The University of Oulu is one of the largest universities in Finland. With about 15 000 students and approximately 3 000 employees it is a vibrant international scientific community. By combining multidisciplinary research and education, high-level infrastructure and wide cooperation with international research and educational institutes, companies and the public sector it has created a significant research and innovation hub of “Science with Arctic Attitude”. More information http://www.oulu.fi/university/.

The position is located in the Faculty of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine of the University of Oulu (http://www.oulu.fi/fbmm/), whose mission is to perform internationally significant research and to deliver high-level undergraduate and post-graduate education in the fields of biochemistry and molecular medicine. The Faculty’s research focus areas are cell-extracellular matrix, protein science and cellular regulatory and metabolic networks and related diseases. The research lines are carried out by 14 research groups. The Faculty has collectively about 200 employees and about half of them are from abroad.

Subject field and the description of the position

Our project is to utilize state-of-the-art systems biology approaches combined with mouse models of human diseases to investigate the roles of T cells contribute to infection, autoimmune inflammation and inflammation associated tumor. Data generated from this study will facilitate ongoing efforts in targeting these pathways in treatment of human diseases.

The project is funded by Academy of Finland. The details of the research project will be mutually agreed upon, based on the qualifications, interests, and expertise of the candidate. Candidates with expertise on immunology and solid knowledge and working experience with cell biology or molecular biology will be considered.

The duration of the position is 2 years. The starting date is December, 2020, or as soon as possible thereafter.

Required Qualifications and assessment

The successful applicant must hold a recent MSc degree in life sciences. Experience with animal work is preferred.  Fluent oral and written English skills as well as good communication and teamwork skills are required. Demonstrated experience in writing scientific publications, potential in acquiring supplementary funding and teaching experience will be taken as merits.

When assessing the applicant’s qualifications, issues to be considered will include scientific publications, supervision experience, activity in the scientific community and familiarity with the research field.  As part of the FBMM, the duties may also include supervising scientific research of BSc and MSc students.

A six-month trial period will be effective in the beginning of a contract.

Salary

The salary of the selected doctoral student will be initially set on level 2, and later on levels 2 – 4 of the national salary scale for the teaching and research staff of Finnish universities. In addition, a supplementary remuneration is given for personal achievement and performance (max. 50 %). In practice, the salary is roughly 2200 – 2700 € per month for an early stage researcher, depending on the appointee’s qualifications and progress of the doctoral thesis.

Application Procedure

The following documents must be attached to the application (in English)

1) Motivation letter (1 – 2 pages)

2) CV with the names and contact details of 2 – 3 referees

3) Publication list if any

4) Copies of relevant official degree

Applications, together with all relevant enclosures, must be submitted using the electronic application form by Oct 31, 2020. Applications sent by email will not be considered.

Interview

The top candidates for the post may be interviewed and asked to present their scientific work and experience.

For more information, please refer to the relevant publication:

Mohammad I, Nousiainen K, Bhosale SD, Starskaia I, Moulder R, Rokka A, Cheng F, Mohanasundaram P, Eriksson JE, Goodlett DR, Lähdesmäki H, Chen Z. PLoS Biol. 2018 May 31;16(5):e2004194. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.2004194. eCollection 2018 May.

or contact:

Associate Professor Zhi Chen, project Leader, e-mail: zhi.chen(at)oulu.fi.