English, and the ability to interact in a team and structure your research independently.
You must have a good knowledge of standard molecular biology, and bacterial genetics. It will be particularly qualifying to have demonstrated expertise in lipid metabolism, particularly in long-chain fatty acids, methods to monitor cell envelope stress and homeostasis including respiratory electron transport assays and protein redox state determination.
Application The application should be written in English or Swedish, and attached documents should be in Word or PDF format. The application should be registered via Umeå University’s e-recruitment system Varbi and submitted by the deadline 16 april, 2025.
