Research assistant in heart regeneration

Karolinska Institutet; Stockholms kommun; On-site; SEK 400 000 - 600 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading medical university in Sweden is seeking a Research Assistant to investigate cardiac development through organoid cultures. The role involves cell culture, stem cell differentiation, and various molecular biology techniques. Ideal candidates must have a Master’s degree and experience with induced pluripotent stem cells, along with strong documentation and communication skills. The position is based in Solna, offering a creative research environment.

Benefits

Creative and inspiring environment

Good benefits through collective agreements

Access to wellness facilities

Qualifications

• Documented experience in working with induced pluripotent stem cells.
• Experience in immunofluorescence staining and confocal imaging.
• Ability to learn and apply new techniques independently.

Responsibilities

• Study epicardial-myocardial cell interactions using cardiac organoid cultures.
• Assist in cell culture and differentiation of human stem cells.
• Perform molecular biology techniques and image analysis.

Skills

Experience with induced pluripotent stem cells

Organizational skills

Good communication skills

Education

Master’s degree in a relevant area

Tools

Imaris software

Job description

Overview

Do you want to contribute to top quality medical research? Department of Cell and Molecular Biology (CMB) is a department with a strong focus on basic science. CMB conducts research and education in cell biology, molecular biology, developmental biology, stem cell biology, cancer, and infection biology. The research groups are organized in three thematic programs: Developmental and Stem Cell Biology, Cell Biology and Infection and Cancer.

Position

A Research Assistant position is available in the research group of Dr. Elif Eroglu. The team consists of scientists who are focused on studying cardiogenesis in multiple model organisms and its implications for regenerative medicine. The research goal is to find novel pathways and principles for regenerative medicine in general, and to repair damaged cardiac muscle cells in particular.

Your mission

Your main priority will be to study epicardial-myocardial cell interactions based on cardiac organoid cultures both in the context of cardiac development and regeneration. Duties in the laboratory will include cell culture, human induced pluripotent stem cell differentiation into cardiac lineages, cell transfection and evaluation of in vitro proliferation, migration, and viability assays. Additionally, you will be required to assist in the laboratory with basic molecular biology techniques, tissue processing and cryosectioning, immunofluorescence staining, confocal microscopy, and image analysis. Depending on the project progress you will be expected to learn and apply new techniques. The working language in the lab is English.

Your profile

A suitable background is a Master’s degree within an area which the employer deems to be relevant. You are also eligible to apply even if you will not receive your Master’s degree until the end of the fall semester 2025. You must have documented experience working with induced pluripotent stem cells and generation of organoids. Experience in immunofluorescence staining, confocal imaging, establishing image analysis pipelines and 3D image analysis using softwares such as Imaris is meriting. Previous experience working on heart tissue, analyzing cardiac muscle sarcomere structure and calcium imaging is meriting.

Skills And Personal Qualities

You are thorough and used to documenting and organizing your work. You work in a clean and precise way. We expect you to be a positive, flexible person with good communication skills who appreciates being in a highly dynamic international research team. Due to the progressive nature of a scientific project we expect you to be comfortable with learning new methods. You can work independently after training but are still a team player and very service minded. Strong organizational skills as well as the ability to adapt quickly to changing priorities, assignments, and roles will be critical. Furthermore, you have excellent communication skills in English in both writing and speaking. Personal skills will be highly valued.

What do we offer?

A creative and inspiring environment with wide-ranging expertise and interests. Karolinska Institutet is one of the world\'s leading medical universities. Our vision is to pursue the development of knowledge about life and to promote a better health for all. At Karolinska Institutet, we conduct successful medical research and hold the largest range of medical education in Sweden. Karolinska Institutet is also a state university, which entitles you to several good benefits through our collective agreement. And you get to practice freely in our modern wellness facilities, where trained staff are on site.

Location

Solna

Application

The application is to be submitted through the Varbi recruitment system. In this recruitment, you will apply with your CV without a personal letter. Instead, you will answer some questions about why you are applying for the job in the application form.