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Doctoral (PhD) student position in neurogenetics of molecular psychiatric research : Stockholm, Sweden

The Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery (MMK) carries out both preclinical and clinical research within numerous fields. Linked to the department are approximately 450 researchers, postgraduate students, teachers and technical & administrative staff and we currently have about 150 PhD students. The department is conducting undergraduate courses for medical students, physiotherapist students, biomedicine students and biomedical laboratory 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 Neurogenetics http://ki.se/mmk/neurogenetik is seeking a graduate student to participate in a project on bipolar disorder and psychosis. The aim is to use molecular genetics and epigenetics to characterize how the immune system can affect mental health. Since 1993 we conduct preclinical and clinical molecular research primarily in psychiatric disorders with techniques including molecular genetics, epigenetics, histochemistry, and various other molecular biology methods. The core-facility KIGene for genetic analysis, with platforms for Next-Generation-Sequencing and expression analysis, belongs to our research group. We have a large international network and are members of several international consortia for genetic analysis. At the most recent external evaluation of all research groups at Karolinska Institutet ("ERA2010"), our group got the highest rating ("Outstanding").

The group is housed in the Center for Molecular Medicine (CMM) at Karolinska University Hospital in Solna. CMM houses many researchers with different areas of expertise, which promotes creativity and new ideas at meetings during joint activities such as seminars and journal clubs. There is a very good structure of the research team with several graduate students working on various projects with the same molecular methodologies allowing the student to be in a stimulating and creative environment. In addition, the project will be carried out in close collaboration with neuro-immunological expertise of the Department of Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet and University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore.

The doctoral education project and the duties of the student
We are looking for a PhD student to a genetic and epigenetic research project about immunological aspects of psychosis in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. The goal of this research project is to identify new molecular pathways that increases the risk of psychosis. This project provides an interdisciplinary research education with extensive international collaborations in pharmacology, molecular genetics, epigenetics, biochemistry, psychiatry and neurobiology. The studies will include small- and large-scale experimental and biostatistical analyses of patient samples and model systems. It will promote translational and interdisciplinary skills. Moreover, it will prepare the student for multiple career options given that there is a large unmet need relating to diagnosis, prognosis and treatment in psychiatry. The Neurogenetics group has expertise and will provide support for statistical analysis and a wide range of molecular and histological techniques. The PhD project has in competition been awarded funds from the Karolinska Institute (KID-funding).

This research education is equivalent to four years of study. This includes scientific work, courses, seminars and conferences. The student will be responsible for developing detailed study protocols for each sub-study to be included in the thesis, conducting extensive literature reviews and laboratory and biostatistical analyses, and for preparing scientific manuscripts as first author. The project is a collaboration with an international network of experienced researchers, which provides the student with the possibility to build up an international network for future research.

Supervisor
The main supervisor is Martin Schalling, Professor of Molecular Genetics at the Karolinska Institutet.

Supervisor is Catharina Lavebratt, associate professor of medical genetics at KI, Sophie Erhardt, associate professor of pharmacology at the Karolinska Institutet and Professor Robert Schwarcz, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore

Entry requirements for doctoral education at KI
To be eligible for doctoral education 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.

Skills and personal qualities
We seek a person with qualifications in medicine, biomedicine, molecular biology or civil engineering with an interest in molecular causes of psychiatric illness. Some experience in molecular genetics, epigenetics or molecular biological work on the nervous system is a merit. The most important personal characteristics are curiosity, commitment, ability to work with others and to think flexibly. Excellent knowledge of the English language, both spoken and written is essential. The main language of the work place is English.

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