Postdoctoral fellowship within pancreatic cancer research
Medicinska fakulteten, Institutionen för Diagnostik och intervention
Umeå University is one of Sweden’s largest higher education institutions with over 37,000 students and about 4,700 employees. The University offers a diversity of high-quality education and world-leading research in several fields. Notably, the groundbreaking discovery of the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing tool, which was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, was made here. At Umeå University, everything is close. Our cohesive campuses make it easy to meet, work together and exchange knowledge, which promotes a dynamic and open culture.
The ongoing societal transformation and large green investments in northern Sweden create enormous opportunities and complex challenges. For Umeå University, conducting research about – and in the middle of – a society in transition is key. We also take pride in delivering education to enable regions to expand quickly and sustainably. In fact, the future is made here.
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The Faculty of Medicine, which consists of 12 departments, is responsible for biomedical research and courses in the field of nursing and health care and has an extensive research and graduate education in more than 80 subjects.
We are at the Department of Diagnostics and Intervention currently looking for a postdoctoral fellow in pancreatic cancer research. The fellowship is full-time for two years with access August 15 or as agreed. This announced fellowship is financed the Kempe foundations.
Project description
Pancreatic cancer has a very high mortality rate and currently no effective treatment options are available. A unique feature of the disease is the pronounced fibrotic stroma that surrounds tumor cells. This tumor stroma consists of an extracellular matrix (ECM), fibroblasts, and immune cells, which together provide the cancer cells with important signals that regulate tumor growth. This makes the stroma an interesting target from a treatment perspective, but the lack of knowledge in the complexity of the stroma has hampered the development of drugs targeting stromal interactions.
In this project the impact of fibroblasts and immune cells on the development of pancreatic cancer will be studied in detail. The pathophysiological role of fibroblasts and immune cells in disease progression will be studied in animal models, human tissues, and organoid based co-culture systems. Potential drugs affecting the function of the fibroblasts and immune cells will then be developed and tested. The overall aim is to identify and explore critical interactions between pancreatic cancer cells and fibroblasts and immune cells, and to develop new therapeutic strategies that target the disease by selectively blocking or stimulating these interactions.
Qualifications
The post-doctoral fellow is required to have completed a doctoral degree or a foreign degree deemed equivalent to a doctoral degree. This qualification requirement must be fulfilled no later than at the time of the decision about scholarship recipient.
Priority should be given to candidates who completed their doctoral degree, according to what is stipulated in the paragraph above, no later than three years prior. If there are special reasons, candidates who completed their doctoral degree before that may also be eligible. Special reasons include absence due to illness, parental leave, appointments of trust in trade union organizations, military service, or similar circumstances, or other forms of appointment/assignment relevant to the subject area.
Application
A full application should include the following documents:
- A personal letter containing a short description of your research interests (max one A4 page) and why you are interested in the fellowship.
- Curriculum vitae (CV) including list of technical expertise and list of publications.
- Copies of diplomas and link to PhD thesis.
- Contact information for two reference persons.
We do this to ensure that the formal requirements are met and that we then have sufficient information to adequately rank eligible candidates.
The application should be written in English or Swedish, and attached documents should be in Word or PDF format. The application should be registered via Umeå University’s e-recruitment system Varbi and submitted by the deadline 15 June 2025.
Further information
For more information, please contact assistant professor Daniel Öhlund (link to website).
We look forward to receiving your application!
| First day of employment | Enligt överenskommelse |
|---|---|
| Salary | Stipendium |
| Full-time equivalent | 100 |
| City | Umeå |
| County | Västerbottens län |
| Country | Sweden |
| Reference number | FS 2.1.6-1032-25 |
| Contact |
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| Published | 20.May.2025 |
| Last application date | 15.Jun.2025 |