Do you want to contribute to top quality medical research?
We are looking for a highly motivated and talented postdoctoral candidate to take the lead on one or more challenging research projects in the lab of Assistant Professor Petter S. Woll. The research project will be focused on delineating the intracellular redistribution of subcellular and molecular structures during normal and leukemic stem cell differentiation. Integrated in the translational research environment at the Center for Hematology and Regenerative Medicine at the Karolinska…
Institutet our overall aim is to uncover fundamental features of normal and leukemic stem cell biology that can instruct new strategies for clinical surveillance and treatment in hematologic malignancies.
Your mission
The main line of research in the Woll lab is focused on understanding how the accumulation of somatic mutations promote the transition from a normal hematopoietic stem cell to a leukemic stem cell (Woll et al., Cancer Cell 2014; Chin et al., Blood 2022). Using uniquely biobanked and serially collected hematopoietic material from patients with leukemia we have demonstrated leukemic stem cell selective evasion from therapeutic targeting (Dimitriou et al., Blood 2024). This combined information has inspired leukemia-specific cellular immune therapy (Giannakopoulou et al., Nature Cancer 2023). You will continue this line of investigation by exploring novel strategies for identification and characterization of leukemic stem cells.
We aim to recruit an independent and motivated person who can set up and maintain experimental workflows by implementing or adapting existing tools. Methods will include advanced flow cytometry, in vitro functional assays for hematopoietic stem cells and immune cells, DNA and RNA sequencing, and in vivo models. You must also enjoy scientific discussion, teamwork and active contribution to the projects by others in the lab.
Your profile
To be eligible for employment as a postdoctoral researcher, a PhD or a foreign degree deemed to be equivalent to a Swedish PhD is required. This eligibility requirement must be fulfilled at the latest at the time of the employment decision. Completion of your doctoral degree within the last three years is considered an advantage. If there are special reasons, your degree may have been completed earlier.
The applicant must have a strong scientific background with relevant expertise in cell and/or molecular biology. Interest in programming, computational biology and statistic towards high-throughput data analysis is considered a merit.
Requirements:
- At least one first-author publication in a recognized peer-review journal
- Experience in studies of hematopoietic stem cells, hematopoiesis and/or immunology
- Established proficiency in essential laboratory techniques applied to primary hematopoietic cells, including advanced flow cytometry and cell culture
- Ability to stay on top of and discuss the relevant research field
- Excellent communication skills and motivation to work collaboratively
- Ability to work independently and manage multiple projects in parallel
- Proficiency in spoken and written English
Desirables:
- Hands-on experience with animal models for hematopoiesis
- Experience in high-throughput data analysis, such as single cell RNA sequencing
- Knowledge in R and foundations of statistics
- Experience with CRISPR/Cas9 (or similar) genome editing of primary cells
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. At Karolinska Institutet, we conduct successful medical research and hold the largest range of medical education in Sweden. At KI, you get to meet researchers working with a wide range of specialisms and methods, giving you ample opportunity to exchange knowledge and experience with the various scientific fields within medicine and health. It is the crossover collaborations, which have pushed KI to where it is today, at the forefront of global research. Several of the people you meet in healthcare are educated at KI. A close relationship with the health care providers is important for creating groundbreaking top quality education and research. Karolinska Institutet is also a state university, which entitles you to several benefits through our collective agreement.
Location: Flemingsberg
Choose to work at KI – Ten reasons why
Application
An employment application must contain the following documents in English or Swedish:
- A maximum one-page cover letter summarizing motivation for the position and the project, your previous experience and why this is relevant for this announcement, and your general research interests
- A complete curriculum vitae of current work and work history, including date of the thesis defence, title of the thesis, name of thesis supervisor, previous and current positions, academic distinctions, and committee work
- A complete list of publications
- Names and contact details of three references who are familiar with the applicant's recent research and training
KI applies individual and differentiated salary setting in accordance with our collective agreements RALS and RALS-T
The application is to be submitted through the Varbi recruitment system.
Want to make a difference? Join us and contribute to better health for all!
Type of employment: Temporary position
Contract type: Full time
First day of employment: According to agreement
Salary: Monthly salary
Number of positions: 1
Full-time equivalent: 100 %
City: Flemingsberg campus
County: Stockholms län
Country: Sweden
Reference number: STÖD 2-3693/2026
Contact:
- Petter Woll, petter.woll@ki.se
- Anna Heinerö, anna.heinero@ki.se
Union representative:
- Peter Svensson, SACO, peter.svensson@ki.se
- Mari Gilljam, OFR, mari.gilljam@ki.se
- Robert Lindberg, Seko, robert.g.lindberg@seko.se
Published: 2026-09-11
Last application date: 2026-10-11