06 Postdoctoral Fellowship at University of Helsinki, Finland

Our research group focuses on the human thymus which produces key immune cells, the T cells. We 1) evaluate and develop methods to better measure thymopoiesis, 2) study how thymopoiesis and the thymus itself is affected by viral infections, and 3) aim to understand how and why certain autoimmune diseases, such as myasthenia gravis, develops. We use thymic tissue samples from both immunologically healthy individuals and patients with cutting edge techniques including thymic organ cultures and different multi-dimensional single-cell methods to dissect the normal and pathological processes in the thymus. We are seeking for a motivated post-doctoral researcher to work on Research Council of Finland – funded project.

 The Computational Systems Medicine group led by Tero Aittokallio focuses on developing and applying integrated computational-experimental approaches to tackle biomedical questions, such as how genes function as interaction networks to carry out and regulate cellular processes, how perturbations in these networks contribute to complex traits, such as human diseases, and where and how in the disease network one should target to optimally inhibit disease phenotypes, such as tumour growth or metastasis. The group is now seeking postdoctoral researcher, with strong computational and analytical skills, and an interest in implementing and applying machine learning and network-based approaches for AI-based drug repurposing and drug combination predictions, through analysing and integrating multi-omics data from pre-clinical and clinical resources. The position provides possibilities for networking in academia and industry, supervising PhD and masters students, writing manuscripts, and presenting at international conferences. The postdoc will be working in a multi-disciplinary environment at the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM), University of Helsinki and HiLIFE, which form one of the leading life science research institutes in the Nordics. The postdoc will work and receive support from a multi-centre consortium, REMEDI4ALL, a European-level eco-system that facilitates fast and cost-effective patient-centric implementation of repurposed medicines, meeting unmet medical needs in any disease area, but with specific focus on cancer.

The position is available in an Academy of Finland -funded project that investigates the interplay of metabolic reprogramming, epigenetic regulatory landscape, and cancer cell proliferation. The group is working in the field of cancer biology and epigenetics using state-of-the-art methods such as CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing and transcriptional and epigenomic profiling at single-cell resolution (see e.g., Pihlajamaa et al, Nat Biotech 2023). We utilize diverse cellular models and next-generation sequencing techniques to understand the molecular mechanisms controlling oncogenic gene expression programs and cancer growth. The group belongs to the Applied Tumor Genomics Program in the Research Programs Unit of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Helsinki providing a vibrant research environment and high-quality infrastructure for modern biomedical research.

The CoE is part of the interdisciplinary Centre of European Studies. The purpose of the CoE is to launch a new, third generation inquiry that critically explores the emergence of narratives of Europe as responses to the crises of the twentieth century and how these narratives have shaped the ideas of justice and community in Europe. It studies the foundational stories that underlie the contested idea of a shared European heritage in law and culture, such as the ideas of rule of law, equality, tolerance, pluralism and the rejection of totalitarianism, and their relevance for current debates on identity and history. The CoE is divided into three subprojects. The subproject Discovering the Limits of Reason focuses on the philosophical and intellectual roots of the post-World War II European project. In particular, the project investigates the unique relativization of European rationality in the theory and culture of the inter-war period and the subsequent attempts, including in literary and artistic works, to rethink the ideas of reason, universalism, progress, community and so on, and how this contributed to shaping the narratives and institutional developments of the post-WWII European project.

We are seeking a post doc to link the spatial and temporal data on distribution of community composition and biodiversity in Finland. The questions of interest relate to identifying the strength and rate of compositional changes of communities and/or biodiversity over space and time across different ecoregions and identifying factors and underlying mechanisms that mitigate such change. Special interest will be in analyzing alternative biodiversity indexes and their suitability to biodiversity monitoring. The successful candidate will use Finnish time series on both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. The focus of the specific research questions will be developed jointly with the candidate. We seek candidates who have completed a PhD in ecology or a related field, and have strong conceptual and computational skills, as well as experience in developing and working with large and complex datasets and theory. Excellent written and verbal communication skills, and the ability to conceive, execute and complete research projects, and to think independently and creatively are required. Overall, excellent communication skills are required for extensive collaborations.

We are looking for a skilled postdoctoral fellow with a background in neuroscience and/or human stem cell based neuronal models at the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland  FIMM, Helsinki Institute of Life Science, HiLIFE in the research groups of Professor Aarno Palotie (Research Group Palotie) and Dr. Olli Pietiläinen (Research Group Pietiläinen). The position is part of a research program that aims to discover biological mechanisms in schizophrenia and related neuropsychiatric disorders. The program bridges multidisciplinary group of researchers in the interface of genetic discoveries and multi-omic molecular biology using cell collections from over 6000 sequenced participants. The project combines state-of-art functional genomics and experimental cell biology approaches in human stem-cell derived neuronal models to discover how genetic risk factors identified in the disorders mediate their causative effects in human cells. The Pietiläinen laboratory is based at the Neuroscience Center and has close links with the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard (https://www.broadinstitute.org/stanley). The Pietiläinen group is located at the Meilahti biomedical campus in Helsinki and is closely linked with research groups at the HiLIFE Institute for Molecular Medicine https://www.helsinki.fi/en/hilife-fimm   (HiLIFE-FIMM) and the Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences https://www.helsinki.fi/en/faculty-of-biological-and-environmental-sciences. HiLIFE-NC offers a inspiring environment to solve fundamental challenges of brain functions as part of the multidisciplinary HiLIFE infrastructure https://www.helsinki.fi/en/helsinki-institute-of-life-science  at the university of Helsinki.  In Pietiläinen group you will be part of a striving scientific community utilizing state of the art technologies in genomics and cell biology for scientific discoveries of the brain.