Postdoctoral scholarship (2 years) within cryo-EM of photosynthetic protein complexes 

The Department of Plant Physiology is offering a postdoctoral scholarship within the project ‘High-resolution structures of Photosystem II’. The scholarship refers to full-time studies for two years, starting October 1, 2025, or according to agreement. The last day for application is September 1, 2025.

The Kempe Foundation (JCSMK24-599) funds this two-year postdoctoral scholarship. The scholarship amounts to 360 000 SEK per year and is not subject to tax. The grant from Kempe also funds 260 000 SEK per year of running costs. The PI covers the additional running costs for the project. 

Departmental specific information

The Department of Plant Physiology is part of the Umeå Plant Science Centre (UPSC; www.upsc.se), which has more than 200 researchers working on various aspects of plants, bacteria and trees. At Umeå University we have local access to an excellent cryo-EM facility (https://www.umu.se/forskning/infrastruktur/umea-centre-for-electron-microscopy-ucem/). As a scholarship holder at the Department of Plant Physiology you will be part of Professor Johannes Messinger’s research group that has a wide network of national and international collaborators.

For more information about Johannes Messinger’s research group, see https://www.upsc.se/researchers/6542-messinger-johannes-how-do-plants-make-oxygen-and-fix-carbon-dioxide.html 

Project description

This project has a focus on improving our knowledge about the mechanism of water oxidation to molecular oxygen in photosynthesis. This will be done by obtaining structures of photosystem II at different excitation states and conditions, including point mutations, and of different organisms. Specific research questions include: What are the protonation states of amino acids under different conditions? What is the role of protein dynamics in photosynthetic water oxidation and quinone reduction? 

You will be part of a friendly and highly experienced team that combines the structural studies with biophysical experiments that explore connected functional aspects. For this, we use a wide range of tools comprising molecular biology, biophysics, spectroscopic methods (EPR, fluorescence) as well as membrane inlet mass spectrometry (MIMS). You will have the opportunity to learn these techniques and you may also get the chance to participate in snap-shot crystallography experiments at x-ray free electron lasers or molecular dynamics calculations.

The postdoctoral scholarship holder will have the opportunity to:

• Collect and analyse high-resolution cryo-EM structures of photosystem II under various conditions and in different illumination states.
• Participate in complementary biophysical and/or computational studies.
• Be trained in manuscript and grant writing.
• Become part of an extended international research network.

Qualifications 

To qualify as a postdoctoral scholarship holder, the postdoctoral 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 organisations, military service or similar circumstances, as well as clinical practice or other forms of appointment/assignment relevant to the subject area.   

The doctoral degree should be within Structural Biology, Biophysics, Biochemistry or equivalent. Additional requirements are experience in structural biology, data processing or studies of photosynthetic water oxidation.

Meriting criteria are: 

• A strong background in cryo-EM, including microscope handling, sample preparation, data collection and structural model building
• Background in biophysics or engineering
• Experience in data management
• Experience with handling photosynthetic samples
• Experience in growing cyanobacteria and isolation of photosynthetic proteins
• Experience in manuscript writing and presentation of scientific data. 

We are looking for candidates who are highly motivated, organized and able to work in teams. You must be very good in communicating (speaking and writing) in English due to the international environment in the institute and international collaborations, as well as for publishing your work in high-level journals.

Application 

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 September 1, 2025.

A full application should include:

• Cover letter (max 2 pages) in which you specify how your previous experience relates to the advertised scholarship and why you are interested in the research project,
• Curriculum vitae (CV) with publication list,
• Copy of doctoral degree certificate or documentation that clarifies when the degree of doctor is expected to be obtained, 
• Copies of other diplomas, list of completed academic courses and grades,
• Copy of PhD thesis and/or relevant publications, 
• Other documents that the applicant wishes to claim.
• Contact information to 2-3 persons willing to act as references.

Further information

For further information, please contact Johannes Messinger, johannes.messinger@umu.se 

We look forward to receiving your application!