Postdoctoral researcher in phage-bacteria interactions

Description of the workplace

Professor Vasili Hauryliuk is research team manager of the Molecular Enzymology Group at the Department of Experimental Medical Science at Lund University. His research group works on structural and functional characterizing of molecular mechanisms of bacterial antiphage immunity.

Professor Vasili Hauryliuk leads the Molecular Enzymology group at the Department of Experimental Medical Science at Lund University. The Hauryliuk lab uses a combination of microbiological, biochemical and structural approaches to study mechanisms of how bacteria defend against their viruses, bacteriophages. Prof. Hauryliuk obtained his PhD in 2008 at Uppsala University, Sweden. His scientific contributions were recognized though the Ragnar Söderberg fellowship in Medicine (2014), the Swedish Fernström Prize (Fernströmpriset) (2019) and Göran Gustafssonpriset (2024).

The lab is based in the Faculty of Medicine of Lund University, in the Department of Experimental Medical Sciences (EMV), for more information see https://portal.research.lu.se/en/persons/vasili-hauryliuk.

Work duties and responsibilities

The tasks as a postdoctoral researcher mainly involve conducting research. Teaching may be part of the work duties, but no more than a fifth of the working time. Within the framework of the employment, there must be an opportunity for three weeks of university pedagogical training.

Description of the project

Bacteria are constantly predated by viruses, bacteriophages. To resist predation, bacteria employ numerous antiphage defence systems, with the most famous being CRISPR-Cas. In our lab we discover new systems with bioinformatics, validate them in microbiological assays and then characterise the mechanisms of defence on the molecular level. Currently the lab is working on many (>10) novel, as-yet-unpublished antiphage defence systems. The focus of this project would be to uncover their molecular workings through integrated structure-functional approach combining phage microbiology, biochemistry and structural biology. The project is supervised by Vasili Hauryliuk (PI) as well as Gemma Atkinson (co-PI, structural bioinformatics, Lund University) and Pontus Gourdon (co-PI, cryo-EM, Lund University and University of Copenhagen).

References:

Mets et al. Cell Host Microbe 2024

Ernits et al. 2023

Zhang et al. Nature 2022

Kurata et al. Mol. Cell 2021

Description of the AMBER project context 

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.

Qualifications

Minimum requirements are:

• 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'scountry for more than twelve months in the three years immediately prior to the call deadline.

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

The position also requires:

• PhD or equivalent foreign degree within molecular biology, biochemistry, structural biology or a related subject. The PhD must be completed no later than the time the employment decision is made,
• Good ability to develop and conduct research of good quality,
• Pedagogical ability,
• A publication record in international journals,
• Proficiency in spoken and written English Experience in standard molecular biology techniques, such as molecular cloning,
• competence in at least one of the key approaches to be used in this interdisciplinary project, that is phage microbiology and/or structural biology, specifically  cryo-EM.

Personal skills are of importance. It is crucial that you are structured in your work and can work independently and have good social skills.

The assessment of applicants will be based primarily on their scientific merit and potential as researchers. Particular emphasis will be placed on scientific ability within the subject area.

We offer

Lund University is a governmental authority, which means you get special benefits, generous holidays and a favorable occupational pension. We also have a flexible time agreement that creates good conditions for a balance between work and leisure.

Read more on the university's website about being employed at Lund University, Work with us.

About the employment

The position is a fixed-term position of three years, 100% with start date on 2026-01-01 or as agreed. Employment at Lund University is conducted in Sweden, you are therefore expected to be able to perform your work on site in Lund.

The employment is limited to maximum three years, according to the collective agreement on fixed-term employment as a postdoctoral researcher (the Swedish Employers' Association). A postdoctoral position is intended as an initial step in a career and as an opportunity to further deepen and broaden research expertise.

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 PDF 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

More information about the Faculty of Medicine