Postdoctoral Position in Biotechnology for Heart Transplantation - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

The research group
The research group for thoracic surgery and bioinformatics is running several major national and international projects focused on increasing our understanding how chronic rejection develops after heart transplantation and which immunological and non-immunological factors play a deciding role. The group uses artificial intelligence (AI) for analysis and modeling. The group also works with the validation and development of technologies for heart preservation during transport and assessment of donor-heart functionality post-transport.

We are now planning to strengthen our team with a postdoctoral researcher experienced in heart evaluation technology and thus invite applications from engineers specialized in medical technology.

Job Responsibilities
A key part of the job is the validation and refinement of our technology for assessing the condition of donor hearts. The position focuses on “working heart models” and organ perfusion techniques, where expertise in physiological modeling, particularly hemodynamics, and embedded control systems, is central. A stated goal of the project is to validate the new technology in a clinical study. You will work with experimental design, as well as advanced data analysis and visualization in both preclinical and clinical studies. Additionally, you’ll actively participate in the daily work of the research group, including data collection, supervising PhD students, and scientific publishing.

Qualifications
A postdoctoral employee is someone who, at the start of employment, has a doctorate or a foreign degree deemed equivalent to a doctorate, obtained no more than three years before the end of the application period. Earlier doctorate completion may be considered if special reasons exist, such as leave due to illness, parental leave, clinical service, union representative roles, or similar circumstances.

For the postdoctoral position, primary consideration is given to the applicant’s research qualifications. Applicants should have a documented background in at least one of the following areas:

• Medical technology, with experience developing and experimentally evaluating medical research equipment, preferably in transplantation technology.
• Physiological modeling, with a focus on cardiovascular dynamics, understanding of hemodynamics, and experience applying simulation or computational methods to physiological processes.
• Experimental cardiovascular research, with practical experience in preclinical or clinical research environments, especially those involving heart models, organ perfusion techniques, or evaluation studies.

Otherwise, the assessment is based on the following requirements for the position:

• Doctorate in a relevant engineering field, such as biomedical engineering, automatic control, or systems engineering.
• Experience in medical technology and dynamical physiological modeling. Experience working in preclinical or clinical research environments.
• Fluency in English, both spoken and written, with proven abilities in scientific communication.
• Fluency in Swedish is advantageous for teamwork and collaboration with external clinical experts.

The following are considered to be a merit for the position:

• Experience with preclinical/clinical studies, particularly in the clinical field of thoracic surgery.
• Knowledge of ex situ heart evaluation methods.
• Programming skills in scientific languages (e.g., Python, Julia, MATLAB, R) and low-level languages (e.g., C, C++).
• Experience from supervising/teaching students. Experience with international collaboration.

We will place considerable weight on the personal suitability of the applicant. In addition to good teamwork skills, personal initiative, social competence, and communication abilities, enthusiasm for providing technical support to ongoing projects and interest in being part of a dynamic and creative team are important.

Eligibility
Appointment to a post-doctoral position requires that the applicant has a PhD, or an international degree deemed equivalent to a PhD, within the subject of the position. This eligibility requirement needs to be met no later than the time when the employment decision is made, and evidence that this requirement is met needs to have been sent in by this time at the latest. Candidates should have completed their PhD degree no more than three (3) years before the last date for applications. Under special circumstances, the doctoral degree can have been completed earlier. These circumstances refer to leave due to illness, parental leave, clinical work, positions of trust within trade union organizations or other similar circumstances.

Terms of employment
This is a full-time employment limited to 3 years. Preliminary start date is 2024-03-18 or according to agreement. The period of employment is determined in accordance with the agreement “Avtal om tidsbegränsad anställning som postdoktor” (“Agreement on fixed-term employment as a post-doctoral researcher”) between SACO-S, OFR/S and SEKO, dated February 1, 2022.

How to apply
The position is sought via the university’s recruitment system. Applications must include a personal motivation letter, in which you describe how you meet the qualification requirements and why you are interested in the position. The application should also contain a PhD degree certificate (including a grade transcript), a CV, contact information of two references, and other documents you wish to be considered (e.g. letters of recommendation and list of publications).

The university applies individual salary setting. Please indicate your salary expectations in your application.