Post-doctoral fellow in biophysical chemistry

Subject description

This post-doctoral position is part of the EU cofund research project AMBER, Advanced Multiscale Biological imaging using European Research infrastructures, will address scientific and sectoral gaps in biological imaging ranging from molecular, through cellular, to tissue, organ and organism levels of organisation, and is coordinated by LINXS Institute of advanced Neutron and X-ray Science.

AMBER is funded by the EU Marie Skłodowska-Curie (MSCA) COFUND scheme.

Around 20 postdocs will be recruited in the fourth call 2025, with each fellowship lasting 36 months.

AMBER has six core partners: Lund University/MAX IV, Sweden, the European Spallation Source (ESS), Sweden, the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL), France, the International Institute of Molecular Mechanisms and Machines, (IMOL), Poland, and the Leicester Institute of Structural and Chemical Biology, United Kingdom.

Your work may include clinical and biomedical projects. It may also include technique development work aimed at combining imaging techniques and data analysis to provide a more integrated picture of life processes in the context of health and disease. To be a postdoc fellow at the AMBER programme you will get unprecedented medical, biological, and methodological capabilities, with a profound potential impact for Europe’s next generation of research and researchers. When you have completed the AMBER programme you will be extraordinarily well equipped to further your career in academia, at infrastructures, in the health and MedTech sectors, and beyond.

For more information about the total announced post-doctoral positions within in the AMBER co-fund project please visit https://www.euraxess.se/jobs/341970

The interviews will start in November 2025. For more information about AMBER, application and evaluation process etc please visit: ambercofund.eu

 The Center for Molecular Protein Science (CMPS), Department of Chemistry brings together scientists active within the fields of biochemistry, molecular biophysics, structural biology, and physical and theoretical chemistry. The research includes experimental and theoretical studies of biological matter. We address molecular questions in biological systems, and study biological and designed proteins using a combination of classical and advanced techniques including optical and NMR spectroscopy, surface plasmon resonance, light and X-ray scattering, cryo-electron and fluorescence microscopy and X-ray crystallography. The experimental and theoretical methods used often have their origins in physics. Significant work is devoted to protein self-assembly and co-assembly and interactions with other biomolecules. You will join the research group of Sara Linse at CMPS. The research group primarily investigates peptides and proteins implicated in diseases associated with their aggregation and fibril formation. These systems are characterized using both purified and complex samples. The work is focussed on the development of a universal cryo-Cage for structural analysis of refractory targets based on EF-hand complementation.

Work duties

The main duties involved in a post-doctoral posistion is to conduct research. Teaching may also be included, but up to no more than 20% of working hours. The position shall include the opportunity for three weeks of training in higher education teaching and learning.

The project is initially focused cryo-Cage development on a molecular level, including protein design, expression, purification and validation of formed cages using microfluidics diffusional sizing, DLS, mass photometry and cryo-TEM imaging. One a functional design is at hand, the work will be focused on structure determination using cryo-EM of one test case of know structure, followed by a test case of partially know structure and finally some targets of fully unknown structure. The work will also include the writing of manuscripts as well as supervision of bachelor and master degree projects.

Qualification requirements

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, completed no more than three years before the date of employment decision. Under special circumstances, the doctoral degree can have been completed earlier.

Additional requirements:

• candidate needs to have a maximum 8 years after a doctoral degree (PhD), as required by the project Grant Agreement signed with the European Commission
• at least one original publication in a peer-reviewed journal,
• a background in the relevant methods
• a complete application package submitted through the AMBER portal (including CV and detailed research plan), and finally
• strict compliance with the MSCA mobility rule that the researcher must not have resided or carried out his/her main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the host organisation's. Country for more than twelve months in the three years immediately prior to the call deadline.
• Very good oral and written proficiency in English.
• Documented physicochemical understanding of proteins in solution and their interactions with other proteins.

Each project will have additional specific requirements that candidates have to fulfill, be sure to check what these are before you apply

Assessment criteria and other qualifications

This is a career development position primarily focused on research. The position is intended as an initial step in a career, and the assessment of the applicants will primarily be based on their research qualifications and potential as researchers.

Particular emphasis will be placed on research skills within the subject.

For appointments to a post-doctoral position, the following shall form the assessment criteria:

• Proven ability to develop and carry out high-quality research.
• Practical experience with, and knowledge of, cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) for structural analysis of proteins and protein complexes.
• Practical experience with, and expertise in, protein expression and the development of purification protocols to achieve ultra-high homogeneity.
• Practical experience with, and knowledge of, spectroscopic and isotope-based techniques to characterize and monitor protein self-assembly into discrete aggregates, the formation of reaction intermediates and the exchange of subunits.
• Practical experience in isotope and fluorophore labeling of proteins.
• Experience and ability to design and execute experiments to evaluate protein self-assembly.
• An ability to derive equations and writing code to analyze data on protein self-assembly.
• Practical experience in measuring protein size distributions and knowledge of the underlying association models.
• Demonstrated pedagogical skills.

Additional assessment criteria:

Consideration will also be given to good collaborative skills, drive and independence, and how the applicant’s experience and skills complement and strengthen ongoing research within the department, and how they stand to contribute to its future development.

Terms of employment

This is a full-time, fixed-term employment of 3 years. 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 fellow”) between Lund University, SACO-S and OFR/S, dated 1st February 2022.

Instructions on how to apply

For more information and documents/templates/europass link, please visit https://www.ambercofund.eu/for-applicants.

Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure that you upload all the required documents specified below i-ix.

If you are interested in applying for more than one position (maximum 3) you must be prepared to make a full application for each individual position.

Applications shall be written in English and all documents shall be in pdf format.

i) A Curriculum Vitae (europass format). Your CV shall be exported to a PDF file that you use in your application.

ii) A detailed research plan including any foreseen secondments (candidates can suggest more than the mandated one, they can also suggest their own secondments), schools and conferences as well as a templated budget plan. The research plan should be as concise as possible, 3 pages, including one-third page of summary/abstract.

Additional texts to include in the application are:

iii) Letter of Commitment from any additional secondment partners the candidate wishes to bring

onboard.

iv) Evidence of English proficiency (minimum CEFR B22, also checked at interview).

v) A draft Individual Career Development Plan (ICDP).

vi) Two reference letters.

vii) Any additional documents to support the application.

viii) Ethical questionnaire (HE ethics checklist + research ethics commitment)

In addition, the application will require:

ix) Any candidate can apply for maximum of 3 positions. You must apply for each individual position. A list with order of preference of positions should be sent to the AMBER management. amber@linxs.se

•  résumé/CV, including a list of publications,
• a general description of past research and future research interests (no more than three pages),
• contact information of at least two references,
• copy of the doctoral degree certificate, and other certificates/grades that you wish to be considered.