Postdoctoral Fellow Position in Human Organoids and Viral Infection Biology

Do you want to contribute to top-quality medical research?

The Laboratory of Systems Virology at Karolinska Institutet is at the forefront of understanding how viruses interact with the human host at the systems level. By integrating groundbreaking multiomic methods at the single-cell level with advanced experimental models, such as human organoids, the laboratory maps the molecular and cellular mechanisms that govern viral pathogenesis, immune evasion and disease progression. Our research spans a broad spectrum of clinically relevant viruses, with a particular focus on retroviruses (e.g. HIV, HTLV) and arboviruses (e.g. dengue, zika), where we investigate how host-virus dynamics affect outcomes in different tissues. By combining computational systems biology with rigorous experimental virology, we transform complex biological data into mechanistic insights with direct relevance for therapeutic and diagnostic innovation. The laboratory is based at one of the world’s leading medical universities and promotes an international, collaborative and intellectually ambitious environment where early-career researchers are given the opportunity to develop as independent researchers and contribute to science that makes a difference. The current project is part of the EU’s Horizon project COMBAT and other projects supported by the Swedish Research Council.

Your role

As a postdoctoral fellow in the Systems Virology Laboratory, your mission is to advance the frontiers of viral pathogenesis research using state-of-the-art human organoid models. You will have overall responsibility for the generation, maintenance, and differentiation of brain, gut, and placenta organoids, as well as optimizing robust protocols that form the experimental foundation of the laboratory’s research program.

Who are you?

To be employed as a postdoctoral researcher, you must have completed a doctoral degree or a foreign degree that is considered equivalent to a Swedish doctoral degree. This eligibility requirement must be met no later than the time the employment decision is made. It is an advantage if you have completed your doctoral degree within the last three years; if there are special reasons, your degree may have been completed earlier.

The ideal candidate for the position has a PhD in virology, cell biology, developmental biology, neuroscience or a closely related biomedical field, with a solid practical background in 3D cell culture systems such as organoids or spheroids. Direct experience in generating, maintaining and differentiating at least one of the relevant organoid types – brain, intestine or placenta – is required, preferably combined with familiarity with iPSC culture and differentiation protocols.

You should be proficient in confocal and fluorescence microscopy, standard molecular biology techniques, and immunofluorescence on 3D tissue sections; experience in single-cell RNA sequencing or CRISPR would further strengthen the application.

In addition to technical skills, the role requires someone who is highly independent, responsible, and able to optimize and debug complex protocols with minimal supervision, as the organoid systems will serve as the experimental backbone of the entire research program. The ability to train junior lab members, contribute to scientific writing, and collaborate effectively within a multidisciplinary team is equally important. You are likely to have a PhD in brain or gut organoid models with some experience in infection biology, or established virologists who have worked extensively with complex 3D tissue models, supported by a publication list that reflects expertise in one or both of these areas.

What do we offer?

A creative, international, inspiring environment filled with expertise and curiosity. Karolinska Institutet is one of the world’s leading medical universities. Here we conduct successful medical research and have the largest range of medical education in Sweden. At KI you will meet researchers with different research areas working together. It is this cross-border collaboration that contributes to KI’s world-leading position in research. Several of the people you meet in healthcare are educated at KI. A close relationship with the healthcare sector is important for creating education and research of the highest quality. As a university, Karolinska Institutet is also a government agency. This means that as an employee you receive good benefits through our collective agreement.

The Systems Virology Laboratory offers a unique interdisciplinary educational environment where a postdoctoral fellow can develop a hybrid scientific identity spanning both practical laboratory experiments and data-driven, quantitative analysis. The laboratory integrates large-scale methods such as transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and network biology to understand how viruses reshape host cell systems on a global scale.

This means that as a postdoctoral fellow you will have access to cutting-edge multi-omics techniques and, increasingly, to computational tools and bioinformatics pipelines that are highly valued in both academia and industry. The work with human organoids adds an additional dimension of translational relevance, as the results are directly applicable to understanding human diseases rather than being limited to animal models or simplified cell lines. The combination of complex tissue modeling and systems-level analysis places you at the forefront of infection biology, making your profile competitive for independent research positions, grants and collaborations.

In addition to technical training, a systems virology environment tends to foster a culture of integrated thinking, where you learn to link molecular mechanisms to tissue and organismal outcomes, a skill that is becoming increasingly rare and sought after. The current position offers the chance to build a scientifically distinct profile at the intersection of virology, stem cell biology and systems biology, opening doors far beyond the traditional career path in virology.

Location: Flemingsberg

Read about the systems virology lab (eng)

Application

The application must consist of the following documents, written in English or Swedish:

• Proof of doctoral degree
• A complete CV including date of public defense, title of thesis, previous academic positions, academic title, current position, academic awards and committee work
• A complete list of publications
• A summary of current work (maximum one page)

Applications must be made via the Varbi recruitment system.