PhD student in In Vivo Dendritic Cell Reprogr. for Cancer Immunotherapy

Description of the workplace
The Cell Reprogramming in Hematopoiesis and Immunity research group at the Department of Laboratory Medicine within the Faculty of Medicine studies how hematopoietic cell fate is specified, maintained, and eventually modified or reversed. Inspired from the fields of stem cell biology, immunology, and cancer we use an interdisciplinary approach to mechanistically understand hematopoietic and immune cell identities and translate our findings into novel gene and cell therapies. You can read more about the research group at https://pereiralab.com/. Our group is now recruiting a full-time PhD student that will work on the molecular mechanisms underlying DC reprogramming which will provide valuable information about the mode of action of TFs in reprogramming and cell lineage specification. Ultimately, this understanding could enable the generation of DCs with improved efficiency and fidelity and provide novel insights into the ontogeny of human DCs. The group focuses on cell reprogramming, hematopoiesis, and the development of cell and gene immunotherapeutic strategies. 

What we offer
Lund University is a public authority, which means that you will have special benefits, generous annual leave and an advantageous occupational pension. We also have a flextime agreement that creates good conditions for work/life balance. Read more on the University’s website about being a Lund University employee, Work at Lund University

The Cell Reprogramming in Hematopoiesis and Immunity research group is a diverse group of molecular biologists, MDs, PharmDs, tumor immunologists, stem cell biologists and computational scientists – at all career stages. Our multidisciplinary approach gets inspiration from the fields of immunology, developmental biology, stem cells, cancer biology and bioinformatics, cross-fertilizing ideas and leading to new discoveries. This requires diversity and teamwork both within the lab and with our worldwide academic and industrial collaborators.

The successful candidate will join the Swedish National ATMP Research School an educational program focused on the development and clinical application of advanced therapy medicinal products, facilitating collaboration among academic, medical, and industrial sectors. You can read more about the research school at https://www.stemcellcenter.lu.se/atmp-research-school.

Work duties and areas of responsibility
The PhD student in this project will work on in vivo reprogramming of solid tumors into dendritic cell type 1, providing evidence for the mode-of-action, efficacy, and safety of a first-in-class cancer gene therapy. The student will examine 1) how dendritic cell reprogramming progresses in vivo and elicits anti-tumour immunity and 2) which role the microenvironment plays in the progress using human tumor spheroid models. Building on this, the candidate will 3) identify the optimal viral delivery platform for in vivo reprogramming in tumors and 4) validate the reprogramming gene therapy efficacy and safety in murine models.

Qualifications
The requirements for the position are: (grey text are examples)

• - A MSc degree in Biochemistry, biomedicine or similar.
• - Knowledge on molecular cloning techniques.
• - Knowledge on lentiviral particle generation.
• - Experience with epigenomic data analysis.
• - The ability to work independently in the laboratory.
• - The ability to communicate well with co-workers and to collaborate with other scientists.
• - Fluency in English.
  
  

Great emphasis will be placed on personal characteristics. The assignments require that you have the ability to work independently as well as the ability to work well with others in the research group and researchers outside the subject area.

Additional qualifications for the position are: (grey text are examples)

Consideration will also be given to good collaboration skills, drive and independence, as well as how the applicant, through his or her experience and competence, is judged to have the ability needed to complete the doctoral program.

Merits for the employment are:

• - Good knowledge of the cellular reprogramming or cancer immunotherapy fields
• - Experience in animal handling
• - Independence

Research expertise is the foremost criterion for employment. The evaluation of applicants will take account of their research profile, experience and knowledge.

Eligibility
Students with basic eligibility for third-cycle studies are those who- have completed a second-cycle degree- have completed courses of at least 240 credits, of which at least 60 credits are from second-cycle courses, or- have acquired largely equivalent knowledge in some other way, in Sweden or abroad.

The employment of doctoral students is regulated in the Swedish Code of Statues 1998: 80. Only those who are or have been admitted to PhD-studies may be appointed to doctoral studentships. When an appointment to a doctoral studentship is made, the ability of the student to benefit from PhD-studies shall primarily be taken into account. In addition to devoting themselves to their studies, those appointed to doctoral studentships may be required to work with educational tasks, research and administration, in accordance with specific regulations in the ordinance.

Type of employment
Limit of tenure, four years according to HF 5 kap 7§.

How to apply
You apply for the position via the University’s recruitment system. The application is to include a personal letter describing how you meet the qualification requirements and why you are interested in the position. The application is also to include a CV with a list of publications, a general description of previous research work, a copy of your doctoral degree and any other documents to which you wish to draw attention (copies of degree certificates, grade transcripts, details of referees, letters of recommendation, etc.)