Postdoc Fellow: Autophagy-dependent ferroptosis in COPD

Postdoc Fellow: Unravelling the mechanisms and biomarkers of autophagy-driven ferroptosis in COPD to allow early identification and treatment of COPD patients with ferroptotic lung injury



Location: Gothenburg, Sweden



AstraZeneca is a global, science-led, patient-centered biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of prescription medicines for some of the world's most serious diseases. But we're more than one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies. At AstraZeneca, we're dedicated to being a Great Place to Work where you are empowered to push the boundaries of science and fuel your entrepreneurial spirit. There's no better place to make a difference to medicine, patients and society.



About the Postdoc Programme



Bring your expertise, apply your knowledge, follow the science, and make a difference!



AstraZeneca's Postdoc Programme is for self-motivated individuals looking to take on exciting, high impact projects in a collaborative and innovative environment.



Working with peers and professionals from a diverse set of backgrounds, together with an elite academic mentor explicitly aligned to your project, you'll be respected as a specialist and encouraged to speak up. You'll lead a novel and innovative research project at the interface of drug discovery and biopharmaceutical development in a multidisciplinary scientific environment. You'll be empowered and supported to drive the success of your project, publish papers, achieve your goals and make a difference to our patients!



About the Opportunity



In this project, you will combine basic science experiments and bioinformatics to explore ferroptosis and its implication in COPD pathology. You will be embedded in a well-integrated, collaborative team of bench Biologists and Data Scientists, and will have access to state-of the art R&D facilities and multi-omics databases. Your lab based role will involve standard cell-based and biochemical techniques, RNA seq and ferroptosis-related cell assays (e.g. lipid peroxidation, release of redox-active iron). The computational role will consist of RNA seq data analysis, identification of patients with ferroptotic lung injury by GSVA or hierarchical clustering analysis, and multi-omics data analysis. This project will address the regulatory mechanism of ferroptosis and its association with dysregulated iron metabolism and disease pathology in COPD. The main aim will be to identify and characterize patients with ferroptotic lung injury within the heterogenous COPD population.



Collaborating with innovative colleagues across the Translational Science & Experimental Medicine department (TSEM), you will be working closely with members of the TSEM Target Science team: Dr. Zala Jevnikar Rojnik, Associate Principal Scientist, Dr. Henric Olsson, Head of Target Science, Dr. Michael Hühn, Target Science Lead; Dr. Sofia Winslow; Postdoc and will be supported by Lisa Öberg, Team Leader Bioinformatics. Additional Expert advice will be provided by your academic mentor, Dr. Suzanne Cloonan, Associate Professor in Respiratory Biochemistry, Clinical Medicine Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin. The project provides a springboard for individual growth and discovery, and AstraZeneca offers a dynamic, interdisciplinary biomedical research environment with access to innovative capabilities and opportunities to interact with scientists with different areas of expertise to address novel mechanisms of translational biology.



Qualification, Skills & Experience



Required:

* PhD or Postdoc in Molecular biology and/or Bioinformatics
* Strong scientific background in molecular biology
* Proficiency in standard biochemical and cell-based techniques
* Skilled in using bioinformatics and data science techniques
* Track record of peer reviewed journal publications
* High levels of motivation, a dedication to driving innovative science, and great problem-solving skills
* The ability to succeed in a fast-paced, dynamic environment, and work collaboratively across functions
* Ability to see opportunities, learn, and apply those takeaways



Desirable:

* Scientific background in the areas of ferroptosis, autophagy or iron metabolism
* Experience of working with human primary cell cultures
* Technical expertise in RNA seq and proteomic data analysis
* Proficient in programming languages such as Python, R or Perl



Advert Opens: 21 October 2021

Advert Closes: 28 November 2021



Where can I find out more?



You can find out more about Respiratory & Immunology at AZ here: https://www.astrazeneca.com/our-therapy-areas/respiratory-and-immunology.html

Find out more about the Postdoc Programme here: https://careers.astrazeneca.com/postdocs-astrazeneca

Find out more about living in Gothenburg here: https://www.movetogothenburg.com/