Associate researcher in Leukaemia Cell Quiescence and Treatment Resistance

Lund University was founded in 1666 and is repeatedly ranked among the worlds top universities. The University has around 46 000 students and 8 500 staff based in Lund Helsingborg and Malmö. We are united in our efforts to understand explain and improve our world and the human condition.

Description of the workplace
The research group is part of the Division of Molecular Medicine and Gene Therapy within the Faculty of Medicine Lund childhood B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (B-ALL) a subset of leukaemic cells survives chemotherapy by entering a dormant quiescent state. These cells are thought to contribute to minimal residual disease and ultimately drive relapse. The group investigates the mechanisms underpinning this process using a human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived bone marrow organoid model engrafted with primary ALL cells enabling the study of leukaemia-niche interactions that govern entry into quiescence. This platform is combined with an expressed barcode system that enables simultaneous tracking of lineage cell state and cell-cycle dynamics at single-cell resolution. The project is conducted in collaboration with the UCL Cancer Institute where Prof. Tariq Enver holds his primary appointment. The research team is co-led by Prof. Enver who is also Visiting Professor at Lund University and Dr. Virginia Turati and includes doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers. We are committed to maintaining a positive inclusive and respectful working environment where colleagues are treated with consideration and professionalism.

What we offer
Lund University is a public authority which means that you will have special benefits generous annual leave and an advantageous occupational pension. We also have a flexitime agreement that creates good conditions for work/life balance. Read more on the Universitys website about being a Lund University employee Work at Lund University.

Work duties and areas of responsibility
The position focuses on investigating how and why leukaemic cells evade chemotherapy by entering a quiescent state and on developing the experimental tools required to track their fate. Duties include:

• Implementing optimising and maintaining the groups human bone marrow organoid model including engraftment of primary ALL cells and chemotherapy-exposure experiments
• Isolating and characterising quiescent chemotherapy-resistant (label-retaining) ALL cells using flow cytometry cell sorting and functional assays
• Applying and further developing the groups expressed lineage-barcoding platform including lentiviral transduction of ALL cells for simultaneous lineage cell-state and cell-cycle tracking
• Performing molecular profiling of dormant therapy-resistant leukaemic cell states
• Maintaining rigorous experimental records and contributing to the groups standards for quality reproducibility and data management
• Participating in manuscript preparation scientific communication and presentation of results at national and international conferences
• Co-supervising masters and doctoral students within the research group

Qualifications
Requirements for the position

• A doctoral degree in cell biology molecular biology stem cell biology haematology cancer biology or a closely related field
• Demonstrated hands-on experience with human stem/progenitor cell culture such as iPSC-derived systems primary haematopoietic cells or primary leukaemia samples
• Experience with flow cytometry and cellular functional assays
• Ability to independently plan execute and analyse research projects
• Excellent written and spoken English

Additional qualifications

• Experience with 3D culture organoid models or tissue-engineered systems
• Experience with lentiviral or other viral vector-based genetic engineering of mammalian cells
• Experience with CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing
• Experience in leukaemia biology haematopoiesis stem cell biology or cancer therapy-resistance research
• Experience supervising mentoring or training students and junior researchers

Previous experience of research in similar projects

Further information
The employment is a fixed-term position for 12 months on full-time under the Special Fixed-Term Employment Act (SÄVA).
The starting date is 15 November or according to agreement.

How to apply
You apply for the position via the Universitys recruitment system. The application is to include a personal letter describing how you meet the qualification requirements and why you are interested in the position. The application is also to include a CV with a list of publications a general description of previous research work a copy of your doctoral degree and any other documents to which you wish to draw attention (copies of degree certificates grade transcripts details of referees letters of recommendation etc.).

The Faculty of Medicine is a part of Lund University and is responsible for education and research within medicine and healthcare. Our academic programs are closely linked with the healthcare system and are firmly anchored in the facultys strong research tradition. Our research spans a broad field within experimental preclinical research near-patient clinical research and health sciences research. The Faculty of Medicine with its 1800 employees and 2700 students in Lund and Malmö is a knowledge-intensive meeting place for students teachers and researchers from all over the world.

The Department of Laboratory Medicine is one of six departments at Lund Universitys Faculty of Medicine. We conduct leading research both broad and specialised within the field of laboratory medicine focusing on the onset of disease and how we can improve diagnostics and treatment for patients. Some of our strongest areas with world-class research deal with cancer genetics and blood.

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