Kungliga Tekniska högskolan,

KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm has grown to become one of Europe’s leading technical and engineering universities, as well as a key centre of intellectual talent and innovation. We are Sweden’s largest technical research and learning institution and home to students, researchers and faculty from around the world. Our research and education covers a wide area including natural sciences and all branches of engineering, as well as architecture, industrial management, urban planning, history and philosophy.

Job description

You will be working on a project funded by Formas, the Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development. The goals of this project are to develop novel techniques for the formation of carbohydrate-based biomaterials intended for use in the research, medical, and cosmetic sectors. The biomaterials will exploit novel types of protein-carbohydrate interaction. You will be building on preliminary data gathered by Lauren McKee, the supervisor of this project. You will work closely with other members of the KTH Division of Glycoscience, as well as colleagues from the KTH Department of Sustainable Development, Environmental Science and Engineering (SEED), to integrate life cycle analysis and sustainable systems thinking into your research.

You will be responsible for performing research tasks on this project, which will involve production and purification of recombinant proteins, assays of enzyme activity and ligand binding, optimisation of biomaterials formation, and characterisation of biomaterial properties. You will be involved in the writing of manuscripts and any patent applications that derive from this work, as well as assisting in administrative management of the Formas funded project. Research duties will include working in a multi-disciplinary team, presenting your work at meetings and conferences, planning your time in the lab, and managing your data.

Educational duties may include proactive participation at all levels. Assistant supervision of master’s thesis and diploma students may be involved. No more than 20% of the Postdoc’s time may be devoted to educational duties.

What we offer

• International workplace.
• A leading technical university that creates knowledge and expertise for a sustainable future.
• Colleagues with high ambitions in an open, curious and dynamic environment.
• Help to relocate and be settled in Sweden and at KTH

Qualifications

You should have experience of working in relevant research areas, demonstrated through scientific publications and a doctoral thesis. The most important and relevant research areas are as follows: (i) discovery, production, and characterisation of carbohydrate-active enzymes; (ii) discovery, production, and characterisation of carbohydrate-binding proteins; (iii) bioinformatics and phylogenetic analysis.

You should have excellent communication skills in scientific English, both in spoken and in written forms.

A doctoral degree or an equivalent foreign degree, obtained within the last three years prior to the application deadline, is required.

The following personal characteristics are required:

• Ability to collaborate
• Autonomous
• Independence
• Flexible
• Taking initiative

Great emphasis will be placed on personal competence and suitability.

Preferred qualifications

Ideally, you will also have experience or knowledge of the following areas of research: (i) characterisation of complex carbohydrates; (ii) design of biobased materials and characterisation of their physical properties; (iii) the use of biobased hydrogels in cosmetic and pharmaeutical applications; (iv) cytotoxicity and immunogenicity testing of hydrogel materials.

The ideal candidate will have a strong awareness and appreciation of sustainability issues, particularly the sustainable development goals relating to responsible production and consumption of materials.

The following is also preferred:

• Research expertise
• Educational ability
• Awareness of diversity and equal treatment issues with a particular focus on gender equality
• Teamwork
• Independence

Trade union representatives

You will find contact information to trade union representatives at KTH's webbpage.

Application

Please include a Research Statement (maximum two A4 pages) describing why you are interested in this specific project, and how your skills and experience make you well-suited to this project. Please include a short proposal of a specific experiment you would like to perform as part of this project. 

Log into KTH's recruitment system in order to apply to this position. You are the main responsible to ensure that your application is complete according to the ad.

Your complete application must be received at KTH no later than the last day of application, midnight CET/CEST (Central European Time/Central European Summer Time).

About the employment

Temporary employment for 1 year with the possibility of extension for 1 more year. Start date according to agreement. A position as a postdoctoral fellow is a time-limited qualified appointment focusing mainly on research, intended as a first career step after a dissertation.

Others

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