Umeå University is dedicated to providing creative environments for learning and work. We offer a wide variety of courses and programs, world leading research, and excellent innovation and collaboration opportunities. More than 4300 employees and 33979 students from over 60 nationalities have already chosen Umeå University. The recent breakthrough researches from Umeå include deciphering the molecular mechanisms of the bacterial CRISPR-Cas9 system and repurposing it into a tool for genome editing.

The Wu lab recently relocated from Max Planck Institute in Dortmund Germany to Umeå Sweden. The lab is located within the cross-disciplinary Chemical Biological Centre (video) (www.kbc.umu.se/english/) at Umeå University. The lab is fully equipped for biological and chemical researches with access to excellent facilities and state-of-art equipment and platforms in a creative, inspiring, international and highly interactive environment. Facilities include Protein Expertise Platform, X-ray, Proteomics, NMR (850-400 MHz), Cryo-EM and Biochemical Imaging Centre (confocal, FLIM, spinning disk, TIRF, STORM).

Project: Autophagy mechanisms

Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved self-eating process mainly to eliminate or recycle dysfunctional cellular organelles or unused proteins. Autophagy plays an important role in physiology including development and ageing and has been associated with diverse human diseases, including cancer, neurodegeneration and pathogen infection. Autophagy modulation is implicated in the treatment of diseases such as neurodegeneration and cancer. Despite extensive work, the mechanisms of autophagosome formation and autophagy regulation are not yet well established. Our laboratory has elucidated fundamental mechanisms underlying autophagosome formation and bacterial escape from host autophagy using chemical genetic approaches (eLife 2017, Angew Chem 2017, Nat Chem Biol 2019). We will combine cell biological, biochemical, and novel chemical and chemo-optogenetic approaches to understand the mechanism of autophagic membrane morphogenesis and bacterial interaction with host autophagy.

Project: Chemo-optogenetics

Genetic perturbations such as knock-out or knock-down approaches is powerful for biological studies. However, traditional genetic approaches are chronic (hours to days). Consequently, the phenotype may not be detected due to adaptation and the dynamics of phenotypic change cannot be followed. Chemical genetic approaches using small molecules are acute, reversible, conditional and tunable and have been very useful to dissect the complexity of biological regulatory networks. However, many of these compounds have additional off-target effects that may confound elucidation of biological systems in certain contexts. Our laboratory has developed a set of chemical and photochemically induced dimerization (CID, pCID, psCID) system to spatiotemporally control cellular signaling and intracellular cargo transport (Angew Chem 2014, 2017, 2018, 2018). We will further develop novel chemo-optogenetic systems that enables the activity to be controlled by light with high spatial and temporal precision in live cells and organisms.

The projects are interdisciplinary with strong international collaborations across scientific disciplines. The European Research Council (ERC) and Wallenberg Foundation are funding the research in long term.

Requirements

The required qualification for postdoc is a doctoral degree in cell biology, biochemistry, chemical biology, or in another relevant field. The required qualification for PhD student is a master degree or equivalent in chemistry or biology related field. Highly motivated young talents are encouraged to apply.

Information

For how to apply: https://www.umu.se/en/work-with-us/fellowships-and-grants/6-1190-19/

For further information you are welcome to contact Prof. Yaowen Wu

Webpage: https://www.biostruct.umu.se/principal-investigators/yaowen-wu/

E-mail: yaowen.wu[at]umu.se

Press release:

https://www.kva.se/sv/pressrum/pressmeddelanden/goran-gustafssonpriser-2019-tre-miljoner-mer-till-yngre-forskarehttps://www.umu.se/en/news/yaowen-wu-is-awarded-the-goran-gustafsson-prize-in-molecular-biology_7673132/

We are seeking a PhD student in chemistry that will be part of a research team focused on understanding membrane protein transport using experimental techniques such as time-resolved X-ray scattering and biochemical assays, as well as computer simulation. Application deadline is 2019-06-03.

Project description
Biological membranes contain proteins that are necessary for all forms of Life – not least human beings. Development of structural characterization methods during the last 20 years has resulted in increased understanding of these membrane proteins, which in turn has increased production of new pharmaceuticals. We now face a major challenge – how can we take the next step and understand how proteins change their structures to perform their designated functions. By determining intermediate structures in the natural membrane environment, we could significantly increase the number of pharmaceutical targets. We will specifically characterize transport proteins in pathogenic bacteria, which are absent in humans, since such proteins are targets for development of new antibiotics that has potential to fight multi-drug resistance that pose a severe threat to humans, society, and health care.

Working tasks
The PhD student will be part of an existing research team that combines experimental methods and computer simulation to understand membrane protein transport. We have developed a combination of time-resolved X-ray scattering and computer simulation capable of determining transient intermediate states in the natural membrane environment. Our work is carried out on the absolute forefront of structural biology and will prepare the PhD student for a continued research career in academia or industry.

The PhD student will acquire a unique skillset with both experimental expertise and high-performance computing. The research spans molecular biology production and characterisation of proteins to development work at the synchrotrons MAXIV (Lund) and ESRF (Grenoble). The computer simulations will be performed on the national SNIC platform at the high-performance computing center HPC2N. The work will be performed within the context of Integrated Structural Biology (https://www.biostruct.umu.se) at Umeå University that provides seminar series as well as an exciting research environment.

Qualifications
To be admitted for studies at third-cycle level you are required to have completed a second-cycle level degree, or completed course requirements of at least 240 ECTS credits, of which at least 60 ECTS credits are at second-cycle level or have an equivalent education from abroad, or equivalent qualifications.

To fulfill the specific entry requirements to be admitted for studies at third-cycle level in chemistry, you are required to have completed first-cycle courses of at least 90 ECTS credits within the field of chemistry or another subject considered to be directly relevant to the specialization in question (such as physics, biology etc). Of those 90 ECTS credits, at least 15 ECTS credits shall have been acquired at second-cycle level within the specialization or an equivalent subject.

Good knowledge of the English language, both written and spoken, is required as well as a great interest within the field of biophysics and/or biochemistry. A suitable candidate must also be creative, have good collaboration skills, have a high degree of independence, and problem-solving analytical ability. Experience of protein production and characterization and/or Linux terminal/programming are considered as merits.

Terms of employment
The appointment aims at a PhD degree and the main task of the PhD student is to pursue their doctoral studies, which includes participation in research projects as well as postgraduate courses. In the assignments, teaching and other departmental work (up to a maximum of 20%) can be included. The employment is limited to four years full-time or up to five years when part-time teaching. The salary placement takes place according to the established salary level for doctoral employment.

Application
A complete application, written in English or Swedish, should contain a Curriculum Vitae, a cover letter including a description of your research interests and motivation for applying for this position, copies of degree certificates or equivalent, including documentation of completed academic courses and obtained grades, name and contact information of at least two reference persons.

Applications must be submitted via our e-recruitment system (link at https://www.umu.se/en/work-with-us/open-positions/phd-student-position-in-chemistry-with-focus-on-biophysical-chemistry_267035/). The last day to apply is 2019-06-03.

For more information about the research, position, or other details, please contact Docent Magnus Andersson
email: magnus.p.andersson@umu.se
webpage: https://www.biostruct.umu.se/principal-investigators/magnus-andersson/

About us
The Department of Chemistry is one of the largest departments within the Faculty of Science and Technology with approximately 200 employees, of which approximately 40 are PhD students, and constitutes a strong and expanding research environment. The Department has three major research areas: Biological Chemistry, Environmental and Biogeochemistry, and Technical Chemistry. We are also a strong partner in the Chemical-Biological Center (KBC), which provides excellent scientific infrastructure with several core facilities and technical platforms. You can find more information here: https://www.umu.se/en/chemical-biological-centre/. Information about the postgraduate education can be found on the Faculty of Science and Technology website: www.umu.se/en/faculty-of-science-and-technology/education/doctoral-studies/chemistry/. For more information about working at Umeå University, https://www.umu.se/en/work-with-us/.

Umeå University wants to offer an equal environment where open dialogue between people with different backgrounds and perspectives lay the foundation for learning, creativity and development. We welcome people with different backgrounds and experiences to apply for the current employment.