Postdoctor to the Diabetes and Brain Function lab - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

About the group

Diabetes has a major impact on brain function, but mechanisms of diabetic encephalopathy are not completely understood. Brain function requires continouos supply of glucose and oxygen, and a tight regulation of metabolic interactions between neurons and astrocytes. Loss of this metabolic regulation that fuels neuronal activity has been proposed to be the culprit of memory dysfunction, followed by an important neurodegenerative process.

Our research aims at understanding the molecular determinants underlying cognitive imparment associated to diabetes and metabolic syndrome components, including obesity, dyslipidemia, hypertension, insulin resistance or hyperglycemia. In particular, the lab´s major focus is on understanding astrocute-neuron metabolic interactions, how they are regulated to support adequate brain function, and how they adapt to metabolic disease states. In addition, we seek to identify strategies for mitigating the impact of diabetes on the brain.

The Diabetes and Brain Function lab at the Department of Experimental Medical Science is located at the BMC, and is active within different research environments of the Faculty of Medicine, namely the LUDC, WCMM, and Multipark.

The recruited post-doc will be working on determining cellular mechanisms that regulate neurochemical processes involved in diabetes-induced synaptic damage and neuroprotection.

Work duties and responsibillities

Work duties include planning and conducting experiments, collecting and analyzing data, presenting results at lab meetings and conferences, writing reports and research papers, preparing research proposals, demonstrating procedures and supervising junior team members.

Research activities include:

• Analysis of untargeted multi-omics
• Immunoblotting methods
• advanced immunofluorescence microscopy
• metabolism studies in cells

The researcher will participate in interdisciplinary collaboration projects of the lab.

The researcher is expected to conduct professional research and care for:

• taking responsibility for his/her own skills and career development,
• keeping at the edge of scientific and technical developments in the research field by continuously reading relevant literature and regularly attending seminars,
• contributing for maintenance of the lab (equipment, supplies, reagents, sample banks, and other available resources),
• good timekeeping and observing deadlines,
• reading and responding promptly to communications from supervisor and team members,
• preparing for and attending to activities of the lab and its research environments (lab meetings, scientific seminars, method workshops, retreats).

Qualifications

The successful applicant will demonstrate strong interest and self-motivation in the research subject, ability to think analytically and creatively, and should have:

• Ph.D. in Biochemistry or scientific area judged equivalent;
• Good knowledge of brain physiology, energy metabolism, and experience on the study of neuroinflammation and gliosis;
• Experience with mouse behaviour phenotyping, brain tissue fractioning and isolation of vesicles, respirometry studies in cells, tissue and/os isolated mitochondria, qPCR, immunoblotting methods and histology/immunofluorescence microscopy;
• Understanding of -omics analysis.
• Good presentation and writing skills in English;

Personal attributes that are required for the position:

• Motivation to pursue the research goals of our lab,
• Ability to work both independently and in cooperation with a multidisciplinary team,
• Excellent potential for scientific research (formulating and solving research problems),
• Ability to keep traceable research records (documentation of hypotheses, experiments, and data analysis).

Good to have:

Previous research experience on neurochemistry, cell culturing and cellular metabolism.

We offer

We offer an attractive research environment, with close interactions with  labs with expertise on diabetes research, neuroscience, and regenerative medicine.

Read more about working at Lund University here

Other information

Interviews will be conducted in our premises in Lund. The work is to be conducted in Lund and you are expected to be in Sweden for this position.

The employment is for two years, full-time, starting 1st of October, or as we agree upon. Extension of the position is possible, with 1 more year.

How to apply 

Applications are to be submitted via the University’s recruitment system. The application must include a personal letter justifying your interest in the position and how it matches your qualifications (maximum two pages). The application must also include a CV (maximum two pages), degree certificates or equivalent, list of publications, and contact information to two referees.

Eligibility
Appointment to the position of postdoc requires that the applicant has a PhD or an international degree deemed equivalent to a PhD, within the subject of the position, completed no more than three years before the application deadline. Under special circumstances the PhD can have been completed previous to the aforementioned three years.

Terms of employment
This is a full-time, fixed-term employment. A postdoctoral fellow is employed under a period
of at least two years and at most three years. The period of employment is determined in accordance with the agreement “Avtal om tidsbegränsad anställning som postdoktor-2022-02-01” (“Agreement on fixed-term employment as a post-doctoral fellow, 2022-02-01”