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Doctoral (PhD) student position in muscle physiology : Stockholm, Sweden

At the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology (http://ki.se/fyfa_english) we teach and conduct research in physiology, pharmacology, anesthesiology and intensive care. We have around 350 employees, 30 research groups, and 90 doctoral students.

A doctoral position is an available doctoral education project to which a PhD student is to be recruited. After the selection process the process for admission to doctoral education will commence. An admission decision will not be taken until an individual study plan has been approved by the departmental admission board.

For more information regarding doctoral (PhD) education, see: http://www.ki.se/doctoral.

Research group
The research group of assistant professor Stefano Gastaldello is part of the Lars Larsson group, which includes Researchers, Postdocs, PhD students, Technicians and Master students. The Larsson´s lab has an extensive research history in investigating the underlying molecular mechanisms of muscle physiology based on a unique experimental Intensive Care Unit (ICU) rat model that has been applied to investigate both mechanisms and effects of specific intervention strategies as an ICU-like condition. The project will be carried out in the laboratory of assistant professor Stefano Gastaldello at Physiology and Pharmacology Department at Karolinska Institutet.

The doctoral education project and the duties of the student
The project aims to study the loss of force-generating capacity function in diaphragm muscle in response to mechanical ventilation treatment by investigating post-translational modifications of muscle tissue proteins that occur under the treatment. The practical part of the PhD project will be work on muscle biopsies, cell lines and several other methods used in molecular and cellular biology.

Please note that the project will involve experiments with fresh animal and human biopsies and the ethical permit for the project is already approved. The applicant will attend the compulsory courses in laboratory animal science, to conduct research with animals at KI.

Skills and personal qualities

The application is open for highly motivated students with previous experience of working with relevant molecular and cellular biology methods. Western blot, cell culture, protein purification, RNAi analysis, immunofluorescence, quantitative analysis of RNA are some of the methods that will be utilized in this project. Applicants with previous experience in these areas will be prioritized. In addition, applicants with prior experience in muscle tissues, immunohistochemistry, cell culture, protein purification, are preferential. Proficiency in the English language, on the levels of comprehension, writing including scientific writing, and spoken language, are also important. Good experience in IT programs (Excel, PowerPoint, Word) and in statistical analysis data (i.e.: ANOVA, t-test) are required.

Entry requirements for doctoral education at KI
To be eligible for doctoral education the following requirements has to be met:

General entry requirements
A person meets the general entry requirements for doctoral/third-cycle/PhD education (according to Higher Education Ordinance Chapt 7, section 39) if he/she:

has been awarded advanced/second-cycle/master qualification (i.e. master degree) or
has satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits of which at least 60 credits were awarded in the second-cycle/master level, or
has acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad.
Specific entry requirements
Proficiency in English equivalent to the course English B/English 6 at Swedish upper secondary school:
Proficiency in the English language can be documented by an internationally recognized test such as TOEFL or IELTS, see web-link below for more information.
Applicants who meet the general entry requirements (1 or 2 above) from a university in one of the Nordic countries fulfill the requirements in English.

For more information regarding general and specific entry requirements: http://ki.se/en/education/entry-requirements-eligibility-for-doctoral-education

Assessment criteria
A selection will be made among qualified applicants on the basis of the ability to benefit from doctoral education. Karolinska Institutet uses the following bases of assessment:
- Documented subject knowledge of relevance to the area of research
- Analytical skill
- Other documented knowledge or experience that may be relevant to doctoral studies in the subject

The qualifications of the applicants will be evaluated on an overall basis.

Terms and conditions
The most common way of financial support for doctoral students at KI is doctoral grant the first year and a doctoral studentship (doctoral employment) for year 2, 3 and 4. During the time between recruitment and admission a short-term employment can be offered for up to 6 months.

Application process
An application must contain the following documents in Swedish or English:

A personal letter and curriculum vitae
A copy of degree certificates and associated certificates
A copy of degree projects and any previous publications
The application is to be submitted on the MyNetwork recruitment system.

Karolinska Institutet is one of the world´s leading medical universities. Its mission is to contribute to the improvement of human health through research and education. Karolinska Institutet accounts for over 40 per cent of the medical academic research conducted in Sweden and offers the country´s broadest range of education in medicine and health sciences. Since 1901 the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet has selected the Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine.

Pursuant to the regulations of the Swedish National Archives, applications are kept on file for two years after the appointment has gained legal force. The regulations do not apply to attachments that have been printed or otherwise published.

Karolinska Institutet strives to provide a workplace that has approximately the same number of women and men, is free of discrimination and offers equal opportunity to everyone.

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Job details

Employer:Karolinska Institutet (KI)

Website:http://ki.se/en/startpage

Location:Stockholm, Sweden

Expires:October 13, 2014

Job type:PhD Studentship

Salary:Unspecified

Qualifications:Postgraduate - Doctorate/PhD

Employment type:Temporary

Job hours:Full-time