The Department of Medical and Translational Biology is offering a postdoctoral scholarship within the project “Regulatory interactions directing early brain patterning and cell type specification”. The scholarship is full-time for two years with access 2025-08-15 or by agreement.
The research group of Andreas Hörnblad at Umeå University is seeking a highly motivated postdoctoral fellow for a two-year fellowship in functional genomics. The project focuses on cis-regulatory mechanisms and enhancer function during development, patterning and differentiation of the vertebrate brain.
The laboratory has a strong background in gene regulation and developmental biology and is based at the Department of Medical and Translational Biology at Umeå University. In the department, there is strong research in cancer, genetics, neuroscience, metabolism and imaging, and the research group has access to good infrastructure and is well equipped with the necessary instrumentation.
Project description
The research group investigate the regulatory sequences in the genome that controls the expression of key genes during embryogenesis and in metabolic disease.
The specific project integrates developmental biology and functional genomics to study the development, patterning and evolution of the vertebrate midbrain-hindbrain boundary region. The successful applicant will perform studies within the research program of the group, taking advantage of established knockin reporter zebrafish lines to characterize the regulatory landscape and transcription factor-enhancer interactions controlling differentiation of specific cell types during early brain patterning. This includes profiling of transcriptional and regulatory landscapes using various next-generation sequencing technologies (RNA-seq, ChIP-seq, ATAC-seq), gene and protein expression analyses, as well as genetic engineering of vertebrate animal models (CRISPR/Cas9).
The postdoctoral researcher will have the opportunity to:
Conduct research within the framework of the group's research program
Establish methods
Analyze and publish research results
Project leading
Actively participate in journal clubs, seminars, tutoring of students etc.
Present data at national and international scientific meetings
Qualifications
To qualify as a postdoctoral scholarship holder, the postdoctoral fellow is required to have completed a doctoral degree or a foreign degree deemed equivalent to a doctoral degree. 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.
Doctoral degree should be within developmental biology, molecular medicine or related discipline
Additional requirements are:
Experience with next generation sequencing and functional genomics
Experience with vertebrate animal models
Meriting criteria are:
Background in developmental biology and gene regulation
Experience with single-cell genomics techniques (scRNA-seq and scATAC-seq)
Experience with chromatin conformation capture techniques
Bioinformatics competence
We are looking for candidates who are curious and motivated postdoctoral researchers with and expertise at the intersection of functional genomics and developmental biology.
The successful candidate must be able to independently plan experiments, develop methods and conduct data analysis as well as communicate results. Summarizing results orally and in writing in English is a requirement, as well as good ability to collaborate within the group and with other research groups. The position is fully covered for 2 years but the candidate will also be encouraged to apply for her/his own grants.
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 2025-04-30.
The application should include:
Cover letter with research interest and motivation for the application (Maximum 1 page)Curriculum vitae (CV) including previous positions, list of publications, and laboratory technical expertise.Copies of degree certificates (PhD and other diplomas) or documentation that clarifies when the degree of doctor is expected to be obtained. Contact information for three referees should be included in your application, at least one of which should be a former laboratory supervisor.
The application must be submitted through our e-recruitment system Varbi and received no later than April 30, 2025.
Further information
Andreas Hörnblad, Department of Medical and Translational Biology, e-mail: andreas.hornblad@umu.se
